The future is here for NCAA gymnastics.
Starting Saturday, coaches across the country can officially, under NCAA rules, talk to prospects from the Class of 2026 — gymnasts who recently finished their sophomore year of high school.
Top prospects will be inundated with texts, phone calls and more today as programs across the country look to secure their futures.
That includes Utah gymnastics in its first offseason under head coach Carly Dockendorf.
So which gymnasts will the Red Rocks target?
If past success is any indication, Utah will be among the most promising gymnasts in the country.
At the moment – according to College Gym News recruiting rankings – there are 11 five-star recruits in the class of ’26.
Since CGN debuted its 2021 recruiting rankings, Utah has landed at least one five-star recruit in each recruiting cycle, with a list of gymnasts that includes Kara Eaker (2021), Makenna Smith (2022), Elizabeth Gantner, Ella Zirbes and Camie Winger (2023) and Avery Neff, Zoe Johnson and Clara Raposo (2024), with current commitment from Bailey Stroud (2025) as well.
Here are the highest-rated 2026 prospects, all five-star recruits:
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Presley Duke.
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Jayla Hang.
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CaMarah Williams.
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Madray Johnson.
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Michelle Pineda.
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Hezly Rivera.
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Alicia Zhou.
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Simone Brown.
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Dulcy Caylor.
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Imani Branco.
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Kieryn Finnell.
Of the 11, it would be a surprise if Utah landed commitments from White or Finnell, based on geography alone. Finnell is from New York, while White is from Florida.
In recent years, the Red Rocks have had recruiting success in the West and Midwest. Florida, in particular, has been a tough state for Utah to break into, given the presence of the Gators, as well as nearby SEC schools like Georgia, Auburn, Alabama and LSU.
Nearly half of the five-star recruits in the 2026 class are from Texas, and Utah has had some success recruiting from the state, signing gymnasts like Jaylene Gilstrap and Deanne Soza over the past five years.
Duke, the No. 1 recruit in 2026, is from Oklahoma, which tends to suggest she will land with the Sooners, but Hang is from Washington, where Dockendorf has significant ties. Brown, meanwhile, is from North Carolina, a state from which Utah recently recalled five-star signee Johnson.
The current Red Rocks team has obvious connections to Washington and Canada (Dockendorf), Utah (Jimmy Pratt), Minnesota (Mike Hunger) and Georgia and Louisiana (Hambrick).
Traditionally, the Red Rocks have had a real recruiting presence in states like California, Arizona and Nevada, with recent significant inroads made in states like Indiana and Missouri. On the other side of the Midwest, in fact.
(It should be noted that Dockendorf follows every top prospect who has an Instagram account and social media has taken on a much larger and more significant role in connecting with gymnasts in recent years).
However, five-star recruits are not the end all be all. CGN’s recruiting rankings aren’t infallible either.
Grace McCallum, an American Olympian who won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, was rated as a four-star prospect in the class of 2021 and she is not the only prospect who was underestimated.
Sloane Blakely (Florida), Jocelyn Moore (Missouri), Lilly Hudson (Alabama), Anya Pilgrim (Florida), Aleah Finnegan (LSU) and Jordan Bowers (Oklahoma) are just a few of the gymnasts who were not classified as blue-chip recruits. (i.e. five-star recruits) in recent classes who have become some of the best gymnasts in the NCAA.
There are currently 40 gymnasts classified as four-star prospects by CGN, with more than 50 gymnasts classified as three-star recruits.
Recruiting rankings are also updated every year, with no shortage of significant changes.
For example, Stroud was a three-star recruit when he began recruiting 2,025 candidates. Fast forward a year, and she is now a five-star prospect and a top-10 overall recruit.
All of which is to say that Utah will be busy for the foreseeable future as it looks to replace a class that includes Smith, Ashley Glynn and Sarah Krump (rising juniors).
The recruiting timeline for the class of 2026
In accordance with NCAA rules, women’s gymnastics prospects can receive personal contact and recruiting materials from college coaches starting Saturday. Coaches can now call athletes and send text messages, direct messages and emails. Verbal offers are also now on the table.
To this point, contact between coaches and prospects has been limited to the general faerie, including, but not limited to, questionnaires, camp information, non-athletic school information, and any and all materials published by the NCAA.
On August 1, recruits can begin making official and unofficial visits to schools. Prospects are entitled to an unlimited number of official visits, but only one official visit is permitted per school.
For an in-depth look at the recruiting process as a top prospect, you can read about Utah signee Avery Neff’s journey, the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2024, courtesy of Inside Gymnastics.
