COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Boise State has been picked first by Mountain West coaches in the annual preseason coaches’ poll, setting up what could be back-to-back MW gymnastics championships for the Broncos.
Boise State earned three first-place votes and the maximum 30 points in the 2025 poll and was followed by Utah State with 21 points and the remaining first-place vote, San José State with 21 points and Air Force with 12 points. The preseason poll is voted on by each of the four MW gymnastic head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own programs.
Boise State is under the direction of 2024 Mountain West Coach of the Year Tina Bird, who has been a part of the BSU staff for more than 30 years and head coach since 2020. She previously served as a co-head coach since 2008. On the floor of competition, the Broncos will look to senior Emily Lopez, who is a two-time second-team All-American, along with earning the 2024 Mountain West Gymnast of the Year accolades. Lopez earned first-team MW honors on bars and beam a season ago and was a 10-time MW Specialist of the Week to go along with being named the 2024 MW Bars Specialist of the Year. Another leader to watch will be senior Emma Loyim, the reigning MW champion on floor and beam, en route to earning first- and second-team All-MW honors, respectively, on those events in 2024.
Utah State will enter the season under third-year head coach Kristin White, having hosted the inaugural MW Gymnastics Championship in 2024. The Aggies return graduate Brianna Brooks in 2024, a two-time NCAA North Central Region Gymnast of the Year and champion on bars at the MW Championships a season ago. Along with earning NC Region honors, Brooks also garnered second-team All-MW accolades on bars and in the all-around in 2024. She is joined by sophomore Nyla Morabito, who earned MW Vault Specialist and Freshman of the Week honors in 2024, after appearing in each of the Aggies’ meets last season. A second USU graduate, Jenna Eagles, will be another one to watch for the Aggies with competition experience for Utah State in every meet over the last two years in Logan.
San José State, tied with Utah State with 21 points in the poll, returns head coach Joanne Bowers, now in her sixth year with the Spartans, and both the 2024 MW vault and floor champion in sophomore Mia Nelson. Nelson was a two-time MW Floor Specialist and MW Freshman of the Week a season ago, in addition to earning MW Vault Specialist of the Week honors once. The Spartans also return a wealth of senior leadership in graduate students Jaudai Lopes, Madison Kirsch and Katherine Weyhmiller. Kirsch was a first-team All-MW selection on vault in 2024, while Lopes a first-team pick on vault and in the all-around to go along with second-team honors on floor and Weyhmiller earned second-team all-conference honors on beam. The trio combined for 10 MW weekly awards in 2024, with various honors on all four events.
Air Force rounded out the preseason poll and will be under the direction of fifth-year head coach Jennifer Green. The Falcons are highlighted by the 2024 MW Freshman of the Year in sophomore Maggie Slife, who was first-team all-conference on vault, bars and in the all-around a season ago. Slife captured first-place honors in the all-around and on vault at the 2024 MW Championship and then went on to secure a floor championship at the USAG Championships. Fellow sophomore Clara Wallace also earned an individual title at the USAG Championships, finishing first on beam, while garnering second-team All-MW honors in the all-around. Senior Ayla McKean was another all-conference performer for the Falcons in the 2024, earning second-team All-MW on bars, in addition to picking up second-team USAG All-American honors in the all-around. Junior Kylee Greene also earned USAG All-American recognition, being picked first-team on beam in 2024.
The 2025 MW gymnastics season gets underway on Friday, Jan. 3, when Utah State faces Utah in Salt Lake City. All four teams will be in competition the next weekend when USU hosts Southern Utah on Friday, Jan. 10. Boise State opens its season that night in Seattle, participating in a quad meet with Washington, Stanford and UC Davis, while Air Force hosts LIU inside the Cadet West Gym. San José State cuts the ribbon on its season on Sunday, Jan. 12, at Sacramento State.
All four teams will meet in the culmination of the 2025 regular season at the Credit Union 1 MW Gymnastics Championship, slated to be hosted by San José State on Saturday, March 22.
2025 Mountain West Preseason Coaches’ Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses)
1. Boise State (3) 30
T2. Utah State (1) 21
T2. San José State 21
4. Air Force 12
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