2020 Preseason Coaches Poll
Stanford Snags Top Spot in CGA Preseason Coaches Poll
The College Gymnastics Association has released its 2020 Preseason Coaches Poll based on a survey of coaches of the 23 CGA programs. CGA received responses from 20 of the 23 programs, and what follows is a ranking of the top 20 teams based on averages of coaches’ rankings.
Defending NCAA champion Stanford led the poll with 17 of the 20 first-place votes. The Cardinal squad raised the gold trophy at last year’s championships for the first time since 2011, ending Oklahoma’s historic win streak and shifting the dynamic among the nation’s best teams. That dramatic effort was led by freshman Brody Malone, who clinched all-around, floor and high bar titles on the way. Malone will need to be even better this year to ensure that Stanford remains the dominant NCAA team throughout the season, but he’ll have help from a strong freshman class that includes Riley Loos and Brandon Briones.
The Oklahoma Sooners claimed the second-place spot in the poll with two first-place votes. The departure of an incredibly talented senior class last season along with Tanner Justus’ career-ending injury have made OU’s chances of dominating this season, like in seasons past, much less likely. Still, OU has serious talent on the roster — keep an eye on Vitaliy Guimaraes, Matt Wenske and Gage Dyer — and it’d be a mistake to doubt coach Mark Williams’ ability to ring every tenth out of his squad.
Securing one first-place vote were the Michigan Wolverines, who ranked third in the poll. Michigan gave their fans a taste of resurgence last season by finishing fourth at NCAAs and a strong third at the Big Ten championships. But the Wolverines could have done more, and with a big group of upperclassmen, Michigan seems to be a team that every coach is watching closely.
The Fighting Illini come in at No. 4 in the poll after a fifth-place finish at NCAAs and a second-place finish at Big Tens last season. Illinois will need big contributions from Sebastian Quiana, Michael Fletcher and Hamish Carter this season in order to build on the legacy left by Alex Diab, Ross Thompson and Johnny Jacobson.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers rank No. 5 in the preseason poll after notching their highest NCAA finish since 1999 last season with a third-place finish. Anton Stephenson, who graduated earlier this year, led that charge for the Huskers, so Nebraska will look to Jake Bonnay, Khalil Jackson and Griffin Kehler this season to continue the upward trajectory that Nebraska has been on for the past few years.
The Golden Gophers slide in at No. 6 in the poll, coming off a tough ninth-place finish at last year’s NCAA Championships. They will face a challenge again this year after losing Justin Karstadt, Shaun Herzog and Vitali Kan. The good news: Minnesota still has Shane Wiskus, who is coming off an impressive showing for Team USA at World Championships. When a team has a talent like this, you never know just how high they can finish.
The reigning Big Ten Tournament Champions come in at No. 7. After an impressive 2019 campaign, the Nittany Lions slide as a result of the departure of a great senior class. Eleven routines from last year’s team will have to be replaced. It’s up to Sam Zakutney in his final year to keep Penn State toward the top of the leaderboard.
JD Reive’s team comes in at No. 8 in the poll. A seventh-place finish at NCAAs last year left Iowa just out of team finals. The Hawkeyes will look to their strong strong senior class to build on last season and land themselves a spot in team finals in Ann Arbor.
When you lose one of the top guys in the NCAA, it is oftentimes nearly impossible to fill the hole that is left. The departure of Alec Yoder has the Ohio State Buckeyes coming in at No. 9. This team is still loaded with talent and hungry to step up to the challenge. Breakout seasons from Angel Leon and Jesse Tyndall could help them exceed expectations.
Navy comes in at No. 10. After an impressive 2019 season, Kip Simons’ team has proved to the coaches that they are here to stay as one of the top 10 teams in the country. Navy will look to build on their success with another ECAC title and continued improvement at NCAAs.
Stanford (457 points) (17 first-place votes)
Oklahoma (420 points) (2 first-place votes)
Michigan (404 points) (1 first-place vote)
Illinois (383 points)
Nebraska (377 points)
Minnesota (373 points)
Penn State (367 points)
Iowa (317 points)
Ohio State (316 points)
Navy (283 points)
California (254 points)
Army (228 points)
Air Force (227 points)
Arizona State (203 points)
William & Mary (182 points)
Springfield College (167 points)
Washington (142 points)
UIC (108 points)
Temple (94 points)
SC United (84 points)