Week 1 2026 CGA Power Rankings & Recap
By Peri Goodman, Isaac Erickson, and Peter Hristozov
Week one of the 2026 season started strong with 9 teams in action across 4 competitions. Stanford made a statement, taking an early lead in the overall standings, outperforming the next closest team by nearly 9 points. Below you’ll find week 1 Power Rankings, Hot takes, and breakdown of each competition followed by a conference by conference outlook.
Our “Power Rankings” aim to provide a fluid picture of how each team across the NCAA is doing at the moment and where NCAA men’s gymnastics experts see them heading. The (+) or (-) next to each team relates to how far they rose or fell from the week before. This year’s Power Rankings are developed with input from gymnastics media outlets including the CGA Coaches Poll, Inside Gymnastics, Podnastics, and Gymnastics Now.
Hot Takes
Week 1 Meet Recaps
Stanford @ California
Stanford vs. California is a familiar yet exciting matchup to start the 2026 season. The Cardinal posted a solid 320.1 team score, placing them number one in the week one team rankings. Head coach Thom Gliemi incorporated a lot of new faces into the lineups, such as Jun Awai, making his college debut on the floor exercise with a difficult routine and a 13.6. The Cardinal’s highest scores came with a 54.8 on the floor exercise and a 54.4 on the pommel horse. The team seemed to be led by graduate student Nick Kuebler, who received a 14.0 on floor and a 13.9 on rings, winning both event titles, and Junior David Shamah, who looked great in the all-around. Sophomore Kiran Mandava performed his pommel horse routine like a veteran, with a 14.2 and winning that event title. Wade Nelson stuck his massive Kasamatsu 1 ½ vault for a 14.2. The Cardinal, unfortunately, had some errors towards the end of the competition on high bar, but had a highlight from senior Zach Green with a solid 14.1.
The California Golden Bears looked strong and poised during this matchup with a 309.7 team score. The meet was closed up with a statement when sophomore Matteo Bardana slammed a highbar set, earning a massive 13.55 and 3rd place on the event. The Golden Bears' highest event total came on the vault with a 55.2, with 4 solid vault performances, and most notably, a 14.2 from Jasper Smith-Gordon.
The Cal Bears edged out Stanford on vault and high bar, which was exciting to see as a spectator. It shows the work newly-crowned head coach Bryan Del Castillo has put in with this team regarding difficulty and execution.
Greenville, Simpson College @ Michigan
Clean through the first four rotations, reigning National Champions and host team Michigan took the day, but were perhaps too close for comfort with the final scores. The Wolverines (308.4) led by underclassmen all arounders Solen Chiodi and Eli Osuna successfully fended off Greenville (305.2) and Simpson College (292.5), alongside their core of pommels specialists that earned a near four point lead on the hit-or-miss event.
The race between Greenville and Simpson for second was also too close to call, with both having put serious pressure on each other and staying within each other’s scoring ranges for the majority of the meet. Greenville shifted into high gear in the back third of the meet surpassing Michigan’s event totals on parallel bars and high bar, ultimately besting the Storm and finishing just beyond three points behind the heavy favorite after six. Head coach Zach Peters shares that the team’s goal week in and week out is to have the highest difficulty in their conference, and that his roster has “tons of space to improve”. Efforts were led by Jaxon Clapper and Kyler Hinson for the Panthers on parallel bars, with their four athletes all claiming a spot in the event’s top six. Peters makes note of how his team had their best season opener in program history, adding “it's good to see that progress[ing] and not just a first meet throw away”.
Simpson edged out Greenville on vault by 0.05, with three of their four vaulters equaling or besting a 13.5. Braxton Jones, known for his work on the leg events, was the Storm’s top contributor across floor and vault. Though not having controlled every landing, his two routines were the highest scoring for his team on his respective events where the market value of a stick is just that much stronger.
Springfield College @ Navy
Springfield College met the Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy this weekend in a familiar ECAC matchup that came down to the final rotation. Navy secured a narrow 1.55-point victory, finishing with a 307.650 to Springfield’s 306.100 in a meet that featured lead changes after nearly every event and both teams within a tenth heading into the closer.
Springfield head coach Matt Davis pointed to several standout performances that resulted in four event titles for the Pride. Kaleb Palacio led the way with wins on floor (13.65) and vault (14.5), while also placing third on high bar with a 13.0. His Kaz 1.5 on vault earned him the event title and currently ranks first in the nation after week one. Devon Felsenstein followed with a 14.1 to take the pommel horse title, finishing just under a point off his intended difficulty but executing cleanly through the set and closing with a double pirouette dismount. Blaise Rousseau added another title on rings with a 13.4, placing him third nationally on the event.
Davis noted that Springfield’s focus on the mental side of competition showed throughout the lineup. “The team has been working on the mental side of competing, and this weekend showed that we are capable of handling high-pressure situations,” he said, pointing to the meet’s constant momentum shifts as a key takeaway.
For Navy, head coach Kip Simons used the meet to evaluate depth and build confidence with newer athletes. The Midshipmen missed several routines across the competition but were able to grind out the win, something Simons described as a “gritty performance.” Navy’s high bar rotation featured a majority of newcomers and showed strong scoring potential despite dismount errors, while increased start values across the lineup signaled growth moving forward.
Individually, Simons highlighted strong routines from Kody Tokunaga on pommel horse, Justin Lozano on parallel bars, Zach Silao on rings, and Misha Romo on high bar. Among the returners, Brian Solomon delivered a steady start to the season, leading Navy in scoring on floor, rings, and parallel bars, including a stuck double-double dismount on rings that helped Navy create separation.
Springfield continued to push late, with a high bar rotation led by Palacio’s laid-out straddle Tkachev connection into a stuck double-double dismount and Skyler Cook’s 12.4 on high bar featuring high-flying release work. On parallel bars, Cook paced the Pride with a 12.1, while Solomon led Navy with a 12.7, keeping the teams within 0.35 on the event. With both programs testing lineups and identifying their top 12 athletes, the meet set the tone for what looks to be another tight ECAC race.
Army @ Penn State
Army and Penn State’s dual meet proved to be a solid start to the season for both teams. Both teams had mistakes, though nothing out of the ordinary for the first meet of the season. Penn State bested Army with a 311.3 team score, while Army put out a 297.6. The Nittany Lions’ team score ranked second only behind Stanford in the week one rankings, while Army’s landed them in the number seven spot. Matthew Underhill led the Nittany Lions this weekend, taking the event titles of floor, vault, and rings, with a massive stuck double-double dismount on still rings and a stuck Kasamatsu 1 ½ vault. Underhill posted a 13.35 on floor, a 13.75 on rings, and a 14.3 on vault. Kellen Ryan also looked great with a massive 14.2 stuck vault and a 13.2 on highbar, winning the high bar event title.
The highlight of the night for the Army Black Knights was Maddox Pabellon on the pommel horse. Pabellon took the pommel horse title, posting a 13.85 score for the Black Knights in his first routine of the season, displaying difficult skills and fluidity throughout. In a post-meet interview, Army assistant coach Jake Bonnay highlighted a major improvement from last season: no matter the mistake or the score posted throughout the meet, the team’s confidence never wavered. Each athlete moved on to the next routine as if everything had gone according to plan, signaling the mental growth and resilience Army has developed heading into the 2026 season. This was especially shown when Junior, Nick Lester was thrown into the lineup at the last minute for a roster change, where he stepped up and posted a 12.30 on floor, finishing the routine with a beautiful stuck back double pike dismount.
Army and Penn State will actually meet again this weekend at the West Point Open, so it will be interesting to see how they will battle again after having the week to reassess lineups and fix mistakes made in week one. Army will be competing at home here, which may prove to be an advantage with their home crowd energy.
Week 1 Conference Outlook
Big Ten
Penn State and Michigan were the only two teams that saw action in week one, with the Nittany Lions claiming the conference’s top team score thus far (311.3). After starting the season with the top Big Ten team score, they’ll be staring down two road meets with big implications: the West Point Open, and facing conference rival Illinois before returning home. [coaches] have tested four of their five freshmen in lineups so far, who will look to continue building their momentum from their collegiate debuts.
Further west in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines retain strength, but will need to figure out where they can tap into star power without last year’s senior class. They’ll look to turn around from last week’s uncharacteristic nerves on high bar to reestablish a lead on the conference. Expect freshman Eli Osuna to break into the first four after his collegiate debut with an incredibly clean Def.
Illinois begins their 2026 outlook on the road until February, and does so with high expectations after a strong showing from their specialists at the most recent All-Star meet. Head coach Daniel Ribeiro shares point blank that the team’s goal is to win NCAAs, and to get there by “push[ing a] 360 start value range by the end of the season’. Some of the Illini will be resting for the first stretch, so in the immediate weeks to come we’ll be treated to a look at their team’s depth.
Ohio State starts their season with an in conference tri meet at home, hosting two hungry teams in Michigan and Illinois. They’ll rely on veterans flagged by the conference as gymnasts to watch, including senior Jesse Pakele and sophomore David Ramirez.
Nebraska travels to the Rocky Mountain Open to begin their 2026 campaign, while mourning the recent loss of Huskers Gymnastics and Team USA legend Jim Hartung. The Huskers have their largest freshman class in program history with eight new additions, who will be trying to make lineups alongside a heavily established set of upperclassmen. Head coach Chuck Chmelka places emphasis on the specialists’ value to his program, with the goal of “earning (honors for) at least five event All Americans”.
MPSF
California and Stanford were the only teams to compete in the MPSF Conference this week. It was a match-up we will see a lot this season, but it was a great start to the season for the conference, with a lot of great gymnastics performed. Head coach Thom Gliemi seemed to rest a couple of veterans, most notably Asher Hong, but this allowed a lot of new faces to compete and make their debuts. This valuable experience so early in the season for the new freshmen will be crucial as the postseason rolls around. Despite the loss to Stanford, Cal looked very solid on all events, experimenting with difficult routines and also showing the clean executed routines we are accustomed to seeing. Matteo Bardana’s solid performance on high bar showed he is a threat for highbar titles throughout the season, and even a potential All-American finish at NCAA’s. It was also great to see Kaien Orion’s first meet as a Golden Bear after transferring from Stanford. He showed great potential and execution, and it will be exciting to see how he continues to contribute to the Golden Bears throughout the season. Nick Kueblar won the floor and rings event title, and was on his way to winning a highbar title before a fall on his straddle Tkatchev. Based on his performances, he will be in the hunt to win these event titles throughout the season and even in the NCAA Championships, which he has done before on the floor exercise. David Shamah also had a great all-around showing for the first meet of the season, hitting five for six events, with a mistake on the vault. Shamah’s 79.15 all-around total, with some slight mistakes, looks to be competitive in future meets to come. The Cardinal swept all 3 MPSF honors, with Nick Kueblar winning gymnast of the week, Kiran Mandava winning specialist of the week, and Jun Iwai winning freshman of the week.
Oklahoma and Air Force will be making their season debuts for the MPSF this weekend at the Rocky Mountain Open in Colorado Springs. Head Coach Mark Williams always makes a statement in the Sooners' first meet of the season. The Sooners will likely put up a strong lineup in week two, with clean and difficult performances that will allow them a chance at taking the Rocky Open Team Title. The Air Force Falcons will be competing at home at the Rocky Mountain Open, and they normally start the season off with difficult routines that are always exciting to watch. It will be interesting to see how much they push the envelope at the start of the season and how well their large freshman class does at their first collegiate meet. Air Force assistant coaches Sergey Resnik and Michael Reid are also former Sooner National Champions under Mark Williams, which always makes the competition between Air Force and Oklahoma a fun competition to watch.
ECAC
Aside from William & Mary, every team in the ECAC conference took to the competition floor for the first time this past weekend. Greenville and Simpson traveled to Michigan for a tri-meet, where Greenville finished second behind the Wolverines, with Simpson following. Greenville head coach Zach Peters summed up the weekend by calling it “our best first meet” as a program, adding that he’s excited to see what the team’s score could look like once everything comes together — even with a fall or two — as the season progresses. Simpson College showcased a variety of new faces while leaning heavily on its sophomore class, particularly Braxton Jones, Brian Rollison, and Ethan Drake. Head coach Colin Payne emphasized the group’s upside, noting that “this team has real potential this year. Our mix of experience and new talent is well balanced to push this team to a higher level.” With Greenville entering its fourth season in the NCAA and Simpson its third, the continued growth of these programs — and their willingness to compete against one another and against Division I opponents — remains monumental for the future of men’s gymnastics. All ECAC teams aside from Greenville will converge this Friday at the West Point Open, where William & Mary will also make its season debut. The Tribe enters the weekend having steadily developed their difficulty whilst paying critical attention to detail as they prepare to open the 2026 season. Army looks poised to post big scores at its home opener against Navy, Penn State, Springfield College, and William & Mary. Assistant coach Jake Bonnay emphasized that while the team has increased its overall difficulty from last season, execution will be the deciding factor, stating, “We know that even with our difficulty jump from last season, we will need to prioritize execution more than our conference opponents to have a chance at defending the ECAC title.” Head coach JD Reive used the opening weekend to test new lineups, giving opportunities to both newcomers and upperclassmen. Several Black Knights are expected to break out this season, including Nick Lester, Cash Johnson, Thomas Morrow, Maddox Pabellon, and Carter Beck. Beck posted a 12.75 on still rings with a stuck dismount, with room to build as the season progresses. Pabellon, meanwhile, has emerged as a legitimate podium contender on pommel horse throughout his career, and the season-opening performance marked a strong first step toward an NCAA push. Navy enters the West Point Open following a hard-fought, back-and-forth home victory against Springfield, where the Midshipmen showcased encouraging execution and difficulty across the lineup. As the season continues, Navy will look to tighten its lineups while allowing newcomers to continue shining alongside clean, hit sets from its returning veterans. Juniors and Firsties, including Brian Solomon, will be relied upon to provide consistency and leadership moving forward. Head coach Kip Simons emphasized the path ahead within the conference, noting that “commitment to technical changes and execution will be key to success within the conference.”
Week 2 Schedule:
All Times EST.
Friday, January 16
7:00 pm Navy, Penn State, Simpson, Springfield College, William & Mary @ Army (West Point Open)
Saturday, January 17
7:00 pm Navy, Penn State, Simpson, Springfield College, William & Mary @ Army (West Point Open)
8:00 pm Nebraska, Oklahoma, Stanford @ Air Force (Rocky Mountain Open) - Live Stats | Live Stream
Sunday, January 18
2:00 pm Illinois, Michigan @ Ohio State (Ohio State Open)