MaKayla Tucker in Her All-Around Era

By: Alana Lundgaard

The bar dismount had been a question mark.

Michigan State junior gymnast MaKayla Tucker spent the summer training it. Day after day, she worked on the landing that once felt uncertain, and by the start of this season, it no longer felt experimental. It felt reliable, and that now shows up in all four events.

Tucker, a kinesiology major from Fishers, Indiana, competes in the all-around for the Spartans. It's a role that not only requires talent, but relies on consistency.

For her first two seasons, that was the missing piece.

"My gymnastics wasn't very clean," she said. "I had the skill level, but not the cleanest to do good college gymnastics."

Tucker arrived in East Lansing with national champion credentials and the ability to compete across the lineup, yet putting it together every week remained elusive. Some days she had it, some days she didn't. The staff adjusted line-ups around that uncertainty, prioritizing events and trying to find stability.

Bars became the project, the dismount especially, but Tucker said she approached it differently over the summer.

"I have a new bar dismount, so I've been training that the whole summer," Tucker said. "It was kind of a question mark for me, I was just having fun with it and didn't think I'd actually get it."

The extra work reshaped more than one routine and MSU Head Coach Mike Rowe recognized that shift.

"It's just more focused energy and effort," he said. "Every turn is more intentional, deliberate."

That intention carries from event to event. Competing all-around means moving quickly. There is little time to linger after a routine, good or bad. Tucker transitions from vault to bars to beam to floor, resetting each time. Event specialists may have longer stretches between routines. The all-arounder stays active.

The mental side of that role took growth. Tucker said she has learned to give herself a few minutes after a mistake, then move forward. She rejoins her teammates, cheers from the sideline and prepares for the next rotation.

The ability to compartmentalize has become part of her routine.

The growth showed up early in the season.Tucker finished second in the all-around at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad, a meet that featured several of the nation's top programs. She competed against line-ups filled with national contenders and delivered four steady routines.

In the eyes of her coaches, the result reflected something deeper than a score.

At Michigan State, the all-around carries weight. Nikki Smith and Gabi Stephen, two of the most decorated gymnasts in program history, handled that responsibility in recent seasons. The role demands durability and presence. It keeps a gymnast visible every rotation and accountable in every event.

"She's following in the Nikki footsteps, in the Gabi footsteps. She went all-around the other day and took second all-around at Sprouts," he said. "I think it's been a realization for her that 'I am a big deal and can be a bigger deal.'"

Tucker understands that visibility. Younger gymnasts see how she approaches practice: the repetition on bars and the reset after a missed landing. Leadership in gymnastics often shows up in those quiet moments.

She also brings a steady energy to competition. Tucker describes herself as relaxed before routines. She laughs. She keeps conversations light. In a sport where nerves can build quickly, that demeanor helps stabilize the group.

Rowe notices the shift in her presence this season. The questions about daily reliability have faded and the coaching staff can pencil her name into four spots and expect consistency.

The consistency that once felt uncertain now feels routine. Tucker arrives at practice with purpose, competes with intention, and embraces the responsibility that comes with the all-around.

The growth did not happen overnight. It came through repetition, through a summer spent refining a landing, through learning how to reset in the middle of a meet.

"I'm more prepared and more confident," she said. "Every week I'm excited to get out there and improve from last week."

Michigan State University Athletics

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