Michigan State University Athletics
Thursday, April 2
Tempe, Ariz.
4 PM EDT/1 PM MST
Michigan State University
vs
NCAA Regional Second Round
Photo by: Maya Kolton
No. 11 Spartans Set for NCAA Tempe Regional
3/31/2026 3:04:00 PM | Women's Gymnastics
TEMPE, Ariz. -Â No. 11 seed Michigan State gymnastics travels to Tempe, Arizona, for the second round of the NCAA Tempe Regional on Thursday, April 2 inside Arizona State's Desert Financial Arena. The Spartans are making their fifth-straight NCAA Regional appearance and will take on No. 6 seed Georgia, BYU and Southern Utah at 4 p.m. ET.
All NCAA Regionals will stream on ESPN+. Alex Perlman (play-by-play) and Sydney Snead (analyst) will be on the call in Tempe.
MSU is the No. 3 seed in the Tempe Regional and will compete in the first of two sessions on Thursday, beginning on bars. The second session at 10 p.m. ET will feature No. 1 seed Florida, No. 4 seed California, Penn State and the winner of a play-in meet between Arizona and host Arizona State. The top two teams from each session will advance to the regional finals on Saturday, April 4 at 8 p.m. ET, with the top two teams from the finals advancing to the NCAA Championships.
The Spartans ended the regular season ranked 11th nationally for the eighth-straight week with a national qualifying score of 197.103. In the team event rankings, MSU ranks in a tie for seventh on vault (49.264 NQS), 13th on bars (49.233) and beam (49.208) and 10th on floor (49.394). Individually, senior Sage Kellerman is ranked fifth nationally on vault (9.935 NQS) and 20th on bars (9.920), while senior Nikki Smith (seventh, 9.950) and junior MaKayla Tucker (25th, 9.925) sit inside the top 25 on floor. Smith (ninth, 39.540) and Tucker (12th, 39.475) are also top 15 in the all-around.
MSU scored a 197.475 en route to its fifth-consecutive top-two finish at the Big Ten Championships on March 21, earning runner-up honors behind UCLA. Four Spartans earned podium finishes, highlighted by Sage Kellerman's conference title on bars with a career-high-tying 9.950. With her victory on bars, she became the first Spartan since Kim Hartwick (1986-87) and second in program history to win Big Ten individual titles in two different seasons, last winning the vault title in 2023 during her freshman season. She also finished third on vault. Nikki Smith captured runner-up honors on floor (9.950) and in the all-around (39.575) and shared third place on beam alongside freshman Lilia Cosman and sophomore Cady Duplissis (9.900).
As a team, MSU also posted a season-high 49.375 on beam at the conference meet.
SCOUTING THE SECOND ROUND FIELD
Georgia is the No. 2 seed in the regional and No. 6 seed overall with a 197.391 NQS. The GymDogs most recently finished fifth at the SEC Championships, their best finish at the conference meet since 2019, scoring a 197.450.
BYU is coming off of a 196.175 third-place finish at the Big 12 Championships on March 21. The Cougars are 24th in the Week 12 RoadtoNationals rankings with a 196.228 NQS and hold a season-high score of 197.225.
Southern Utah is ranked 28th in the Week 12 RoadtoNationals rankings with a 195.818 NQS. The Thunderbirds won their fourth-consecutive Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title with a 194.850 on March 21.
MSU has not faced any of its second round opponents this season, but did finish in third behind session II team California its season opener at the Sprouts Collegiate Quad on Jan. 10. The Spartans also defeated Penn State, 197.125-196.725, in a conference dual meet on the road on Feb. 8.
MSU AT NCAA REGIONALS
MSU is making its fifth-straight appearance at NCAA Regionals after previously not qualifying as team since the 2016 season. The Spartans have advanced to the regional final in each of the last four seasons, finishing third in 2022 and 2023 and fourth in 2024 before placing second in last year's University Park Regional Final to advance to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1988.Â
Before qualifying as a team last season, MSU qualified individuals out of regionals in each of the three seasons prior - Skyla Schulte (beam) in 2022, Delanie Harkness (floor) and Gabi Stephen (beam) in 2023 and Schulte (floor) and Nikki Smith (beam) in 2024.Â
UP NEXT
The NCAA Championships will take place on April 16 and 18 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
All NCAA Regionals will stream on ESPN+. Alex Perlman (play-by-play) and Sydney Snead (analyst) will be on the call in Tempe.
MSU is the No. 3 seed in the Tempe Regional and will compete in the first of two sessions on Thursday, beginning on bars. The second session at 10 p.m. ET will feature No. 1 seed Florida, No. 4 seed California, Penn State and the winner of a play-in meet between Arizona and host Arizona State. The top two teams from each session will advance to the regional finals on Saturday, April 4 at 8 p.m. ET, with the top two teams from the finals advancing to the NCAA Championships.
The Spartans ended the regular season ranked 11th nationally for the eighth-straight week with a national qualifying score of 197.103. In the team event rankings, MSU ranks in a tie for seventh on vault (49.264 NQS), 13th on bars (49.233) and beam (49.208) and 10th on floor (49.394). Individually, senior Sage Kellerman is ranked fifth nationally on vault (9.935 NQS) and 20th on bars (9.920), while senior Nikki Smith (seventh, 9.950) and junior MaKayla Tucker (25th, 9.925) sit inside the top 25 on floor. Smith (ninth, 39.540) and Tucker (12th, 39.475) are also top 15 in the all-around.
MSU scored a 197.475 en route to its fifth-consecutive top-two finish at the Big Ten Championships on March 21, earning runner-up honors behind UCLA. Four Spartans earned podium finishes, highlighted by Sage Kellerman's conference title on bars with a career-high-tying 9.950. With her victory on bars, she became the first Spartan since Kim Hartwick (1986-87) and second in program history to win Big Ten individual titles in two different seasons, last winning the vault title in 2023 during her freshman season. She also finished third on vault. Nikki Smith captured runner-up honors on floor (9.950) and in the all-around (39.575) and shared third place on beam alongside freshman Lilia Cosman and sophomore Cady Duplissis (9.900).
As a team, MSU also posted a season-high 49.375 on beam at the conference meet.
SCOUTING THE SECOND ROUND FIELD
Georgia is the No. 2 seed in the regional and No. 6 seed overall with a 197.391 NQS. The GymDogs most recently finished fifth at the SEC Championships, their best finish at the conference meet since 2019, scoring a 197.450.
BYU is coming off of a 196.175 third-place finish at the Big 12 Championships on March 21. The Cougars are 24th in the Week 12 RoadtoNationals rankings with a 196.228 NQS and hold a season-high score of 197.225.
Southern Utah is ranked 28th in the Week 12 RoadtoNationals rankings with a 195.818 NQS. The Thunderbirds won their fourth-consecutive Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title with a 194.850 on March 21.
MSU has not faced any of its second round opponents this season, but did finish in third behind session II team California its season opener at the Sprouts Collegiate Quad on Jan. 10. The Spartans also defeated Penn State, 197.125-196.725, in a conference dual meet on the road on Feb. 8.
MSU AT NCAA REGIONALS
MSU is making its fifth-straight appearance at NCAA Regionals after previously not qualifying as team since the 2016 season. The Spartans have advanced to the regional final in each of the last four seasons, finishing third in 2022 and 2023 and fourth in 2024 before placing second in last year's University Park Regional Final to advance to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1988.Â
Before qualifying as a team last season, MSU qualified individuals out of regionals in each of the three seasons prior - Skyla Schulte (beam) in 2022, Delanie Harkness (floor) and Gabi Stephen (beam) in 2023 and Schulte (floor) and Nikki Smith (beam) in 2024.Â
UP NEXT
The NCAA Championships will take place on April 16 and 18 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Players Mentioned
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