TEMPE, Ariz. – The No. 21 Arizona State gymnastics squad is gearing up for the 2020 season, hoping to build off the success from 2019 with key returners as well as newcomers who will contribute to a challenging schedule.
2020 Schedule Outlook
The 2020 schedule will be a challenge for the Gym Devils. It features 11 teams that finished the 2019 season ranked in the top 25, including six teams that finished in the top 10. In the WCGA Preseason Poll, which has ASU ranked No. 21, there are 11 opponents on the 2020 schedule in the top 25. Four of those top-25 teams will make their way to Desert Financial Arena this season: 2019 National Champion No. 1 Oklahoma, 2019 Pac-12 Champion No. 4 UCLA, No. 9 Cal and No. 17 Washington.
Returners
The Sun Devils return nine gymnasts to the 2020 roster. The team is led by junior Leonard-Baker, who has earned a total of three All-America honors in each of her two seasons in Tempe. She has been a staple in the all-around for Arizona State in the last two years and has hit 105 of her 106 routines she has done in her career. In addition to her All-America honors, she was the 2018 Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year and was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team in both the all-around and uneven bars.
Leonard-Baker has been a top scorer for the Gym Devils in her two years here. At UCLA in 2019, she scored a 9.975 on bars, the highest score by any Sun Devil since 2007. Also in 2019, she shone bright at the Pac-12 Championship, tying for second on bars and taking fourth in the all-around, which was the best finish by an ASU gymnast since 2007.
In back-to-back seasons, Leonard-Baker advanced to the NCAA Championships as an individual, in 2018 in the all-around and in 2019 on bars after winning the title at the Baton Rogue Regional with a 9.925.
Other returners who have made key contributions are Morgan Wilson, Jessica Ginn Morgan Hart and Ashley Szafranski. Jasmine Gutierrez and Graycee Zaugg have also made appearances in lineups during their time here.
Four returners have earned 9.900s or better during their time at ASU. Hart scored a 9.900 on bars last year at the Pac-12 Championships. Szafranski earned three 9.900s in 2018, one on bars at West Virginia and two on beam at Minnesota and NCAA regionals. In 2019, Wilson won a vault title at Penn State with one of her two 9.900s, the other coming at the Perfect 10 Challenge. Leonard-Baker has the most 9.900s or better, earning 12 between bars (9) and floor (3) just last season. Additionally, she had 13 9.900s or better in 2018, one on vault, four on bars and eight on floor. She also won 12 event titles in 2019, seven on bars and five on floor, and seven in 2018, four on bars and three on floor.
More returning Gym Devils will look to make big contributions. Ginn, a senior, has been a key part of the vault and floor lineups in the last few seasons, shining bright on the floor in 2019 and earning a career high 9.875. Sophomore Gutierrez saw time in both the beam and vault lineup in 2019. She made her collegiate debut on beam against Stanford at home, scoring a 9.850 and winning the beam title. She looks to continue to shine on beam. Junior Maya Williams and sophomore Kaitlin Harvey are also returning after missing 2019 due to injuries. They both competed in the Maroon and Gold Scrimmage in two events each, Harvey on vault and beam and Williams on beam and floor.
Newcomers
Arizona State has seven new faces on the team: six freshmen and a transfer sophomore. The Sun Devils will rely on some key underclassmen to show up big for the team in 2020. At the Maroon and Gold Scrimmage in early December, Arizona State debuted 21 new routines from the newcomers. Freshmen Juliette Boyer, Hannah Scharf and Gracie Reeves all competed in the all-around, with Boyer taking second behind Leonard-Baker. The three showcased their potential to compete in the all-around in 2020. Additionally, Isabel Redmond, Alina Miller and Megan Thompson all competed in three events each, displaying their talent and ability to show up big for ASU this season.
Last Season
Jay and Jessica Santos led the Gym Devils to a successful season in 2019, the first since 2014 to have a winning record (11-10) in the regular season. The team was ranked in the top-25 on Road to Nationals all year, finishing at No. 25, and earned four wins over top-25 teams throughout the season. They scored a 196.000 or better six times and had a team RQS (Regional Qualifying Score) of 196.320 at the end of the year, the second season in a row with an RQS over 196.000.
To start off the postseason, the Sun Devils took fifth at the Pac-12 Gymnastics Championships, the best team finish since 2006. At NCAA Regionals, the team finished in seventh, but Cairo Leonard-Baker won the regional bar title with a 9.925, automatically qualifying her for nationals as an individual. At the NCAA Championships, she scored a 9.900, earning Second Team All-America honors in that event.
Up Next
The 2020 campaign will begin on January 4 at the Collegiate Challenge Powered by Under Armour in Anaheim, California. ASU will be in the first session with No. 7 Denver, No. 13 Auburn and No. 25 Penn State.
2020 Schedule Outlook
The 2020 schedule will be a challenge for the Gym Devils. It features 11 teams that finished the 2019 season ranked in the top 25, including six teams that finished in the top 10. In the WCGA Preseason Poll, which has ASU ranked No. 21, there are 11 opponents on the 2020 schedule in the top 25. Four of those top-25 teams will make their way to Desert Financial Arena this season: 2019 National Champion No. 1 Oklahoma, 2019 Pac-12 Champion No. 4 UCLA, No. 9 Cal and No. 17 Washington.
Returners
The Sun Devils return nine gymnasts to the 2020 roster. The team is led by junior Leonard-Baker, who has earned a total of three All-America honors in each of her two seasons in Tempe. She has been a staple in the all-around for Arizona State in the last two years and has hit 105 of her 106 routines she has done in her career. In addition to her All-America honors, she was the 2018 Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year and was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team in both the all-around and uneven bars.
Leonard-Baker has been a top scorer for the Gym Devils in her two years here. At UCLA in 2019, she scored a 9.975 on bars, the highest score by any Sun Devil since 2007. Also in 2019, she shone bright at the Pac-12 Championship, tying for second on bars and taking fourth in the all-around, which was the best finish by an ASU gymnast since 2007.
In back-to-back seasons, Leonard-Baker advanced to the NCAA Championships as an individual, in 2018 in the all-around and in 2019 on bars after winning the title at the Baton Rogue Regional with a 9.925.
Other returners who have made key contributions are Morgan Wilson, Jessica Ginn Morgan Hart and Ashley Szafranski. Jasmine Gutierrez and Graycee Zaugg have also made appearances in lineups during their time here.
Four returners have earned 9.900s or better during their time at ASU. Hart scored a 9.900 on bars last year at the Pac-12 Championships. Szafranski earned three 9.900s in 2018, one on bars at West Virginia and two on beam at Minnesota and NCAA regionals. In 2019, Wilson won a vault title at Penn State with one of her two 9.900s, the other coming at the Perfect 10 Challenge. Leonard-Baker has the most 9.900s or better, earning 12 between bars (9) and floor (3) just last season. Additionally, she had 13 9.900s or better in 2018, one on vault, four on bars and eight on floor. She also won 12 event titles in 2019, seven on bars and five on floor, and seven in 2018, four on bars and three on floor.
More returning Gym Devils will look to make big contributions. Ginn, a senior, has been a key part of the vault and floor lineups in the last few seasons, shining bright on the floor in 2019 and earning a career high 9.875. Sophomore Gutierrez saw time in both the beam and vault lineup in 2019. She made her collegiate debut on beam against Stanford at home, scoring a 9.850 and winning the beam title. She looks to continue to shine on beam. Junior Maya Williams and sophomore Kaitlin Harvey are also returning after missing 2019 due to injuries. They both competed in the Maroon and Gold Scrimmage in two events each, Harvey on vault and beam and Williams on beam and floor.
Newcomers
Arizona State has seven new faces on the team: six freshmen and a transfer sophomore. The Sun Devils will rely on some key underclassmen to show up big for the team in 2020. At the Maroon and Gold Scrimmage in early December, Arizona State debuted 21 new routines from the newcomers. Freshmen Juliette Boyer, Hannah Scharf and Gracie Reeves all competed in the all-around, with Boyer taking second behind Leonard-Baker. The three showcased their potential to compete in the all-around in 2020. Additionally, Isabel Redmond, Alina Miller and Megan Thompson all competed in three events each, displaying their talent and ability to show up big for ASU this season.
Last Season
Jay and Jessica Santos led the Gym Devils to a successful season in 2019, the first since 2014 to have a winning record (11-10) in the regular season. The team was ranked in the top-25 on Road to Nationals all year, finishing at No. 25, and earned four wins over top-25 teams throughout the season. They scored a 196.000 or better six times and had a team RQS (Regional Qualifying Score) of 196.320 at the end of the year, the second season in a row with an RQS over 196.000.
To start off the postseason, the Sun Devils took fifth at the Pac-12 Gymnastics Championships, the best team finish since 2006. At NCAA Regionals, the team finished in seventh, but Cairo Leonard-Baker won the regional bar title with a 9.925, automatically qualifying her for nationals as an individual. At the NCAA Championships, she scored a 9.900, earning Second Team All-America honors in that event.
Up Next
The 2020 campaign will begin on January 4 at the Collegiate Challenge Powered by Under Armour in Anaheim, California. ASU will be in the first session with No. 7 Denver, No. 13 Auburn and No. 25 Penn State.