TEMPE – Sun Devil Gymnastics will host the season opener this Sunday, Jan. 11, at 2 p.m. MST, bringing in San Jose State and UC Davis for a tri-meet to kick off the 50th season of the program.
How to follow / Fan information
The meet will be live on ESPN+, with live scoring available on Virtius as well. Updates will be provided on social media @SunDevilGym on X and @sundevilgymnastics on Instagram.
The meet theme is Winter Wonderland, and fans will receive a free pair of fuzzy Sparky socks. For more fan information, check out the 2026 Fan Guide.
Sun Devil outlook
Arizona State (0-0)
- The Gym Devils are set to compete in their second season in the Big 12. There are 10 teams on this year’s schedule that qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Arizona State is scheduled for seven away meets, including the Big 12 Championship, and will host five regular-season meets in Tempe. Additionally, Arizona State will host one of the sites for NCAA Regionals and Regional Finals.
- This is the 50th season of Sun Devil Gymanstics. All season, the program will be celebrating its history, including an alumni meet against BYU on Jan. 23.
- Arizona State has two gymnasts on the 2026 Big 12 Preseason Team. Senior Kimberly Smith earned a spot on the all-around and floor, and transfer junior Reese Grolla is on the bars and beam teams.
- The Gym Devils have 10 returning gymnasts and half of the routines competed at regionals last season. Top contributors from the 2025 season are seniors Smith, Kayla Lee, and Caroline Lichtman, juniors Halle Gregoire and Lilia Purler, and sophomores Tiara Platkin and Halle Braafflat.
- After graduating three fifth-year seniors last season and a pair of seniors, Arizona State welcomed eight new Gym Devils into the mix. There is one transfer (Reese Grolla) and seven freshmen.
- Senior Kimberly Smith had a breakout season in 2025, competing in the all-around for the first time in her career. She was in the all-around in all but one meet last year, earning All-Big 12 honors in the all-around. She scored a 39.000 or better in all but two meets, with her best being a 39.350 against West Virginia. Last year, she had three scores of 9.900 or better.
- Last year in their first season competing in the Big 12, the Sun Devils finished with a 10-10 overall record. Arizona State has not had a losing season since 2017. The Sun Devils have earned NCAA Regional berths in each of the last eight seasons, including the 2020 season, which would have seen the team qualify had the postseason been held. Arizona State finalized its season at No. 27 on Road to Nationals rankings and closed the regular season with a 196.310 National Qualifying Score (NQS), the eighth season in a row with an NQS over 196.000. The Sun Devils finished in fifth with a 195.975 score in their first Big 12 Championships.
Opponent outlook
San Jose State (0-0)
- In 2025, the Spartans did not qualify for NCAA Regionals. They placed third at the Mountain West Championship and finished at No. 49 on Road to Nationals.
- ASU leads the all-time series with SJSU 12-3. The teams saw each other twice in 2025, both in quad meets. ASU finished higher than San Jose State both times.
UC Davis (0-0)
- Last season, the Aggies were No. 35 in the Road to Nationals final rankings. They qualified for the first round of NCAA Regionals in Seattle, falling in the play-in round to Illinois.
- In the all-time series, the Sun Devils lead 7-1. The last meeting was at a tri-meet in 2023, which Arizona State won over UC Davis and Eastern Michigan.
Social media
For exclusive content, the latest updates, and more information on the Sun Devil Gymnastics, follow @sundevilgymnastics on Instagram, @SunDevilGym on X, Sun Devil Gymnastics on Facebook, and visit sundevils.com.