Former Florida All-American gymnast Rachel Slocum joined the coaching staff in July 2020 as the new volunteer assistant coach.
Slocum's first season was historic as she helped Arizona State to its most successful season in 15 years in 2021, wrapping up the year ranked No. 9 on Road to Nationals, the best finish since 2006. The team ended the season with an NQS of 197.088 and finished in fourth in the Pac-12 regular season standings as well as in the Pac-12 Championship, making the night session for the first time.
For Slocum's second season, she helped the 2022 squad finish ranked No. 22 after qualifying for NCAA Regionals. The team scored a 196-plus in all but one meet, including three 197s. Arizona State had five conference wins to tie for the 2022 Pac-12 Regular Season Title, the first one in program history. It was also the most conference wins in a single season in 2001. The biggest win came against UCLA as ASU scored a 197.800 to beat the Bruins for the first time since 2001. That score was the seventh-highest score in program history. For the second year in a row, she helped coach Hannah Scharf to another WCGA Second Team All-America honor in the all-around.
Slocum was a four-time All-American for the Gators, competing from 2017-18 and graduating cum laude with a degree in health education and behavior. She is from Holly Springs, North Carolina and trained with Sonshine NC before attending Eastern Michigan, where she competed from 2015-16 under Jay and Jessica Santos, who were coaching the Eagles at the time.
For Florida, Slocum primarily competed on vault and floor, earning All-America second team honors on vault in the both the 2017 and 2018 NCAA Championships. On vault, she also earned NACGC All-America first-team regular-season recognition in 2017 and made the second team in 2018. In both of her seasons at Florida, she was an All-SEC gymnast, and in 2018 she also made the SEC Community Service Team. She won NCAA Regional titles on floor (shared) and vault in 2018, as well as a share of the vault title in 2017.
While at Eastern Michigan in 2015-16, she was named the MAC Specialist of the Year in 2016. During her sophomore campaign, she made the All-MAC team and the All-Tournament Team. That same year, she qualified for the NCAA Championships as an individual on floor after earning the regional title, the second Eagle in program history to do so. She helped Eastern Michigan to win the 2016 MAC title, the second ever for the Eagles. The team also made their first trip to NCAA Regionals ever in 2016.
Slocum found success in the classroom as well as a student-athlete. She made the 2018 SEC Academic Honor Roll, 2017 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll, and was a NACGC Scholastic Academic All-American in 2015 and 2018. At Eastern Michigan, she earned Academic All-MAC and Distinguished Scholar Student-Athlete honors, as well as earning two MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week nods.
Slocum's first season was historic as she helped Arizona State to its most successful season in 15 years in 2021, wrapping up the year ranked No. 9 on Road to Nationals, the best finish since 2006. The team ended the season with an NQS of 197.088 and finished in fourth in the Pac-12 regular season standings as well as in the Pac-12 Championship, making the night session for the first time.
For Slocum's second season, she helped the 2022 squad finish ranked No. 22 after qualifying for NCAA Regionals. The team scored a 196-plus in all but one meet, including three 197s. Arizona State had five conference wins to tie for the 2022 Pac-12 Regular Season Title, the first one in program history. It was also the most conference wins in a single season in 2001. The biggest win came against UCLA as ASU scored a 197.800 to beat the Bruins for the first time since 2001. That score was the seventh-highest score in program history. For the second year in a row, she helped coach Hannah Scharf to another WCGA Second Team All-America honor in the all-around.
Slocum was a four-time All-American for the Gators, competing from 2017-18 and graduating cum laude with a degree in health education and behavior. She is from Holly Springs, North Carolina and trained with Sonshine NC before attending Eastern Michigan, where she competed from 2015-16 under Jay and Jessica Santos, who were coaching the Eagles at the time.
For Florida, Slocum primarily competed on vault and floor, earning All-America second team honors on vault in the both the 2017 and 2018 NCAA Championships. On vault, she also earned NACGC All-America first-team regular-season recognition in 2017 and made the second team in 2018. In both of her seasons at Florida, she was an All-SEC gymnast, and in 2018 she also made the SEC Community Service Team. She won NCAA Regional titles on floor (shared) and vault in 2018, as well as a share of the vault title in 2017.
While at Eastern Michigan in 2015-16, she was named the MAC Specialist of the Year in 2016. During her sophomore campaign, she made the All-MAC team and the All-Tournament Team. That same year, she qualified for the NCAA Championships as an individual on floor after earning the regional title, the second Eagle in program history to do so. She helped Eastern Michigan to win the 2016 MAC title, the second ever for the Eagles. The team also made their first trip to NCAA Regionals ever in 2016.
Slocum found success in the classroom as well as a student-athlete. She made the 2018 SEC Academic Honor Roll, 2017 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll, and was a NACGC Scholastic Academic All-American in 2015 and 2018. At Eastern Michigan, she earned Academic All-MAC and Distinguished Scholar Student-Athlete honors, as well as earning two MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week nods.