This weekend is the NCAA Championship for the 2026 season. Oklahoma qualified in first, followed by Michigan, then Stanford. Though Michigan is the reigning NCAA Champion, Oklahoma has dominated the NCAA all season long. Stanford has similarly been consistent and most recently put up the highest D-score of any team at the MPSF Conference Championships. Though NCAA Championships are unpredictable, there will likely be a fight between these teams to take the 2026 title.

The remaining qualified teams are Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Illinois, Cal, Greenville, Navy, Army, and Springfield.

Joining these teams will be individual qualifiers from the following schools:

1. Air Force: Sam Brown (Pommel Horse); Jack Foltyn (Vault; Parallel Bars); Jared Fry (Air Force, All-Around); Tai Gopaul (Floor; Still Rings alternate; Parallel Bars; High Bar); Ryan Jacobson (Still Rings); Isaac Koo (Floor alternate; Vault; High Bar); Jack Matlock (Pommel Horse); Kenny Rabe (Parallel Bars alternate); Palmer Wright (Parallel Bars)

2. Simpson: Garrett Alexander (Floor; Pommel Horse); Alex Campbell (Still Rings); Noah Doiron (All-Around); Braxton Jones (Floor; Vault); Brian Rollison (Still Rings; High Bar); Oskar Silverman (Still Rings); Jake Smith (Floor; Vault alternate; High Bar); Milo Staley (Vault alternate); Paul Tiedemann (High Bar)

3. William & Mary: Nike Greenly (Floor; Vault; Parallel Bars); Jonathan Irwin (Still Rings); Nicholas Kosarikov (Parallel Bars); Ricky Pizem (Pommel Horse alternate; Vault; High Bar); Evan Sikra (High Bar alternate); Samuel Smith (Pommel Horse alternate); Luke Tully (All-Around); Michael Weiner (Floor); Evan Wilkins (Parallel Bars alternate; High Bar); Gavin Zborowski (Pommel Horse; Still Rings)

After the qualification rounds, the top three teams from each session, as well as the top 3 All-Arounders and top 3 individuals on each event, will advance to Finals.

April 17 at 2:00 pm ET: Qualification Session 1 (California, Greenville, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Springfield College, William & Mary)

In the first Qualification Session, Oklahoma and Nebraska seem like near locks. Though Ohio State has thus far outperformed Cal, it’s possible Cal could come out with an upset and take the third place spot from this session to move onto Finals.

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@AF_Falcons  

Live Scores: https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=ill#calendar 

April 17 at 8:00 pm ET: Qualification Session 2 (Air Force, Army, Illinois, Michigan, Navy, Penn State, Simpson, Stanford)

The second Qualification Session could be a bit more dramatic. Though Stanford and Michigan are more than likely locked to move forward, there will be close competition between Illinois and Penn State. These teams have gone back and forth with one another all season, even tying team scores at one point. Illinois will surely be looking to qualify to finals at home, but they will have to fight for it.

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/@AF_Falcons  

Live Scores: https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=ill#calendar 

April 18 at 7:00 pm ET: Finals

Finals will take place on April 18th. In addition to the Team title, athletes will be competing for event and All-Around titles.

Though the All-Around title is one of the pinnacles in NCAA Gymnastics, it’s hard to predict it at this stage. Athletes do not need to compete in the All-Around during regular season to compete in it at Championships, meaning that potential top contenders may not be ranked going into the competition. The two most likely All-Around contenders, assuming they both compete in the All-Around, are Asher Hong (Stanford) and Frederick Richard (Michigan).

Similarly, it’s hard to predict event winners. Based on performance so far and assuming these athletes make it to finals, some potential contenders to look out for are:

1. Floor: Charlie Larson (Michigan) and Jun Iwai (Stanford)

2. Pommel Horse: Parker Thackston (OSU), Aaronson Mansberger (Michigan), and Brandon Dang (Illinois)

3. Rings: Asher Cohen (Nebraska), Matthew Underhill (Penn State), and Asher Hong (Stanford)

4. Vault: Charlie Larson (Michigan), Garrett Schooley (Illinois), Luke James (Nebraska), and Jasper Smith-Gordon (Cal), Asher Hong (Stanford)

5. Parallel Bars: Nathan Roman (Oklahoma), David Shamah (Stanford), and Frederick Richard (Michigan)

6. High Bar: Carson Eshleman (Michigan), Nick Kuebler (Stanford), Cooper Kim (Stanford), Kelton Christiansen (Oklahoma), and Frederick Richard (Michigan) 

Watch: Airing on ESPN2

Live Scores: https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=ill#calendar 

Article by: Matt Woodward