The Oklahoma Sooners are on top of the mountain in Women's Gymnastics. They took home their national championship last year, their third in four years and their seventh title since 2014. However, defending won't be easy.
OU graduated Honda award winner Jordan Bowers and finalist Audrey Davis, part of an exodus of graduating stars from programs around the country. But talent won't be a problem, as the Sooners are bringing in five new freshmen for the 2026 season — Mackenzie Estep, Kamila Pawlak, Ella Murphy, Blakely Roten, and Nicole Desmond.
The quintet of incoming freshman is ranked as the top recruiting class in D1 Women’s Gymnastics this year, and for good reason.
Mackenzie Estep
Mackenzie Estep is the crown jewel of an absolutely stacked freshman class. She's hailed as the number one recruit of the 2025 class. The reigning Nastia Cup Senior All-Around Champion also won a pair of titles, vault and bars, at the 2025 Development Program Nationals. Her vault title at Nationals came from a perfect 10.0, which improved upon an already impressive 9.950 to win the vault title at the Nastia Cup. Her second place bars finish of a 9.750 at the Nastia Cup improved by two tenths to a 9.950 to take the title at Nationals.
Estep provides solid depth on all four events and will likely slot into the vault and bars lineups this year. Despite an uncharacteristic fall on beam at DP Nationals, Estep is typically extremely consistent, which is a huge help for the grueling pace and weekly competitions of NCAA gymnastics, and she will give OU lots of options.
Kamila Pawlak
Kamila Pawlak is a five-time Nastia Liukin Cup qualifier (2021-2025). She’s been dealing with a nagging wrist injury throughout this season, but had a huge 2024 season and a stellar start to this year. She owns a career best 10.0 on vault and floor and a 9.975 on bars. Pawlak won the all-around and floor titles at Level 10 Development Program Nationals in 2024.
Pawlak is strong on all four events, so expect to see her contend for an all-around spot as soon as this season. OU does have a lot of depth, so between that and her wrist injury, she might not crack the all-around as a freshman, but she'll definitely make her case during her time as a Sooner. To start her freshman season, expect to see Pawlak in the floor lineup and possibly vault and bars depending on her injury timeline.
Blakely Roten
Like Pawlak, Roten had a season-shortening injury this year. Her season ended before regionals, which meant that she was unable to qualify or compete for Level 10 Development Program Nationals. Prior to her injury, she placed second in the All-Around at Texas State Championships and first in the All-Around and Vault in the Rose City Classic Invitational. Roten also sat out of the 2023 season with an injury, but is a three time Level 10 National qualifier despite her two major injuries.
Considering OU’s depth and her injury history, she might be slower to join lineups in college. Expect the 2021 Junior Level 10 Floor National Champ to fight for a spot in the vault lineup this year and the floor exercise in the future.
Ella Murphy
Ella Murphy is currently competing as a level 10 but has previous international elite experience at the DTB Pokal Cup and City of Jesolo Trophy, where she contributed to team golds. She trains at gymnastics powerhouse World Olympics Gymnastics Academy (WOGA), which claims Olympians Hezly Rivera, Nastia Liukin, Carly Patterson, and Madison Kocian. Murphy won the beam title at Nastia Cup this year and also took bronze on the floor exercise, also finishing in the top-10 in the all-around.
Murphy should slot in nicely on beam and uneven bars. She also could be a strong option on floor, but OU is really solid on this event and may elect to slot some more senior members of the team here. As an upperclassman, she might be able to compete in the All-Around, but that's unlikely this year given OU's depth on each event and some inconsistency from Murphy.
Bonus: Nicole Desmond
Nicole Desmond, originally a class of 2026 commit, announced in April that she would be graduating early and coming to OU for the 2026 season. A senior elite gymnast, Nicole Desmond is a huge catch for KJ Kindler and her team.
Desmond has qualified to the US Gymnastics Championships the past two years and is an early contender for lineup spots. She shines on beam and vault with career highs at Level 10 of 9.950 and 9.925 respectively. Her bars scores are consistently lower than her other events, so she likely won't be an all-arounder this year. However, going from Senior Elite level routines to the NCAA level could help her polish her bars work and gain consistency.
This year's incoming freshman class will have an immediate impact on the Sooners' season. With a mix of Level 10 and Elite skill and experience, this class is well-rounded and experienced competing under pressure. Each gymnast will be exciting to watch and should have a chance to shine as a Sooner.