“If I would have ended last year, I would have accomplished everything I wanted to and left with no regrets.” These were the words of Haleigh Bryant to Olympics.com recently. Airs, a statement of completion, of fulfilment. And why not? She almost won everything in 2024. To name a few: she was the 2024 NCAA All-Around Champion, the cornerstone of LSU’s first-ever national championship team, and holds multiple individual titles that place her in rarefied air among collegiate gymnasts.

But somehow, she’s back in the purple and gold of LSU for one final season and is in the NCAA Championships, looking to go back-to-back. But at one point, it looked like she wouldn’t be able to make it through as the LSU star suffered an injury at the start of the season. So here we will explore all about Bryant’s injury, comeback.

When and how did Haleigh Bryant injure herself?

Haleigh Bryant’s career has had many physical setbacks that would break lesser athletes!

Most recently, the LSU star gymnast tweaked her ulnar collateral ligament during the team’s Gymnastics 101 exhibition meet on December 16, 2024, while performing a vault routine and despite pushing through the exhibition meet on floor and beam, her elbow pain intensified overnight, with imaging confirming the UCL strain that sidelined her for the 2025 season opener against Iowa State

What makes this particularly tough? It was actually a recurrence of the same elbow injury she’d first experienced during NCAA regionals back in April 2024.

Bryant has honestly been through the wringer before this, too. The 2023 season was especially brutal when she tore her plantar fascia in one foot, developed plantar fasciitis in the other, and then underwent an emergency appendectomy just before NCAA Nationals!

Diagnosis and Recovery Timeline of LSU’s Gymnast Haleigh Bryant’s Injury

When doctors looked at Bryant’s imaging results, they gave her reprieve as no surgery was needed! Instead, her recovery plan centered on good old-fashioned rest and targeted rehab exercises. January’s season opener against Iowa State? She had to watch from the sidelines.

But Bryant didn’t stay down long! February saw her making a calculated comeback, first testing the waters on balance beam before dropping that stunning 9.90 floor routine against Florida that had the PMAC erupting.

Is Haleigh Bryant a part of the NCAA Championship?

Haleigh Bryant is 100% in for the NCAA Championships, and honestly, we’d expect nothing less. She’s been the rock for LSU all season since her comeback in February, and if you’re wondering how she’s looking heading into nationals. Spoiler alert: she’s peaking at the right time.

Bryant was clutch at the 2025 Penn State Regional. She anchored the bars with a 9.900, nailed a 9.925 on beam, and closed with a 9.900 on vault. Classic Haleigh, that is calm under pressure, delivering exactly when her team needs her.

Her performances helped No. 1 LSU clinch the regional title with a 198.050, just edging out Michigan State. Now, as LSU heads into the NCAA semifinals, chasing back-to-back national titles, you better believe Bryant will be right there, leading the charge like the senior star she is.