The 2025 men’s college gymnastics season will get the ball rolling by the end of this week. Naturally, fans will keep their eyes peeled to spot the stars who could take the baton from the likes of Brody Malone and Paul Juda. Among the gymnasts, the spotlight will undoubtedly be on Oklahoma’s Fuzzy Benas, along with many others. The Sooners redshirt sophomore has emerged as one of the most inspiring figures in the collegiate scene and is also a CGA National Gymnast of the Year honoree. And while potholes have been aplenty on his road, Benas has managed to persevere and is now waiting to make his triumphant comeback.

Benas’ journey, marked by resilience and determination, has captivated the gymnastics world. His athletic prowess and unwavering mental strength have been admired highly by critics and fans alike. However, a lingering issue put most of Fuzzy’s 2023 season on hold. In 2024, he finally made his comeback at the Swiss Cup. And now, the OU gymnast is once again poised to make his mark at the NCAA circuit.

Fuzzy Benas’ arduous trek back to the top

Born to collegiate gymnasts, Benas soon proved to be a natural athlete and proved his worth at the high school level. OU was the program he always had on his mind, and he was recruited in the Fall of 2021. In his freshman year at Oklahoma, Fuzzy was bestowed with the College Gymnastics Association’s Rookie of the Year in 2022. However, in 2022, he decided to finally address a recurring issue that needed surgery. But while en route to recovery, the gymnast was met with back-to-back injuries that further hindered his comeback to the mat.

While carving a pumpkin, Benas accidentally severed a nerve in his hand, requiring a four-hour surgical repair. The magnitude of the surgery was so significant that doctors feared that he would never regain full sense in his hand. Undeterred, Benas followed a strict rehabilitation program and was eventually cleared to resume his training. And yet, he wasn’t out of the woods just then.

During a floor training session, Benas suffered an Achilles tendon tear, which once again formed dark clouds on the horizon. Unlike typical Achilles ruptures, Benas tore the tendon off his calf muscle, which made Fuzzy’s fans once again fear having to miss out on seeing high-flying skills. “The Achilles thing definitely scared me the most because my dad had an Achilles tear when he was a gymnast. I was also scared because I was told I was only the third gymnast ever to have this full soleus tear,” he said about his condition.

A surgical solution to the problem was deemed to be impossible, because of the fact that stitches cannot be placed through muscle tissue. Instead, Benas underwent a non-surgical rehabilitation process under the care of one of the top Achilles and ankle specialists in the country. Benas wasn’t allowed to walk until May 2023 and was only allowed to jog in July that year. The patience paid off, and in 2024 Fuzzy finally got back to his natural habitat.

A triumphant comeback

“I’d be lying if I said this being the end of my career never crossed my mind. But I really felt like I owed it to my team, and myself, to at least try and come back,” Benas said about how was determined to be back on track. He also took to social media to explain how he missed doing gymnastics. On January 20, 2024, Benas showed he was back in form at the Rocky Mountain Open. In the tournament, Fuzzy posted a new career-high in the all-around with his 85.200 and won three individual event titles.

He went to represent the Stars and Stripes at the 2024 Winter Cup in February after competing at DTB Pokal in Stuttgart. At the 2024 NCAA tournament, He bagged a bronze in the All-Around, making it crystal clear that he was firmly back at the top of things and that his bad days were behind him. Later that year, Fuzzy joined hands with Leanne Wong to represent the USA at the prestigious Swiss Cup.

Now, as the new collegiate season waits to commence, it remains to be seen if Fuzzy Benas can continue his momentum and help OU win its first national title.