LSU Gymnastics had an absolutely historic 2024 season as they won their first-ever NCAA title after long years of waiting. The victory would be remembered for ages to come in the program. But, when a team is coming off of such an incredible year, there may be some signs of complacency in them as many struggle to move on from such a deep achievement. The team might be going through this right now. LSU held its Gym 101 session on December 16th as the roster showcased their abilities to the spectators.

While there were some positive signs with most of the gymnasts looking healthy, coach Jay Clark wasn’t pleased with the performances of the veterans, claiming that the freshmen were better than veterans, as he said the same in a YouTube video posted by the ‘LSU Sports’. “I saw some experienced people look timid tonight, and that’s concerning as a coach,” Clark said following the meet. “I don’t want that to happen; some of the freshmen seemed to have more poise than some of our experienced people; we’ve got to get that ironed out.” Thus, this may be a concern that the coach will have to address. However, it seems that he might have an even bigger challenge in reintegrating KJ Johnson into the squad.

LSU’s KJ Johnson problem

LSU gymnast KJ Johnson was not present at the LSU off-season opener event despite the presence of her teammates. Many raised questions about this, considering her importance to the side. KJ competed on the vault in every single meet and brought a season-high point of 9.925 at the NCAA regional finals.

This made her definitely one of the biggest factors that led the team to win last season. But the gymnast, who is now in her senior year, was nowhere to be seen. In the presser, journalists asked Jay Clark about her. The answer wasn’t really a very optimistic one for the fans, as the coach said, “KJ’s an internal matter. I don’t have much to say on that.”

This made the fans start speculating on the situation that was going on. In the official Reddit community of gymnastics, a fan asked a question, “Does anyone know why KJ Johnson wasn’t introduced to the team at their preview meet? I checked social media and Google before I came here, and it looks like she posted pictures of Team Leos on Instagram back in November. She’s one of my favorites.”

This made a lot of people start digging into the rabbit hole of what had happened, while others also started to find reasons why the whole team looked so underwhelming during the event right after a championship season.

LSU fans seem worried about the KJ Johnson fiasco

The main sentiment that the LSU fans showed on Reddit was that of concern. Most were aloof about the situation that was taking place and why a gymnast so important to the team is currently out of the equation as she enters her senior year. One fan noted how KJ Johnson wasn’t even mentioned in the poster of the event. “Even injured, Zoe is listed here, as well as Leah and Bryce, even though they weren’t showing any routines. The absence of KJ makes it feel more like an academic/participation-related issue than an injury. LSU has not responded to any tweets asking, As far as I can tell.”

It seemed quite surprising to not find KJ Johnson included in the names of the gymnasts in the poster for the event. Zoe Miller, who is out with a shoulder injury and was not participating either, had her name on the list. But the academic issue is possibly the case here, as Jay Clark’s internal matter could possibly mean something related to the college. Despite college athletes being so important to the institutions, they still have to maintain certain benchmarks to keep representing the team. This includes having a GPA above 2.00 by the beginning of each fall term.

They must also be enrolled in 12 undergraduate credits. Thus, this could be the case that KJ Johnson must be going through. Another fan echoing the same sentiment said, “KJ was in the arena, but she was not introduced. According to a big LSU Stan on Twitter, Jay mentioned in the post-meet conference that it was due to ‘an internal matter and that was all he was willing to share on the situation.”

Jay Clark’s stern reply to the journalist is also making some fans speculate that the matter might be quite serious. Other fans also talked about the plight of other gymnasts during the meet. “As a fan outside of the US, I have so many questions about this meet. Where was KJ? And Jeffrey? What apparently happened to Annie Beard and what is the general chatter going round about her that I’m seeing? Why specifically only Sierra doing a three-pass routine? What is going on with Lexi Z and her vault?” Along with KJ Johnson, senior Alexis Jeffrey was also missing from the event.

However, unlike the former, Jay Clark didn’t speak about the reason for her unavailability, leaving fans aloof. On the other hand, the event ended on a sad note for Annie Beard as she fell on the beam routine and stopped looking absolutely broken. It was a sad sight to see as a fan. On the other hand, Sierra Ballard had a decent night as she was the only one to complete a three-pass routine because of her E-pass eligibility, giving her access to the most difficult routines.

However, Lexi Zeiss looked somewhat underwhelming during the event. She didn’t look as good as many expected her to be in the vault, leaving fans disappointed. One fan said, “I was really shocked with her form on bars and beam given how her vault looked. She has an uncanny ability to stick that 1 1/2, but she’s maxing out at a 9.85 with how messy it is. Even in the SEC…” Her performances might have disappointed Jay Clark too, as his jibe about veterans not performing well might have been aimed at her. Thus, she’ll have to buckle up.

Lastly, a fan asked for an update on Zoe Miller. “I’m guessing Zoe Miller is still injured also? was sad not to see her.” Miller’s shoulder injury would unfortunately keep her out of this season. This means that the LSU squad looks thinner than what was expected before. Hopefully, they can get their affairs together, as fans will be hoping to see them defend their first-ever NCAA title with all their might.