Haleigh Bryant has proved her mettle as one of the most decorated gymnasts in LSU history. Through the four seasons she has been with Livvy Dunne’s team, she has only improved with time. The 23-year-old has a long list of accomplishments to her name. Noteworthy among them are 27-All American nods and 18 perfect 10s- record-breaking numbers in LSU history. However, in December Bryant incurred a serious injury that led to her absence from the maiden NCAA women’s gymnastics competition of this season held between LSU and Iowa State on January 3rd, 2025. However, the gymnastics star dropped an exciting hint on LSU’s Instagram page, suggesting her return.

In a fun interaction posted on the Instagram story of LSU Gymnastics, Lexi Zeiss asks Haleigh Bryant, “Haleigh what’s your favorite leotard?”, to this question, the 23-year-old gymnast replies, “The one we are wearing this weekend”. Bryant’s reply has us all super pumped. Could this mean she is returning to NCAA women’s gymnastics this weekend? One cannot rule this possibility out, especially after coach Jay Clark’s interaction with the press on January 6th.

A UCL injury is bad news, especially for athletes. This injury comprises throwing motions, thus considerably reducing an athlete’s ability to play their sport. However, Haleigh may be all set to join her team this weekend. During a press meeting on Monday, coach Jay Clark shared an exhilarating update, “We’ve made some significant progress, depending on how this week goes and yesterday went well, she will be available at least on balance beam. I don’t know that it’ll go any further than that this week”. Coach Clark’s update and Haleigh’s hint on Instagram have raised our hopes. Maybe we should buckle up to see the gymnast on the mat soon again.

Although Bryant might make her return solely on the balance beam this weekend, we are sure to watch this star in her full glory not before long. Haleigh Bryant has delivered one great season after another as a part of LSU gymnastics. She embodies discipline and hard work. She will surely come back stronger than ever. After all, what is the 23-year-old not capable of?

Haleigh Bryant’s recipe for glory

A lot goes into delivering Haleigh’s stellar performances. On her appearance at the ‘On Her Mark’ podcast in April 2024, Haleigh talked about the LSU Tigers’ historic NCAA Gymnastics Championship win. While there is no doubt that Haleigh led her team into the mindblowing victory, the 23-year-old senior shared important insights into all that went into securing the winning position.

Talking about the team’s approach to the championship, Haleigh stated, “I think our approach was really just being our normal”. To be their normal was always the goal set for them by coach Jay Clark. Haleigh expressed her gratitude towards LSU and shared how grateful she was for the opportunity to play for LSU and represent her school in championships, “everybody wants to come to LSU and only 22-23 girls get the opportunity to compete for this school”. However, none of the LSU Tigers’ achievements could have been possible without the enviable bond the team shares with each other.

Team chemistry is crucial to win a championship. In the same podcast, Haleigh talked about spending time outside of the gym to get to know her teammates better. The gymnast believes such conversations are what brought the LSU Tigers close to one another and secured the bond necessary to win the championship. The idea was to connect at a deeper level, “We knew what people were going through outside of gymnastics. I feel like we could really connect with people.” After all, teamwork makes the dream work!

Sharing her winning mantra, the LSU Tigers’ leading gymnast attributed her phenomenal success to her consistency. “My days look exactly the same, like every single day”. After all, consistency and hard work are the only possible explanations for such mind-blowing success at the age of 23 years. Haleigh has dreams bigger than just winning one championship after another- she seeks to inspire and encourage young girls to unabashedly be themselves.