If 2024 was a year to remember, 2025 could be of no less importance for the LSU Tigers gymnastics. Last season, Olivia Dunne and her squadron lifted the NCAA D1 trophy for the first time in program history, and this time, they’re determined to retain the same. And the Tigers did start their season with a bang, defeating Iowa State 197.300-194.100. However, the absence of the 2024 NCAA All-Around Champion, Haleigh Bryant, at the season opener raised many concerns among fans.

While Bryant did come back in the second week for the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad meet, she could only participate in beams, and even there she was seen struggling to find her groove. However, despite the anxiety surrounding LSU’s top performer’s form, coach Jay Clark refuses to overthink the situation.

Haleigh Bryant has her coach’s full confidence

The official LSU account shared Clark’s comments from the last press conference on Tuesday. In the YouTube upload from January 14, the veteran coach revealed his feelings about Haleigh’s performance at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad last Saturday. When a journalist asked the head coach if he felt unnerved by Bryant’s underwhelming 9.750 score on the beam at the Quad Meet on January 11, Clarck responded, “First meet you know, it was the first meet.” However, he also noted that it was an anxious moment for the entire squad. “I think the whole team, for about five minutes, got a little tight over there,” he said with a hint of a smile.

Further noting how Bryant didn’t fall on the beam despite missing a few connections, Clark elaborated on why he didn’t act out. “I mean it’s ridiculous. I’m not going to kneejerk react to somebody having a minor error, especially one that somebody who’s proven to us over and over again that she can be counted on,” he made it clear that Haleigh Bryant’s prowess as a gymnast should be beyond any doubt by now. With that, he also had some good news to share with LSU’s fans.

As the team waits to lock horns with the Florida Gators next Friday, Clark teased that the Tigers senior may be seen taking on more responsibilities at the next meet. “Got Haleigh back out there on one event and likely, likely, are adding a second this week,” he said. Uplifting news, right? But while fans wait to see Bryant get her mojo back, they can be sure that she’s also itching to go out there and make her final NCAA year worth it.

LSU banks heavily on its champion athlete

Last season, Bryant was a driving force behind LSU’s national triumph. Along with helping her team to go on to make history, she bagged a number of individual accolades as well, including the 2024 Honda Sport Award Winner and the 2024 NCAA All-Around Champion. She also achieved the coveted gym slam in March: where a gymnast scores a Perfect 10 in all of the individual events at least once. Now, sitting atop 18 Perfect 10s and numerous All-American honors, Bryant is indeed a force to be reckoned with, and her opponents can only feel gleeful after seeing her unsteady start to the current season.

And yet, Olympic medalist gymnast Bridget Sloan is confident that Bryant will go down as one of the greatest NCAA gymnasts of all time. “She brings this athletic ability that is just so rare,” she was heard saying on a social media post by the SEC Network earlier this month. On the other hand, Coach Clark is also a staunch believer that athletes can perform well when the team comes together to help them through tough physical and mental patches. Last year, the coach shared his “holistic” method of training, underscoring that the mental wellness of the girls is more important than the scores they post on the board.

With such vehement support on her back, how soon do you think Haleigh Bryant will be back to full health and dominating the NCAA scene again? Share your predictions with us below!