Who doesn’t dream of riding into the sunset with their head held high? For athletes, the allure of taking the exit from the stage amidst thunderous applause is even more so. Probably that was the exact thought that was on Haleigh Bryant‘s mind when she decided to return to college for her fifth and final year. In 2024, Bryant was the driving force behind LSU’s historic first-ever NCAA Gymnastics Championships win. And she had a lot of reasons for wanting to defend the title too.

In a post on X by the official LSU Gymnastics handle from January 17, the Tigers senior shared her thoughts on her return to Baton Rouge. While her start to the NCAA season has been wobbly, Haleigh Bryant said her colleagues never failed to support her during the comeback journey. “I’m just so honored to be back out here with my team, they really helped me through kind of this little dip I had in the preseason, and they were just by my side every step of the way,” she said with a beaming smile. With that, Haleigh also noted her determination to get back to her peak form. “They are the best, and I want to do it for them and everybody in this room,” she said with a smile as she looked around the gymnasium.

She went on to reveal that reveling in the fans’ admiration was also a major factor behind her desperation to return to action. “I love this program, I love the fanbase, I love every single thing that they bring into this arena. So just hearing them at the end, and my teammates screaming for me was just literally everything I could have asked for and more,” she said, while looking elated at how LSU defeated the Florida Gators at the Maravich Center on Friday. “ I love them so much, and I love Louisiana, and I’m excited to do gymnastics for one more year,” Haleigh Bryant added, reflecting on how the crowd went berserk when she was on the floor.

Bryant sounded confident after the team’s latest victory and noted that it wasn’t anything special. “I think just doing what we do every single day in the gym. Because like we said, we competed against a very good SEC team, and we knew that coming in,” she said before mentioning that the next meet with Arkansas is at the top of the priority list for all the athletes on the Tigers roster. The Tigers posted an incredible 197.550 to defeat the visitors by a narrow margin of .100. However, it was Bryant’s sensational performance on two rotations that hogged all the limelight.

The LSU senior tied for the individual title on the beam, with a massive 9.950 score, while she posted 9.900 in the floor exercise. With that, Haleigh made it clear that she was well on her way to bounce back from her previous fumbles that had the fans concerned about her state of mind. Apart from being the first meet of 2025 where she competed in two events, this meet might have been special for Haleigh for another reason as well.

Haleigh Bryant fought the ghost of her past and won

There is practically no feat that Haleigh Bryant hasn’t achieved in her illustrious NCAA career. The 2024 NCAA AA champion, the 2024 NCAA All-American in all five events, the 2024 SEC Gymnast of the Year, the 2024 AAI Award winner, a 6x 2024 SEC Gymnast of the Week: and all of these were just in her fourth year. On top of that, she also is a proud member of the coveted gym slam club, which she blitzed into last year. Without much delving into it, it’s not hard to grasp that Bryant is truly someone who will go down in history as one of the greatest collegiate gymnasts of all time. And speaking of history, Haleigh Bryant has an interesting one involving Florida Gators.

In her first year as a Tigers gymnast, it was at the Maravich Center where Haleigh Bryant’s fumble on the floor cost LSU the meet, as Florida ran away with the victory. This time, her accumulated experience since that time came into play. “I went out and trusted my training. I didn’t want to rush my routine. I wasn’t trying to be perfect. That’s what I thought about,” she said about the thought process she had before taking to the mat. But even if she had any skeptical thoughts, her coach knew it was only a matter of time before his star student got back her mojo.

After last Saturday’s Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad meet, many fans expressed their concern if Bryant was in any state to help the team defend LSU’s national title after she posted a poor 9.750 on the beam. But Coach Clark brushed away the speculations. “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,” the veteran coach said in a presser on Wednesday. That’s what you call backing your athletes till the end of the road! And he didn’t just back her with his words. Clark showed confidence in Haleigh by bringing her on for Chase Brock on the floor, and that ended up making the difference! Now, as the next meet with Arkansas inches closer, what do you expect to see from the incredible Haleigh Bryant on Friday? Tell us below!