“Sour Taste in My Mouth”: Gymnastics World Divided Over Selena Harris’ NCAA Transfer to Florida After Unclear ‘Dismissal’ Controversy

Selena Harris seems to have struck out on her latest venture despite ending her run with UCLA on a sour note. When the 2024 Pac-12 Gymnast of The Year’s name showed up on the transfer portal after the Bruins’ exit from the NCAA Championships, many fans speculated what could have resulted in this. However, hours ago, Harris announced that she’ll pursue the two remaining years of her collegiate career with the Florida Gators. And, well, the gymnastics community has mixed reactions to the prospects it bodes.

On May 14, Harris was officially dismissed from the UCLA team without much explanation. The No.1 recruit secured a perfect score four times in the 2024 season, and in 2023, alongside Olympian Jordan Chiles, she helped guide UCLA to the nationals for the first time since 2019. In light of all this, the college’s move to dismiss her raised quite a few eyebrows. Naturally, the gymnastics community was quick to nosedive into speculative dialogues, especially when all Harris said before joining the transfer total was, “Just wanna thank Bruin Nation fans for being the best supporters!”

Now that Selena Harris has committed to the Florida Gators, more fuel has been added to the fire. The gymnast took to Instagram to make the announcement. Posting a picture of herself in Florida colors, she wrote, “what do they say again?… it’s a GREAT DAY TO BE A GATORRRR 🐊” A Reddit user shared Harris’ post about joining the SEC powerhouse on the Gymnastics subreddit, writing, “Selena Harris to FLORIDA!” With another action-packed NCAA season fast approaching, Selena will need to settle into her role quickly, and everyone’s anxious to see how things pan out.

As someone who was the No.1 recruit in the Class of 2023, who also received the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2023, there’s no doubt that Selena Harris will fit right in with the likes of Sloane Blakely, Alyssa Arana, and two-time world champion Leanne Wong. After the season she had in 2024 – with her 4 perfect scores – she was also named the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year, apart from winning the Pac-12 all-around title at the conference championships in March. All this added to the confusion: Why would UCLA let go of such a gem?

But all said and done, they did. And when the GymCastics podcast tweeted, “Selena Harris is in the transfer portal” on May 15, the top all-rounder replied with a cryptic message: “shhhhh 🤫” she wrote. As the gymnastics community united to decipher what exactly the 20-year-old meant. Well, now we know that this likely meant she was already in talks with the Florida Gators, and it was only a matter of time before she could tell us.

Even though a promising season awaits Selena Harris in the SEC, many in the community still couldn’t wrap their heads around why UCLA would dismiss her. However, others breathed a sigh of relief now that the Gators are set to feature yet another sensational gymnast on their team.

Selena Harris’ fans are “not sure if she will like” Florida

UCLA staying mum about the whole fiasco didn’t sit well with many gymnastics connoisseurs around the country. So much so that even Bruins fans were looking forward to Harris finding her way through the muck. Referring to that collective perception, one fan commented, “The whole dismissal thing leaves a sour taste in my mouth. But as others have said, she’s young, and we don’t actually know what went down.”

Another fan was confident that the Gators’ lineup for the upcoming season will be something that their opponents will need to be wary of. “The Selena – Kayla – Leanne end of the lineup is going to be feral.” They highlighted rubbing shoulders with the Olympic gold medalist Leanne Wong could be a life-changing experience for the 12 All-American title holder Selena.

And yet, some fans just couldn’t seem to come to terms with Harris’ departure from UCLA and wanted all the details. “My nosey self really wants the tea on what went down in Westwood,” they wrote, evidently more concerned with uncovering the mystery rather than feeling excited about what the future holds for the newest Gators member.

Some fans had reservations about how Harris might adjust to the new environment and program, which is already brimming with talent. Considering that Wong, Anya Pilgrim, and Sloane Blakely are regular highlights, one fan felt Selena may be looking at a challenging time ahead in terms of adjusting to her new team.

“The team vibes seem nice (I know, face value), and if the rumors about her behavior are true, I would be very wary. She also won’t necessarily always be the best athlete on the team there (Kayla, Anya, Leanne are all incredible), and I’m not sure she will like that,” one user commented. However, another fan believed the Gators coaches are fully capable of lending their wisdom to make sure Selena doesn’t feel out of place. And also that her talent would be maximized in the team despite the presence of some very popular names.

“I fully believe that the Gators’ coaches wouldn’t have taken her without fully understanding the situation and believing they are a good fit,” they wrote, noting that the environment in Florida will help Selena ease into her new home in no time. That said, what do you think? Did Selena Harris make the right decision by choosing the Gators?