Who's Next | USA Gymnastics

As we say goodbye to 2016, we say hello to a new Olympic quadrennium. As the continuous dominating force in women's gymnastics, USA Gymnastics will look towards a new crop of talent and a few returning faces to kick off the new quad on a strong note. While none of the 2016 Olympians have completely ruled out Tokyo 2020, it's always a good idea to have a promising new batch to work with. This quad will be Valeri Liukin's very first as the National Team coordinator and luckily he already has plenty of promising athletes to pick from. So who will be next for USA Gymnastics? Here's a list of 10 gymnasts you could be seeing a lot from on the trail to Tokyo.

Ragan Smith- Texas Dreams
Ragan was a fan favorite throughout the last quad and could very well be a favorite again this time around. As a first year senior in 2016, Ragan took home three silvers from the Jesolo Trophy meet (all-around, beam and floor). A few weeks later at the Pacific Rim, she helped Team USA win the gold medal and also won the balance beam title, just ahead of Aly Raisman. After a second place finish on beam at the Olympic Trials, Ragan found herself as an alternate to the 2016 Olympic Team. In early October, Ragan had a bone spur removed from her ankle but recovered in time to attend the final National Team camp of 2016. Leading up to next season Ragan will be working on "technically correcting" her vault and adding a new transition on bars while also connecting more of her existing skills. On beam she plans on adding a few jumps while gaining more consistency with her arabian double front dismount. On floor she'd like to add a tucked punch front out of her triple twist and change her tucked arabian double front to a piked position. (International Gymnast) With her difficulty and experience combined, Ragan could be the USA's strongest bet for a medal at the World Championships in 2017. And in 2020? She'll only be 20 years old, so hopefully she'll stick around!




Christina Desiderio- Parkettes
Christina was arguably one of the most underrated gymnasts of the last quad. While she doesn't have any international experience, she shows a lot of potential, primarily on beam and floor. In her first year as a senior in 2016, Christina placed 3rd on floor at the Secret Classic, tied for 6th on floor at P&G's and qualified to the Olympic Trials where she finished 6th on beam. Christina is a very clean and powerful gymnast who has a knack for sticking landings. (Seriously, check out that double layout!) She has been seen training an array of skills that we could potentially see next season such as a triple wolf turn on beam and a Biles (double layout half out) on floor. Christina is also training a beautiful combination on beam: switch leap-punch front-yang bo (jump where the body is in the same position as a ring leap.) With a lot of the big names sitting the year out, 2017 could be Christina's time to shine before heading off to LSU! (Although she hasn't ruled out 2020 either!)




Riley McCusker- MG Elite
It looks like Maggie Haney has another star in her hands. MG Elite's Riley McCusker stood out this year and in a big way. At the P&G Championships she looked like a veteran, taking home 4 silver medals (on bars, beam, floor and in the all-around) and was named to the National Team. At her first National Team camp, she placed 1st all-around, which is not too bad for a first year elite! Riley shows a tremendous amount of potential as an all-around gymnast and is a beauty to watch. Her grace and finesse make her stand out amongst her competitors. She's the kind of kid who makes everything look easy...which is a great quality to have. Riley has a very good foundation to build upon within the next four years and with a little more experience could be a strong asset to team USA. For next season, which will be her first year as a senior, Riley is hoping to debut a yurchenko double on vault and add a few connections on bars (according to an interview she did with us in July). Riley also shared a video on Instagram of her doing a triple wolf turn into a double wolf turn on beam. It. Is. Stunning. Add her name to the list of gymnasts who are actually allowed to compete wolf turns!




Emma Malabuyo- Texas Dreams
Don't let her small stature fool you, Emma Malabuyo is strong, clean and has all the makings to become a star! Since her first year of elite in 2015, Emma has improved considerably in terms of start value and consistency. Her improvements got her named to the National team at the beginning of the year and she was selected for two international assignments. At the Gymnix International she took home three gold medals (team, beam, & floor) as well as a bronze in the all-around. A few weeks later at the Jesolo Trophy she finished 1st on beam as well as 2nd in the all-around, on bars and floor. At this Secret Classic she placed 2nd all-around, 3rd on beam, 4th on vault and 5th on floor. An injury kept Emma from finishing the first day of competition at P&G's (and she withdrew on day 2) but it's fair to say she made a good impression on the national team staff with her performances at Gymnix, Jesolo and the Secret Classic. Emma won't become a senior until 2018, which means she has one more year to gain experience at the junior level. With many of the top juniors moving into the senior ranks in 2017, that Junior National title might have Emma's name written all over it.




Trinity Thomas- Prestige 
Trinity posses many of the same qualities as Simone Biles. In fact, she really reminds me of a 2011-2012 Simone with that huge double layout. Trinity has lots of power, she just needs to learn how to control it. The potential is definitely there for this young lady though. Like Emma, Trinity was added to the National Team earlier this year and was selected to compete in Jesolo. As her first international competition Trinity did very well, winning the gold on floor and placing 5th all-around. She had a rough performance at the Secret Classic this past summer, but turned out a 6th place finish on beam and in the all-around at the P&G Championships (as well as placing 7th on floor). Trinity will join the senior ranks next season and will be one to watch. With a little more time, she could become a very valuable member to the US team.



Jordan Chiles- Naydenov
Jordan has been around for quite some time now and while she hasn't proven herself to be the most consistent competitor, she definilty has the potential to be one of the best all-around gymnasts in the world if she gets it together. Jordan has the skills, she just needs that consistency. Some of Jordan's career highlights including winning the all-around title at the Secret Classic in 2014 and finished 4th all-around at the P&G Championships. In 2015, she became the junior National Champion on vault and finished 4th all-around once more. Earlier this year at the Jesolo Trophy, Jordan won the all-around and vault title. At the Secret Classic it was no surprise that Jordan took 1st on vault with her powerful amanar (she is the only US junior to compete this vault) and once again she finished 4th all-around. An injury kept Jordan from competing at the P&G Championships, however, she is one of the more experienced juniors that will be entering the senior ranks in 2017 and it could be a very good year for her if the stars align.




Mailie O'Keefe- Salcianu Elite
Mailie O'Keefe wasn't on a lot of peoples radars until very recently. Like Jordan, Mailie has been a junior elite since 2013, but apparently she was saving her best for 2016. Mailie not only competes with a lot of difficulty, but she is clean and shows great flexibility throughout. This year at P&G's she became the junior National Champion on beam, floor and the all-around, in addition to placing 3rd on vault and 6th on bars. Mailie has no weak event, which is a huge plus, although she really stands out on beam where she has the potential to compete a routine with a start value in the 17's. (Mailie's latest combination is a very unique aerial-loso-loso-tucked full) One place where Mailie lacks is in experience, however she should enter 2017 (her final year as a junior) with a lot more confidence!




Morgan Hurd- First State 
For a junior gymnast, Morgan Hurd has some of the most difficult skills you'll see. For example her bar dismount, a tucked double double, is not something you see often in competition. She also dismounts beam with a tucked full in. That's pretty big stuff for a little girl like Morgan! Earlier this year at the American Classic, Morgan took the all-around title. A few weeks later at the Secret Classic she finished 1st on floor, 2nd on bars and 5th in the all-around. Morgan is stunning to watch thanks to her great flexibility, extension and toe point.




Irina Alexeeva- WOGA
Had she been able to compete at the P&G Championships this year, there's a great possibility Irina Alexeeva would have won. A few weeks prior, Irina placed 3rd all-around at the American Classic and won the all-around and beam title at the Secret Classic. (She also placed 2nd on floor and 4th on bars) Because she is not yet a US citizen, Irina couldn't compete at the P&G Championships, which was a huge shame coming off such a great performance at the Classic, however Irina is working on achieving her citizenship. The US would love to have her as she is a world class gymnast on bars and beam. (Her start value is currently a 16.3 and 16.4 respectively.) Irina has competed in a few international competitions that have an "Open" division, meaning a gymnast can compete representing their gym instead of their country. At the Gymnix International earlier in the year, Irina placed 1st on bars. At the Elite Gym Massilia she finished 1st all-around, 1st on bars and 3rd on beam.



Sloane Blakley- WOGA
2016 was Sloane's first year as an elite and she impressed a lot of people. She doesn't have the most difficulty yet, but she is very powerful, clean, and has great flexibility. Her arabian double front on floor and double tuck beam dismount will make your jaw drop. Sloane is working on a bunch of upgrades including two new releases (piked tkatchev and geinger) and a new dismount (laid out full in) on bars. On beam she is working to add a new dismount, either a full in or an arabian double front and on floor she is hoping to upgrade three of her passes; double double, arabian double front piked, and a double layout. This young lady shows a lot of potential to be a star and is definitely one to keep your eye on.




Other names to watch for: 
Norah Flatley- Chows
Victoria Nguyen- Chows
Deanne Soza- Texas Dreams
Sunisa Lee- Midwest Gymnastics
Jazmyn Foberg- MG Elite