The Oklahoma women's gymnastics squad is headed to the 2026 NCAA Regionals competition as the overall top seed in defense of its 2025 national championship.
The No. 1 Sooners learned on Monday that they will be competing in the Lexington Regional hosted by Kentucky.
Although some Oklahoma fans may be disappointed that the Sooners weren't able to match their 2026 SEC regular-season title and extend their undefeated streak in the SEC Championships this past weekend, head coach K.J. Kindler believes the makeup of the roster is well positioned for continued championship success in the immediate future.
OU women's gymnastics roster tilts heavily toward sustained championship success
Faith Torrez, a three-time First-Team All-American and one of the top-ranked women gymnasts nationally on the beam event, is one of only three seniors on the 2026 Sooner roster and the only senior as part of the regular four-event rotation. That is a distinction that at face value might appear to be a competitive disadvantage for Oklahoma, but in actuality has been turned into a strength.
In Saturday's SEC Gymnastics Championships at BOK Center in Tulsa, freshmen and sophomores filled at least four of the six individual spots in every event for Oklahoma, and the same mix accounted for five of the six in the floor event.
Seventeen of the 24 roster spots are filled by underclassmen, and seven of that total are true freshmen.
"This is such a young team. I keep telling people that," Kindler told reporters at the conclusion of the SEC Championships. "These freshmen, these sophomores, really young to be so mature in the way they're competing and fighting."
Young OU gymnasts like freshmen Mackenzie Estep, Ella Murphy and Kamila Pawlak, along with sophomores Addison Fatta, Lily Pederson and Elle Mueller, have been contributing at a high level all season and, importantly, represent the immediate future for this squad.
Estep was named this week the SEC Co-Freshman of the Year, along with Azaraya Ra-Akbar of Alabama. And the All-SEC Team included six of the Oklahoma underclassmen in Estep, Murphy, Pawlak, Fatta, Pederson and Mueller. OU's Torrez and junior Keira Wells also were honored with All-SEC honors.
A prime reason the OU freshmen and sophomores are growing up fast and gaining valuable experience early in their collegiate careers is because of the level of competition that the Sooners have faced all season.
Joining Oklahoma in the second session of the SEC Championships last weekend were not only the next three best gymnastics squads in the conference -- Florida, LSU and Alabama -- but the three best teams in the country behind OU.
The youthful Sooner squad has faced and beaten this season eight of top 10 teams in the final 2026 NCAA women's gymnastics rankings. You can't get more battle tested than that. There's a better than good chance Oklahoma will see several of these same opponents again this season when the NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships gets down to the final eight teams.
I wouldn't bet against Kindler's young OU squad when the NCAA Championships gets underway. And need I remind you, the Sooners may be the youngest team in the competition, but they remain the No. 1 overall seed and are the defending national champions.