April Anarchy: 2025 Regional Championships Preview

The biggest week of the NCAA season so far is here, Regional Championships! This week, teams will compete for the eight spots available at the 2025 NCAA National Championship! There will be four Regionals and two teams from each Regional will advance. Teams will compete through a Regional semi final where the best two teams in each semi advance to the final where the national qualifiers are decided. Here’s everything to look for and who is most likely to qualify!

Pennsylvania Regional 

This Regional is shaping to be the most competitive of the four Regionals! The competition includes three highly competitive SEC teams, No. 1 LSU, No. 9 Kentucky and No. 16 Arkansas. But can No. 8 Michigan State put a stop to the SEC wave? At the Big Ten Championships they brought in a huge season high of 198.150 and could easily earn a bid to Nationals. However, I’ll be looking to Arkansas to potentially pull off the upset of the season. Due to having the lowest ranking in the SEC, the Razorbacks missed out on competing at the SEC Championships. This week of rest could be a blessing in disguise for the team led by Olympic Champion, head coach Jordyn Wieber. Arkansas is three weeks removed from their last competition, giving them time to rest and improve. Should the Razorbacks upset the Wildcats and the Spartans, it would go down in NCAA history. LSU will be looking to ease their way through, with their eyes set on their second straight National title. 

Washington Regional 

The Washington Regional will have a showdown between No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 7 Missouri, No 10. Georgia and No. 15 Auburn. The Missouri Tigers shine on floor exercise and have earned a 49+ score on floor in 62 straight meets. This event will be key for them to qualify to their first National Championship since 2022. Watch out for the Tigers’ signature specialists on bars and beam, Mara Titarsolej and Helen Hu. Titarsolej won her second straight SEC bar title with a perfect 10.0, while Hu is the only gymnast this season to earn two perfect scores on beam. The Oklahoma Sooners are hoping to build momentum at Regionals after a slightly disappointing second place finish at the SEC Championship. They will also bring the fire on floor with unique routines from Jordan Bowers, Faith Torrez, and Elle Mueller among others. The Georgia Gymdogs will look to continue their meteoric rise this season. For the first time since 2020, they broke into the top 10 in the regular season, and have the ability to shine on bars and beam, but struggled at the SEC Championship. Should they get their groove back, they could pull off an upset. The Auburn Tigers also have eyes set on qualifying for their first Regional final since 2022. Their season has been full of ups and downs with multiple top athletes facing injuries.

Alabama Regional

Alabama will include No. 3 Florida, No. 6 California, No.11 Alabama and No. 14 Oregon State. After a rocky start to their season, Alabama could capitalize on their home field advantage. Watch out for the large amount of Yurchenko 1.5s they bring to their vault rotation. Also be ready for their performance quality on floor, especially Lilly Hudson who performs to “Sweet Home Alabama.” The Florida Gators will be looking to bring the same level of cleanliness to their bar routines that they did when they earned that huge 49.850 at the SEC Championships. They will be the favorites to win these Regionals and qualify for Nationals. The Cal Bears are on track to qualify for their third straight National Championship. They will display their excellence on bars and beam that could lead them through Regionals. Oregon State has had a rockstar season. Olympic Champion Jade Carey could lead her team to their first National Championship since 2019. Carey is ranked No.1 in the All-Around and on beam. She also earned a massive 39.925 in the All-Around this year, the fourth highest score in NCAA history.

Utah Regional 

No. 4 Utah will be hosting No. 5 UCLA, No. 12 Minnesota and No. 13 Stanford. With Utah hosting expect the Red Rock fans to be LOUD for their Utah Utes. If Utah qualifies, this will be their 46th nationals in a row. UCLA could also capitalize off the energy, but they are able to create energy no matter where they go! If they stay solid they should easily qualify for nationals. There are many Olympians in the competition! Jordan Chiles, Emma Malabuyo and Brooklyn Moors for UCLA and Grace McCallum for Utah! The real question mark heading into this Regional is the Stanford Cardinals. They pulled off a mega upset last year to qualify and recently upset California to win the ACC Championship. Can the upset queens do it again?

For the full schedule and how to watch view here: 

Wednesday, April 2nd

• University Park Regional Round One 2:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+
• Salt Lake City Regional Round One 5:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+

Thursday, April 3rd

• University Park Regional Round Two Session One 1:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+
• Tuscaloosa Regional Round One 3:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+ 
• Salt Lake City Regional Round Two Session One 4:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+ 
• Seattle Regional Round One 5:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+ 
• University Park Regional Round Two Session Two 7:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+ 
• Salt Lake City Regional Round Two Session Two 10:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+

Friday, April 4th

• Tuscaloosa Regional Round Two Session One 2:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+ 
• Seattle Regional Round Two Session One 4:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+ 
• Tuscaloosa Regional Round Two Session Two 8:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+
• Seattle Regional Round Two Session Two 10:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+

Saturday, April 5th

• University Park Regional Final 5:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+ 
• Salt Lake City Regional Final 8:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+

Sunday, April 6th

• Tuscaloosa Regional Final 6:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+ 
• Seattle Regional Final 8:00 p.m. ET| ESPN+

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