Alabama’s Azaraya Ra-Akbar Eyes 2026 Elite Season

In December of 2025, Inside Gymnastics took a trip to the University of Alabama. We had the opportunity to watch the team practice in the weeks prior to the 2026 NCAA season. One freshman immediately stuck out to me as the next NCAA gymnastic star. Azaraya Ra-Akbar showcased an incredible combination of difficulty, execution, and poise throughout each event. The coaches and staff already had her in the anchor position or near the end of the lineup in all four events. 

The height and amplitude on her Yurchenko 1.5 on vault struck me. “She looks like she could double that vault,” I said to myself. “Actually she can do a 2.5 in the pit,” replied Alabama Head Coach Ashley Johnston. Ra-Akbar’s stardom was evident after just one practice. She seamlessly transitioned the way she practiced to the competition floor. In her first-ever collegiate routine against Clemson, she earned a near perfect 9.975 on bars. However, Ra-Akbar has a competitive history that dates back prior to her time in NCAA gymnastics. 

The Baltimore, Maryland native grew up in the U.S. Elite program coached by her father. She earned strong results in junior Elite competitions, including a top ten finish in the All-Around at the 2021 U.S. Championships and a bronze medal on floor at the 2022 Winter Cup. Ra-Akbar was born to an American father and Canadian mother and holds dual citizenship for both the U.S. and Canada. Her family moved to Canada prior to the 2023 season to take care of her grandmother and remained there to be with family. Now living in Canada, Ra-Akbar decided it would be best to begin representing her mother’s home country. She competed throughout 2023 and was the 2023 Elite Canada floor champion. 

When Ra-Akbar moved to Alabama for college in the fall of 2025, she still had the desire to compete in Elite gymnastics, but the question was, would she compete for Canada or the U.S.? Back in the U.S. for college, she decided that returning to compete for the States was her best option. Ra-Akbar quickly began working her Elite skills again when she arrived in Alabama. 

“I was still making sure that I was keeping up with the foundation of a lot of things,” Ra-Akbar said about her Elite routines. “I kept the middle part of my bar routine, and I would do that twice a week throughout our college season. On beam I would keep up with skills, and the same on floor and vault. “We would sprinkle it in there.” 

Ra-Akbar jumped back into Elite competition at the end of May as an Elite qualifier. This marked her first Elite competition in nearly two years. Her success there earned her a spot to compete at both the American and U.S. Classic. 

“I think college helped me a lot with nerves,” she said about her return to competition. “I did have a couple mistakes here and there, but it wasn’t detrimental. I was just excited to get back out there.” 

Ra-Akbar confirmed with us that she does intend on competing at both the American Classic on June 27th and the U.S. Classic on July 18th, with the goal of qualifying for the U.S. Championships in August. She can feel the support in her Elite journey from her entire Alabama family. She has worked closely with Alabama Assistant Coach Ross Thompson in creating her routines and competition schedule. 

“I have a really strong relationship with everybody, especially coming off my first year in college,” she said about her coaches. “Everybody’s super helpful, and I can go to them about anything, if I’m having any struggles, or if I just need to talk. They’ve been really helpful and supportive.”

Ra-Akbar has quickly implemented new skills into her routines. While she is working a Yurchenko double full on vault, she plans on keeping her 1.5. She’s now performing three tumbling passes on floor and new skills and connections on bars and beam, including a potential double layout dismount on bars. 

Bama Bound 

Alabama Gymnastics truly has a way of creating a tight-knit family within their gym. The athletes are there for each other in every aspect of their lives, on and off the competition floor. The coaches are instrumental in creating this bond and truly care for their gymnasts as people, not just gymnasts. This bond was evident the first time Ra-Akbar visited Tuscaloosa.

“I think it’s easy to get close to your teammates, it was the coaches too,” she said about her official visit. “Seeing how everybody was able to talk to the coaches and interact with them was huge for me, because I value that type of connection with the coach.”

It is those connections and relationships that provided Ra-Akbar with the opportunity to excel in her freshman season. She was coming off an ankle injury prior to her freshman year and was able to recover with the excellent resources available to her at Alabama. Her coaches immediately instilled their trust in her by putting her in the anchor position on bars during her first ever collegiate meet against Clemson. Ra-Akbar eased through her routine and earned a 9.975 in her first-ever routine. 

“I was so nervous they had me last, so I had the whole bar lineup to get myself together,” she said about the opening meet. “It was nerve-wracking, but I kind of learned to like that anchor spot. I have so much trust in my team, just setting it all up. I just felt comfortable. I was nervous at almost every single meet, but I just have so much trust in everybody.”

Her first meet against Clemson remains one of her highlights of the 2026 season, as well as making her All-Around debut against Florida where she earned a 39.600. 

“That was my first All-Around meet,” she said about the meet against Florida. “I was having some struggles on beam, and I think just being able to keep calm on that event was huge for me. I ended up going out very nicely. I have no complaints with that meet. I have no regrets.” 

While Ra-Akbar loves beam, she admits she has an “interesting relationship” with the event. She only competed on the event three times during the 2026 season and hopes to learn how to better mentally prepare for competition.

“I have to figure out how to compete [beam]. In practice it goes great. I like to rush things a little bit, so we’ve just focused on my confidence on that event. I’m thinking Elite will help as well. I’m competing skills that are a lot harder than I am doing in college, and so being able to compete those routines, and then having the confidence of knowing I can water it down. I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve been working on and will continue to work on.”

Ra-Akbar was originally set to begin college in the fall of 2026, but when she committed to Alabama she was offered a position for the fall of 2025 and immediately took the spot. 

“It didn’t feel like it was something I had to do,” Ra-Akbar said of starting college early. “I just really wanted to, and I don’t think I could have waited the extra year. I had to be here.”

The Crimson Tide were truly connected through every step of the 2026 season. Despite the individuality of a sport like gymnastics, the squad moved as one, supporting each other every step of the way. The squad showcased how important a team connection is to the success of a team. Alabama ended the year as one of only two schools in the nation (alongside Oklahoma) to score above a 197.000 in every meet of the season, they earned their best regular-season finish (4th) since 2016 (4th), and Ra-Akbar’s perfect 10.0 on bars made her the first Alabama freshman to earn a 10.0 since 1999- this is just a few of Alabama’s incredible accomplishments throughout 2026. 

The Crimson Tide’s season came to a premature end at the Regional Championships in April. Ra-Akbar remembers how her team came together despite the high emotions. 

“It was the last routine at that meet. I wasn’t really looking at the scores, and I had no idea where we were, but then I looked over and there’s just a whole lot of emotions,” she recalls. “I think the biggest heartbreak was just seeing our seniors. That was their last meet, and that was my last meet with them. I think it kind of shifted the focal point. This is a team thing right now. We’re not really focused on the loss, we’re not focused on the fact that our season won’t continue. It’s more like we have to get together as a team and be there for each other. I will never forget that moment. There were so many tears, but it wasn’t boo hoo, just like I’m so proud of you. It was just being able to be with everybody, knowing that was going to be our last time competing with them. I think it was hard, but a very beautiful moment.” 

A beautiful moment turned immediately into motivation for the 2027 season. 

“I think something so strong about Bama is that we don’t dwell,” she said. “That means even on the good things we don’t dwell, but on the bad things we don’t either, and I think that helps you push forward. That was our mindset. You just gotta keep moving forward.” 

Ra-Akbar emphasized how proud she was of herself and her team for everything that was accomplished during her freshman year. When I asked her what she hopes to accomplish in 2027, she simply expressed her desire for more consistency and confidence. 

“I hope for consistency and my confidence to spark up a little bit more. I think everything’s more mental. I want to make sure that my mindset and my body is in the right place.”

Ra-Akbar is taking the same approach to her upcoming Elite season. No pressure or expectation, just enjoying every moment. 

“No expectations, just see how things go. I think that’s what this year is for me, just get back in the scene.”

Photos: Evan Manivong