NCAA MEN’S GYMNASTICS: Meet the Michigan Freshmen

NCAA MEN’S GYMNASTICS: Meet the Freshmen

The 2026 men’s NCAA season will feature one of the most exciting incoming classes in recent memory, featuring three current U.S. senior National Team members (Jun Iwai, Sasha Bogonosiuk and Nathan Roman), along with two international junior champs (Sam Rakita, Canada and Ritam Malik, Australia). We’ve also got a slew of second-generation stars, with Iwai, Bogonosiuk and Adam Lakomy all boasting Olympian parents.

Everything is bigger in Texas, including how many of the state’s own are featured here (six). Four freshmen on our list were developed by coach Nori Iwai at the Kim Zmeskal-owned Texas Dreams, including all three service academies. Region 3’s 2025 Elite Team Cup championship squad is also well represented, with the NCAA saying howdy to three of its eight members in 2026.

As we inch closer to January and the start of the NCAA men’s gymnastics season, Inside Gymnastics will introduce you to 2026’s most anticipated newcomers!

Michigan

Adam Lakomy (Class of 2029 Recruit Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Hometown: Roselle Park, New Jersey

Major: Mechanical Engineering

Junior Career Highlights: 2025 Winter Cup Champ (jr division), 2024 Pan Am Jr Champ, Team and Rings Champ at 2024 DTB Pokal (jr division)

More About Me: “Both my parents are from the Czech Republic, so we speak Czech together at home. My mom (Ivona Krmelova) went to the Seoul Olympics in 1988, and my Dad (Pavel) represented then-Czechoslovakia at two World Championships.

“Outside the gym, I also love to snowboard and mountain bike. Being outdoors is important to me.”

Why Michigan? “I’d say for me what really stood out was the culture, and the drive everyone here has. When I was here for my recruiting visit, I saw how they had every intention to give it all they had and push each other in the gym to be better. I also believe Michigan was just the perfect balance between academics and great coaching—that they had all the resources I would need to succeed in gymnastics, and life.”

Most Looking Forward To: “I think just competing with this team. I look forward to seeing all the hard work we’re putting in now paying off and doing it alongside my teammates. We have big goals, big intentions, and I am excited to see those play out.

“I’m four months out now from [shoulder] surgery and it’s still a lot of rehab, but I’m back doing most of my tumbling, some skills on other events. It’s still early, but I’m hoping to be able to compete multiple events this season, if not all six.”

First Impressions: “I’d say it’s been an incredible experience so far. This team is super supportive, and we really push each other to become stronger every single day. The training in college is a lot more intense, but it helps create a great atmosphere, where we are all working to make each other better.

“We’ve talked a lot about our goals this year, and from me as a freshman, to our seniors, we are all in agreement on how to achieve them. We are going to put in as much work as possible and show people who we are.”

Inside Take: The standout in a solid Wolverine freshman class, Lakomy has been sidelined by injury since his Winter Cup win, making his season status slightly questionable, but the stacked defending champs have time, and Lakomy is almost certain to have a long-term impact, especially after stars like current senior Frederick Richard graduate.

Joe Hale (Class of 2029 Recruit Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Hometown: Copperas Cove, Texas

Major: Kinesiology

Junior Career Highlights: 4^th 2025 Developmental Nationals (L10, 18), 2025 Elite Team Cup Champ (Region 3)

More About Me: “I listen to a lot of music. It helps me to relax. I listen to all types, but my main focus is gospel and rap, which I know is kind of an unusual combination.

“I have three sisters and one brother. I’m right in the middle. I’m the only one who does gymnastics. I was an active kid growing up, and my parents knew they were going to put me in something. I did a bunch of sports, but then I started doing flips in the backyard, and gymnastics just stuck.

“I think the thing I most want people to know about me is that I’m a Christian. That’s a very important part of my life. Probably the most important.”

Why Michigan? “I used to come to camps here when I was little, and always thought it was super cool. I loved seeing those guys do what they do and wanted to be a part of it. Then, when I came here on my recruiting trip, I was just impressed by the team environment, the team atmosphere. Everyone here is super friendly and very welcoming and respectful, no matter what your background is. I don’t know exactly how to describe it, but Michigan just felt like the place for me.”

Most Looking Forward To: “Just being a part of this team. Because we are a team, there isn’t just one guy, or one [star]. We are one whole team.

“I injured my ankle, right after USAs, before I arrived, and it’s getting better, but slowly, and I still haven’t been able to do floor and vault, which is somewhere I think I could make a lineup, but even if I didn’t get to compete, I’d still want to be a part of this team. To support everyone else. I’m just looking forward to being part of it all.”

First Impressions: “Everything is so exciting and new. I didn’t come until the fall, and it’s all just been so much to take in. We got all our gear—the shirts, bags, hats, everything—which was cool. We got to throw out t-shirts at the volleyball game the other night, and everyone cheered, which was really cool. And, we get to go to football games for free—that’s probably my favorite part. We’ve had so many amazing opportunities already. Just training with the guys feels like an opportunity. It’s humbling. I don’t want to sound cocky, but, at my club, I was, like, the best guy, and here I’m surrounded by people better than me. It can be intimidating, but it’s more inspiring than anything else.”

Inside Take: Hale is one of three, three-star recruits newly on the UM roster, and their only freshman to compete at this summer’s USA Championships, where he finished 29^th all-around on day one in the senior division. The Wolverines will be looking to develop Hale, Chase Pappas (⭐️⭐️⭐️) and Eli Osuna (⭐️⭐️⭐️) to carry on the proud Maize and Blue legacy, as they look to defend their National Championship this April.

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