NCAA MEN’S GYMNASTICS: Meet the Navy and William & Mary 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!

Navy

Sean Armstrong (Class of 2029 Recruit Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Hometown: Coppell, Texas

Major: Quantitative Economics

Junior Career Highlights: 11^th all-around & 1^st team 2025 Developmental Nationals (L10, 19), 2025 Elite Team Cup Champion (Region 3, 4^th high bar 2025 Winter Cup (jr. division), 3^rd all-around 2025 Developmental Nationals (L10, 18)

More About Me: “I’m a sneakers guy. I had a pretty big collection before I got here. Jordans, New Balance, Asics, a bunch of stuff like that. There were a couple I didn’t want to mess up, but I mostly wore them. I’m big on wearing, not just displaying. I gave almost all of them to my little brother—got to help him look good in high school. I kept, like, two pairs, just in case. But when you come [to Navy] you don’t really need to bring anything at all. They provide everything. So, it was time to pass them on.”

Why Navy? “My dad was a Marine, so I knew the military route was always an option, but he didn’t want to push me. He wanted me to make my own decision. I didn’t really know if I wanted to come here or not until my recruiting visit, and that was what sold me.

“I just felt like this team had a brotherhood like no other. The camaraderie between all of them. It just instantly felt like, That’s the place I want to be, you know? I felt this was somewhere that would push me every day to be better, in the gym, and in life. This was definitely the best choice for me. It’s going to set me up for life.”

Most Looking Forward To: “Beating Army, of course.

“NCAA is very different than club gymnastics. It has a very different energy, and I can feel that already in the gym, and I’m really looking forward to feeling that in competition. I’m ready to get out there.”

First Impressions: “Honestly, at the beginning, it was really hard, because we had, you know, our pleb summer, which is the basic training all Midshipmen must go through. And, right before that, I went on vacation, so I didn’t do gymnastics for, like, a month, which I do not recommend. On top of that, I’d just gone through the hardest physical training of my life, so when I got back into the gym it was like I was relearning how to do gymnastics from scratch. It was rough, but day by day, I figured it out.”

Inside Take: Ranked as high as third nationally in his age group as a junior, where he trained under Nori Iwai at Texas Dreams, Armstrong is a strong addition to the Midshipmen squad and a potential standout on his best event, high bar.

William & Mary

Nicholas Kosarikov (Class of 2029 Recruit Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️)

Hometown: Spring, Texas

Major: Finance

Junior Career Highlights: 2025 Elite Team Cup Champion (Region 3), 2^nd high bar and 3^rd p-bars 2025 Developmental Nationals (L10, 18), 18^th at 2024 USAs (jr. division)

More About Me: “Something I like to do outside of the gym is to go flying with my dad. He’s had his pilot’s license for a while now, and it’s something we’ve done together since I was young. It’s a core memory of mine, going out with him on the weekends and really bonding.

“I was born in the U.S., but both my parents are Russian, so I speak fluent Russian.”

Why W&M? “I really liked that it’s a smaller school. I prefer that to a big city environment. I came on my visit, and I immediately saw how close the guys were with each other, and it really made me feel like there was a close-knit family here that I wanted to be a part of.

“And it is a beautiful campus. Absolutely gorgeous.”

Most Looking Forward To: “I’m most looking forward to contributing to the team. That’s not something that’s usually easy to do as a freshman, but I’m working hard to make my scores count. I’m doing the all-around, but I feel like my strongest events are pommel horse, p-bars and floor. Those are the three where I feel like I have the best chance of putting up a high score, and making it count for the team.

“I want to see how far we can go as a team. I think that will be a very special experience. We are all really excited for this upcoming season.”

First Impressions: “College is a lot to adjust to—the practice schedule, with the amount of [school] work that we’re doing. But I appreciate how high our standards are, how everyone pushes each other, how the coaches, Mike (Powell) and Bo (Morris), push me every day. It’s really helped me progress in my gymnastics.

“As a team, we’ve been very intentional about our attitude. We’re striving to have a championship mindset, both inside and outside of the gym. To work and push ourselves in all aspects, which isn’t something you have in club gymnastics. That holistic experience.”

Inside Take: A junior out of well-known Cypress Academy in Texas, Kosarikov should have an immediate impact on the Tribe’s team. A clean, consistent competitor, he has the potential to be a breakout star in the ECAC.

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