CGA X Inside Gymnastics Men’s NCAA Class Of 2026 Recruiting Roundup! Next Up, Stanford!!

NCAA MEN’S GYMNASTICS: Recruiting Roundup!

Now that you’ve met many of the freshmen slated to compete during the 2025-26 Men’s NCAA Gymnastics season (see that series here on InsideGym.com), we’re excited to launch a look at the Class of 2026 – NLI Signings for each program!

In this new Inside Gymnastics series in partnership with the Men’s College Gymnastics Association (CGA), we asked each head coach about who’s graduating, who’s coming up, what they look for in their recruits, where each Class of 2026 NLI signee could potentially contribute to the lineup, and what makes their program unique. You’ll see what they had to say right here on InsideGym.com!

We’ll also add updates here and across our social media platforms as the season progresses, should anything change. Plus! Stay tuned right here for Men’s NCAA Coverage throughout the season, and be on the lookout for our upgraded Routine Of The Week segment and more @InsideGym once the season gets rolling.

Up next, Stanford! 10-time National Champion Stanford came up just short in its bid for a historic sixth consecutive national title, finishing the season as the national runner-up at the 2025 NCAA Championships. The second-place finish marked the 16th time in head coach Thom Glielmi’s 23 seasons that the Cardinal has placed inside the top three, further cementing Stanford’s status as one of the nation’s elite men’s gymnastics programs. The Cardinal posted a season-best score of 332.061 to finish second at the NCAA Championships, finishing less than two-tenths behind Michigan, which claimed the national title with a 332.224. Asher Hong brought home individual NCAA titles on floor exercise and still rings, bringing his career total to six individual national championships. He was joined by Mark Berlaga, Jeremy Bischoff, Taylor Burkhart, Ian Lasic-Ellis, Colt Walker, and Khoi Young in earning a combined 11 All-America honors, pushing Stanford’s all-time total to 305.

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We asked Stanford head coach Thom Glielmi…

Who will we graduate in 2026: 

Nick Kuebler, Asher Hong, Arun Chhetri, Marcus Kushner

Class of 2026 – NLI Signings:

Nartey Brady, Maksim Kan, Justin Park, Kiefer Hong, Carter Daniel

What each athlete will bring to the program:

All are solid all-arounders and with another year of development, so it’s hard to say. However, if I am basing this on where they are at right now: Nartey and Maksim could be all events, but horizontal bar will be difficult to break our line-up. Justin for sure rings and again, he is on the cusp on the other events. Carter has strong rings and horizontal bar and Kiefer floor vault and rings.

Top traits we look for beyond gymnastics skills:

I have learned over my many years that attitude and work ethic are ultimately more important than overall talent when determining whether an athlete will truly be a good fit and contribute to the team. I am old enough—and have made enough mistakes to have seen athletes turn out to be “gymmentors” (those who drain the joy and energy from the gym) or “dream stealers” (those who distract teammates from their goals). Because of this, I am diligent wanting to get an accurate read on who recruits are before I reach out to them. If they appear to be a good fit for our team culture, I will then inquire if they are interested. Then, there is also a required academic standard. If a recruit has not been on a strong academic path prior to their senior year, it is highly unlikely they will be a good fit for us. Their academic journey begins long before the college search process – it starts their freshman year of high school.  But it is important for student-gymnasts to find the university that aligns with where they are on multiple levels—academics being one of the most important. 

What makes Stanford stand out as a program:

Team culture.

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