Sweet Home Alabama! 24 Hours In Tuscaloosa

See it. Believe it.

Tonight in Coleman Coliseum, the Alabama Crimson Tide will take the floor for their long-awaited 2026 home-opener. Back home and ready to bring the noise against the No. 7 Missouri Tigers after two weeks on the road, Alabama is primed to prove to everyone that 2025 was just the beginning of a brand new legacy, and that the Tide is ready to roll once again!

Seeded No.11 heading into Regionals in 2025, last year was a roller coaster ride for the Tide all season. Struggles with inconsistency, a young team building back experience and finding their voice, paired with so many “almosts” in dual meets all added up to early uncertainty on just where this storied program would finish their 2025 season. 

Well, they found their stride. They found their voice. And they’ve never looked back. Together with their coaching staff, head coach Ashley Priess Johnston and associate head coach Justin Spring saw the team rise at just the right time. The Tide took first in session one at the SEC Championships, finishing fifth overall. That result went miles toward restoring their confidence as they took on Regionals and paved the way for a trip to Fort Worth to compete for their seventh National Championship. In its 40th appearance at the national meet, the Tide scored a 196.8250 to secure eighth place overall. With the feat, Alabama maintained a top-12 end-of-year ranking throughout the program’s history.

Now it’s suddenly four weeks into 2026, and the Tide kicked off their season campaign by defeating the Clemson Tigers 197.475-196.550 in Littlejohn Coliseum. Along the way, the Tide’s total score broke the program’s highest season-opening total in UA history by .350 of a point, landing them in the No.4 spot in the rankings.

“I’m extremely excited about how this team started out tonight. One of our main goals was to compete like it was our sixth meet of the season, and not like it was our first, and I feel like our team competed with a lot of poise and confidence,” Johnston said of the team’s effort in South Carolina. “Their approach, all around, was exactly what we’ve been talking about, what we wanted to see them bring to life. They had a lot of personality, they had a lot of fun, they stayed calm, had cool heads, were composed, and that’s really what it’s all about – when they can get themselves into that place, they’re able to perform at a really high level.”

Up next in Gainesville against the No.1-ranked Florida Gators last weekend, the Tide came up just a bit short, recording a 197.275 to the Gators’ 197.425. But the stars were definitely out with freshman phenom Azaraya Ra-Akbar making her All-Around debut for Alabama and recording a 39.600 to claim the title, and adding SEC Gymnast of the Week to her resume. Teammate Chloe LaCoursiere won the uneven bars with a career-high 9.975 performance on the event.

Now ranked No.3 in the country, and with seven SEC schools currently in the top 10, the Tide is ready to carry their momentum to a W at home against Mizzou. 

​In December, Inside Gymnastics took a road trip to see just what was so special about the Bamaly. Heading into their home opener, here’s the pitch, and my Top 10 Takeaways from the trip.

The Pitch: “Come see what we do and who we are, we’d love for you to tell our story.”

When Justin Spring called Chris Korotky and me to pitch a road trip recruiting series and invite us to spend a day with the Bamaly, the answer was an immediate and resounding yes. Going behind the scenes, telling the stories from the athletes’ and coaches’ perspectives, capturing their sentiments and personalities, and sharing their thoughts is what we love most at Inside, so the opportunity to spend a full 24 hours as a recruit was super-intriguing. 

​By now, you may have seen the video coverage on our Instagram @InsideGym, YouTube, and InsideGym.com with training and tour footage from our own Nate Salsman, and Bama’s social media master Evan Manivong, but there’s a few more thoughts I wanted to share about our experience while we wait for the team to take the floor tonight—what ultimately made it an experience that quickly jumped into my top 3 in the almost 12 years I’ve been with Inside Gym… Why Bama? Why, if I were many,many years younger, I’d probably be in the transfer portal right about now. And why I drove home with “Sweet Home, Alabama” on repeat.

10. Welcome to Tuscaloosa

Even before we officially arrived on campus, we got a preview of our jam-packed schedule, and later on, a welcome package at the hotel that was so stealthy delivered by none other than assistant coach Amelia Hundley. It included our itinerary for the day, the Crimson Tide’s 2026 Schedule, Campus Visitors Guide, a Bama notebook of course, and a personal note which read: “Dear Christy, So excited to have you T-town! Get ready to see what the Bamaly is all about!”

The next morning at 7:45 a.m. sharp, we were off and running.

After being picked up personally by head coach Ashley Priess Johnston herself, Nate and I met up with Amelia, assistant coach “Roll Tide” Ross Thompson, and Mr. Manivong (officially their Events and Program Relations Coordinator) at Another Broken Egg Cafe in Tuscaloosa to kick off what would be a whirlwind day. Breakfast was all pre-ordered and set down about 10 minutes after we arrived. It was a great setting. With even greater company and conversation.

9. “Tell Me Your Life Story”

The first time I covered Amelia Hundley as an Elite athlete was at the 2016 Olympic Trials. While everything was chaotic and pressure-packed at that competition, Amelia had the meet of her life there. I’ll never forget her smile radiating up to the rafters, as she appeared grateful for the experience and satisfied with what she accomplished. Relaying that story to her in person at breakfast after all of this time was so special and very full circle. She asked about my life story, and we bonded over cat eye chrome manicures (I went with the reddest red for this trip, of course), the comforting importance of just holding that first warm cup of coffee, and what we loved most about our jobs.

8. “Roll Tide” Ross

Ross Thompson kept us very much on schedule throughout the day, and kept the questions rolling all the way through dinner. “Why is it so important to you to cover athletes’ stories?” (I love that question!) and “Where would you rank Alabama preseason? Go…” I answered 9th to that, even though, days earlier, I’d actually texted Chris that I had them in 8th. Ross put me right on the spot, and rightfully so, considering they’re currently sitting at No.3 in Week 4. Oh, did I mention he’s also a pretty awesome bars coach?

7. Saban Field

Born and raised in Indiana, this was a tougher one to favor at the time (though it’s WAY easier now, Hoo Hoo Hoosiers!!!), but seriously, it’s spectacular, and I could have stood out there and taken it all in even longer than we did. Being in the tunnel for “Thunderstuck” also didn’t hurt either. Brilliant move on their part to show us that and lead us onto the field. It was football hype meets gymnastics at its very best.

6. The Facilities

From cryotherapy to the massive weight room (thank you to Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach Bradley Bowen for the tour and demo!) where any student athlete can train, to the practice gym, to Coleman, everything is pristine and steeped in tradition. The student athletes also have full access to mental health support services, in addition to everything possible to promote wellness, proper nutrition, injury prevention, and the best possible team around them for physical rehabilitation. The staff are truly focused on training and nurturing the whole person at Bama, and preparing their student athletes for life well beyond graduation.

5. Evan Manivong is the coolest.

Again, if you know, you know. Evan kept the camera rolling throughout the day. And every now and then threw a few tricks on the trampoline just because he still can. He documented everything from our campus tour to our photo shoot, to our interviews with the team, to our dinner at Chuck’s Fish (AMAZING), where all of us kept one eye on the TV as the Tide got rolling against Oklahoma, ultimately coming away with the 34-24 win that night.

4. “Show Me Your Five Closest Friends”

No one has more energy and passion for gymnastics than Justin Spring. Driving us through campus on golf carts with Ashley, we got the rundown on what’s what from the freshman dorms to sorority and fraternity row, and to the field and back to Coleman for practice. The coaching dynamic between Johnston and Spring seemed totally transparent, crazy energetic, always in motion— they were bouncing ideas off each other from the ride to the field to the gym, to their office, to dinner. It was very evident to me just how much this coaching team and support staff  believe in this team and in each other. 

“I was recruited with the philosophy of, ‘Show me your five closest friends, and I’ll show you your future.’ And as you look at our staff and my five closest friends, I think you can see that we’re building a really amazing future for our athletes and for our program,” Ashley told us.

At about 1 p.m., Athletic Operations Coordinator Morgan Dennis Morris (an eight-time All-American and 2007 individual national champion at Alabama) popped in for lunch (again, all pre-ordered) to meet us and stayed for practice to chat. I found her to be one of the most gracious people I’ve ever met, and it was easy to see just how much she loves this program (check out her day in the life on Insta!). Athletics Communications Assistant Director Jen Smith also stopped in to say hello and officially welcome us to the Bamaly.

3. The Team

This team was DIALED IN. And with their current No. 3 ranking, what we saw in December was clearly a sign of things to come. Right away, we learned that day’s practice was going to be a pressure-cooker. The athletes warmed up nine vaulters, and then it was on them to decide a lineup of 5 and go. Determining their own lineup was a first for this team, something Spring said this group was finally ready to tackle, and they responded big time. The number of 10.0 vaults we saw that day, and a handful of those stuck or nearly so, were super impressive.

Paired up with some very solid work on beam and bars, and a floor lineup guaranteed to bring the house down, no one should be sleeping on this team. With Hundley on the mic during vault and Spring during floor ramping up the already-competitive atmosphere in the gym, it was added pressure during what had already been a week they were being pushed. They responded. The buy-in was absolutely there, and the work was there. You could see it on their faces.

2. “Joy Can Be Fierce”

To me, Ashley Johnston, a 10-time All-American and member of Alabama’s national championship winning teams in 2011 and 2012, is a trailblazer in the sport for so many reasons (more to come on that in Inside Gymnastics magazine in February), but primarily because of her decision to let the chalk settle on her Elite career in order to make sure she could be healthy to see her NCAA dream happen. “I was unwilling to compromise this dream that I always had of competing in NCAA gymnastics,” she said. “And so I walked off the floor at Championships, quit that life I had lived for 10 years in an Elite training environment, and moved to Bama. And it was through this journey that I found joy in it again.”

​She wants to let her student athletes know first and foremost that yes, joy can be fierce, and that she wants them to be authentically themselves. Because of her experience, I see her ability to relate to her athletes as truly special. Watching practice that day only reinforced that sentiment. She’s fierce. She’s funny, and we all hit it off immediately.

Ashley believes in this team, the program, and the people she’s surrounded herself with, and with total respect the legacy she’s part of, she’s ready to usher in a brand new legacy at her alma mater.

“We’ve surrounded our team with a group of people who are leaders, who have overcome adversity, who have experienced success in the best way and have experienced defeat in the hardest way. We’ve all lived and walked in it. I think there’s a respect and a connection that comes from that and a trust for our athletes and knowing that if they don’t know, they can ask. We know that it’s just not that easy. It might be simple, but it’s not easy. We can put our arm around them and say, ‘Hey, let me walk with you.’ We’re not in this for just the four year family journey. It’s the 40-year family. It’s four years here on campus, but it’s the rest of your life that you’re always going to be a part of this family.”

1. The Real Bamaly

When Ashley asked at the beginning of our podcast what I thought of first when I thought of Alabama Gymnastics, I said tradition. After all, I grew up watching the Alabama vs. Georgia rivalry—still one of the best the sport’s ever seen. During our time in Tuscaloosa, I saw the legacy in place everywhere I looked and felt the tradition at every turn, but I also saw firsthand what this new coaching team is building for the future. And building Now. 

“We talked about peaking,” Ashley said toward the end of the conversation. “I think we peaked so beautifully last year in being able to mentally, emotionally, and physically help them prepare for a really tough moment and believe that they could do it. They found success in that. So I think that was really a launch pad for our culture for years to come because they went through some ups and downs and in between to know that they can handle it, that it works. When they connect in that way, they’re able to get it done. And so I think that sets us up for a really great year coming up.”

Yes. Bama 3.0 is All In and has my full attention. Maybe next time I’ll even be brave enough to try the Hot Poppi. Roll Tide!

Tune in to the Tide

Alabama’s matchup with the Missouri Tigers will be shown on SEC Network+

Live Stats will be available via Virtius

Photos by Alabama Athletics; Lloyd Smith for Inside Gymnastics

For Immediate Release: Inside Gymnastics Magazine Launches “Road Trip: NCAA Recruiting Edition” Series, Visiting Collegiate Gymnastics Programs Across the USA

Official Recruiting Visit #1: The University of Alabama

ATLANTA, Ga. – December 16, 2025  –Inside Gymnastics Magazine is known for its legendary road trips across the world, from covering six Olympic Games to decades of World Championships to local Invitationals and Collegiate meets across the United States. And now, this Winter we’re hitting the road for our first-ever Official College “Recruiting Trips.” NCAA Programs across the country have invited Inside Gymnastics to experience what an official Recruiting Trip is like, just as a club gymnast would experience as they’re evaluating NCAA programs for their collegiate future. The first stop will be the University of Alabama, with an invitation extended by coaches Ashley Priess Johnston, Justin Spring, Amelia Hundley, and Ross Thompson, who are all former stand-out collegiate gymnasts.

“Throughout the years, we’ve visited so many incredible club programs, from our first visit in Plano, Texas in 2002 to our most recent visit to Mallorca, Spain in 2025. And on the collegiate scene, we’ve visited stellar programs and covered a multitude of epic Championships,” said Inside Gymnastics Magazine Co-Publisher Christy Sandmaier. “But this time, our All-Access pass will allow athletes, coaches, club owners, and fans to experience the NCAA Recruiting process from an ‘inside’ perspective. We’re incredibly thankful to the coaches at the University of Alabama who have extended our first ever Official Recruiting Trip invitation!”

The visit to the University of Alabama will take place December 19 and the experience will be shared across Inside Gymnastics magazine’s social media platforms that boast nearly 1 Million Followers, plus on InsideGymnastics.com and on the magazine’s YouTube platform. 

“We are so excited to host Inside Gymnastics to bring an All-Access look at what it means to be part of our Bamaly,” said Alabama head coach Ashley Priess-Johnston. “Inside Gym has done a phenomenal job of telling stories through the years and we’re excited to bring them into our story. Our team, our staff, and campus has a magic in the air and we can’t wait to show off all that Sweet Home Alabama has to offer.”

Recruiting Trip #1 to Tuscaloosa is made possible in part by Tumbl Trak. “NCAA athletes inspire us through their electrifying performances, dedication and determination,” said Stacy Finnerty, CEO of Tumbl Trak. “We’re proud that our products have helped so many athletes to Train Smart en route to and during their NCAA careers and we’re excited to partner with Inside Gymnastics for this first stop of their 2026 Recruiting Road Trip Adventure!”

Stay tuned to @InsideGym on Instagram for the first look and add InsideGym.com to your Favorites list access at the touch of a button!

See our 2025 season story on ‘Bama below!

In the Moment: Jordan Bowers

WCGA Regular Season All-Americans Announced

Real March Madness at SECs

Behind the Mic with Olivia Karas and Cory Tomlinson

2025 AAI Award Finalists Announced

Mackenzie Estep People First, Gymnastics Second

Zoned In Zoey Molomo

Ashlee Sullivan: Seizing Every Opportunity

Skylar Killlough-Wilhelm Victory Lap

Ly Bui Taking Florida By Storm

Fueled By Faith

Inside the Matchup February 7

Aurelie Tran Answers the Call for the Iowa GymHawks

How Katelyn Jong Fits Right In

Inside the Matchup!

Helen Hu’s return to gymnastics

Brooklyn Moors Shines Early In Her Senior Season

In His Own Words: Nikolai Kolesnikov

Wendy Hilliard’s 10 Tips for 2025

Helen Hu’s Journey to a 10

Brooklyn Moors Shines Early In Her Senior Season

In His Own Words: Nikolai Kolesnikov

eMjae Frazier: Ready For More

Sam Phillips: His Own Take

Breaking Down the Men’s Code of Points

Men’s NCAA Coaches Address Changes

For our Men’s NCAA Preview Part 1, Click Here

For our Men’s NCAA Preview Part 2, Click Here!

For the 2025 NCAA Season Schedule, Click Here!

For our 2025 NCAA Women’s Preview, Click Here!

For the 2025 WCGA Coaches Poll, Click Here!

For our feature on Utah’s Jaylene Gilstrap, Click Here!

For our feature on Lily Smith and the Georgia GymDogs, Click Here!

For our look at Mizzou, Click Here!

Why Paul Juda Is Ready for 2025!

Brody Malone to Compete in 2025!

Four Up, Four Count. John Roethlisberger’s Take!

Missing the Olympics? NCAA Gymnastics Could Be Your Fix!

Stay tuned to InsideGym.com and follow us @InsideGym for all the latest!

For our look at the Class of 2026, Click Here!

Photos by Lloyd Smith for Inside Gymnastics