SAN FRANCISCO - With the 2023 Pac-12 women’s gymnastics season right around the corner, the Conference has released its inaugural preseason watch lists. The 2023 Preseason Watch List and Newcomer Watch List highlights 16 total gymnasts as nominated by the league’s eight women’s gymnastics programs.

The lists include 12 returning Pac-12 standouts and four newcomers who are set to make an immediate impact in what will be a deep Conference lineup in 2023. All eight programs are ranked in the top 25 of the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) Preseason Poll for the first time since 2014, led by defending Pac-12 Champion and league preseason favorite No. 3 Utah.

The group features reigning Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year and Olympic Gold Medalist Jade Carey from Oregon State as well as fellow Olympians Jordan Chiles of UCLA and Grace McCallum of Utah. In total, six returning All-Americans appear on the watch list, while the newcomer category boasts incoming freshmen that anchor some of the top-ranked classes in the country, headlined by the No. 1-ranked recruit, UCLA’s Selena Harris.

The 2023 season is set to begin on Friday, Jan. 6. Six Pac-12 teams open the new campaign at the Super 16 event in Las Vegas, a premier meet at the Orleans Arena that takes place Jan. 6-7 and features 16 programs in four different sessions over two days. No. 21 Washington, No. 14 Oregon State and No. 17 Stanford will compete in sessions on Friday, Jan. 6, while No. 24 Arizona State, No. 8 Cal and No. 10 UCLA will compete in sessions on Saturday, Jan. 7.

Pac-12 women's gymnastics will be featured on Pac-12 Networks and ESPN throughout the season, including the 2023 Pac-12 Women's Gymnastics Championships, presented by Sprouts Farmer's Market, on March 18 at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Tickets for the event are now on sale by visiting pac-12.com/tickets. Visit pac-12.com for a full schedule of Pac-12 women's gymnastics meets.

2023 PAC-12 WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS PRESEASON WATCH LIST

Brenna Brooks, Washington

Brooks is a fifth year senior with a wealth of experience under her belt. The three-event specialist on the vault, bars and beam is capable of hitting 9.9+ in all three this season. Brooks helped the Huskies set their highest regional score in program history to end 2022 after she competed in the beam, floor, bars and floor exercise and scored a season-best on the vault. 

Jade Carey, Oregon State

The 2020 Olympic gold medalist has a long list of accolades, which now includes a pair of recent gold medals and a bronze medal at the 2022 World Championship in November before she returned to Corvallis to prepare for her sophomore season. Carey will look to follow an outstanding freshman campaign in 2022 where she was named the WCGA Regional Gymnast of the Year and the Pac-12 Gymnast and Newcomer of the Year. The Phoenix, Ariz. native earned eight All-American honors last year, was the Pac-12 All-Around Champion and finished runner-up and fourth, respectively, in the uneven bars and all-around at the 2022 NCAA Championship. A 2022-23 US National Team member, Carey scored three perfect 10s and won 48 individual event titles, including 11 in the all-around, and earned nine Pac-12 weekly awards. 

Jordan Chiles, UCLA

Chiles, a Team USA teammate of Carey and fellow 2020 Olympic silver medalist, also added some hardware to her shelf recently at the 2022 World Championships in November, where she won a team gold and a pair of silver medals on the vault and floor. The Vancouver, Wash. native also competed at the 2022 Paris World Challenge Cup over the summer, earning a gold medal on the floor and and silver on the vault. Her sparkling offseason included collecting three bronze medals at the 2022 U.S. Gymnastics Championships in the all-around, uneven bars and floor exercise. The sophomore All-American returns to the Bruin lineup after earning first-team All-Pac-12 on bars and floor and honorable mention honors on vault. She recorded three perfect 10s and won the bars and floor events at the 2022 NCAA Raleigh Regional. 

Madi Dagen, Oregon State

Dagen is poised for an outstanding senior campaign after individually contributing a total of 431.85 points as a junior in 2022. She competed in the all-around and the bars in every competition, earning a career-high in the bars (9.90) last year. The Pleasanton, Calif., native earned All-America second team honors on the vault as a sophomore in 2021 in addition to an All-Pac-12 First Team honor on the vault that same year.

Malia Hargrove, Arizona

The senior from Sparks, Nev., earned career-high marks on every event as a junior in 2022. She competed in the all-around in all 13 meets last season, scoring a career-best 39.50 at the NCAA Norman Regional and winning the event three times overall. Last season, Hargrove was key in helping Arizona beat Utah for the first time in program history after posting a career-high on the beam (9.925). She closed out the season with a career-high 9.90 on the bars in three straight meets, including the Pac-12 Championships and the NCAA Norman Regional. The definition of reliable and consistent, Hargrove has competed in every meet during her collegiate career at Arizona. 

Caroline Herry, Arizona

Herry is gearing up for her junior campaign in 2023 after competing on the vault and floor in all 13 meets during the 2022 season. The Argyle, Texas native posted career-highs on vault (9.825), beam (9.90) and floor (9.95) and earned a 9.725 or above on every floor routine. She hit 100 percent of her routines during the season and like her teammate Malia, has competed in every meet in her two seasons in Tucson.

Skylar Killough-Wilhelm, Washington

Junior Skylar Killough-Wilhelm will be a key piece of the Washington lineup in 2023 after leading the Huskies to their first regional appearance since 2018 and highest regional score in program history as a sophomore a season ago. The All-Pac-12 First Team selection on beam and Pac-12 Honorable Mention selection in the all-around ranked top 20 in the country on the beam all season while she ranked sixth on beam and 10th on bars in the Pac-12.

Andi Li, California

Junior Andi Li is a three-time All-American honoree coming off a successful sophomore season. Li, who has developed into one the most artistic gymnasts in the NCAA, brings elegance and creativity to the competition floor for the Bears. A native of Aurora, Ill., Li was a 2022 All-Pac-12 First Team selection in the all-around and earned her second straight first team selection in the bars in addition to picking up an honorable mention nod on the floor. As a freshman in 2021, Li collected two WCGA All-American awards and a pair of Pac-12 Freshman of the Week awards.  

Grace McCallum, Utah

The third Pac-12 gymnast, joining Team USA teammates Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles, on the 2020 Olympic Silver Medal squad, had an exceptional freshman campaign for the two-time defending Pac-12 Champion Utes. Adding to an already strong lineup for Utah, McCallum earned five All-American honors last season and was named to the Pac-12 All-Conference team in all four individual events and in the all-around. The Isanti, Minn., native became just the fourth Red Rock in program history to record two 10.0s on bars in one season and collected 20 career wins in 2022.

Hannah Scharf, Arizona State 

Heading into her senior season, Scharf is set up to have her best collegiate season after she earned 2022 WCGA Regular Season All-America honors in the all-around a season ago, bringing her all-america awards to three total. She was named an All-Pac-12 First Team selection in the all-around for a second straight season and was the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week and the Pac-12 Coaches Choice of the Week in two different weeks. As a junior last year, Scharf collected 11 event titles, posted 17 scores of 9.9-plus and set a career high in the all-around (39.575).

Emily White, Arizona State

White is poised for a breakout year in her upcoming junior campaign after she competed in the all-around in all but three of the meets during the 2022 season. Competing against UCLA, the Seal Beach, Calif., native scored a 39.600 in all-around competition to win the event and notch the 21st-highest all-around score in program history. She had seven 9.900s or better throughout the season while clinching new career highs in vault, bars and floor. In all, White recorded five event titles, including two on beam and earned Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week honors once.

Chloe Widner, Stanford

The senior from Frisco, Texas, will be a main component to the Cardinal lineup in 2023 after she came on strong at the end of her junior campaign in 2022. Returning from injury midway through last season, Widner competed on bars in six meets and beam in five meets, setting career-bests marks in both events with a 9.875 on bars and a 9.925 on beam at the NCAA Regional Semifinals. She has twice earned Pac-12 weekly awards in her career, picking up a Pac-12 Coaches' Choice of the Week in 2021 and a Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Week in 2020.

2023 PAC-12 WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS NEWCOMER WATCH LIST

eMjae Frazier, California

Cal freshman eMjae Frazier, a four-star recruit, brings a wealth of international experience to Berkeley and will look to jump right into the Bears’ lineup in 2023. Frazier is a four-time US National Team Member and was a member of the 2021 US World Championships team. Before coming to Cal, Frazier competed at the 2022 Winter Cup where she won the floor competition and earned a silver in beam and a bronze in the all-around. Frazier’s older sister Margzetta has been a standout at UCLA throughout her career, particularly on the floor, and Frazier will hope to forge her own path at Cal. 

Selena Harris, UCLA

The No. 1 ranked recruit in the country is the prized signing for first-year head coach Janelle McDonald. According to College Gym News, Harris has been one of the most anticipated level 10 stars for several years and should be an immediate all-arounder for the Bruins. The Las Vegas native won a total of eight Level 10 national championships and is a 19-time Level 10 Nevada state champion who won the 2021 vault title with a perfect 10. Harris won the uneven bars at the 2022 Nastia Liukin Cup and placed fourth in the all-around and on beam. Harris competed at the elite level as a junior from 2017-18 and placed in the top 10 in the all-around and vault at the 2018 U.S. Championships. She leads a group for UCLA that was ranked as the No. 6 recruiting class in the country.

Anna Roberts, Stanford

Roberts highlights a Cardinal incoming freshmen class that College Gym News ranked as the top freshmen class in the country. The Seattle, Wash. native won an all-around national title in level 10 and she should make an immediate contribution to the Cardinal lineup, especially in the vault and floor lineups. At the 2022 level 10 national championships, Roberts was runner-up in four different events (vault, bars, floor and all-around) after winning the all-around at both the state and regional levels. 

Makenna Smith, Utah

The Red Rocks freshman will be vying for a spot in all four lineups for the No. 3-ranked Utes, which will be no easy feat after Utah won its second straight Pac-12 Championship in 2023 and ended the year with a top-three finish at the NCAA National Championships. Smith, from Albuquerque, N.M., is a former qualified elite gymnast and a two-time medalist on floor at the Junior Olympic National Championships (2018, 2019). The nine-time regional champion is also a three-time Junior Olympic National Championships qualifier.