The 2023 Pac-12 women's gymnastics season kicks off on Friday when No. 3 Utah, the two-time defending conference champions, hosts No. 6 LSU at Jon M. Huntsman Center on ESPN2 (5:45 p.m., PT). Six other Pac-12 squads will be in Las Vegas for the Super 16 event. 

With the entire conference ranked in the preseason Top 25 for the first time since 2014, it will be a fierce battle for the crown. Here is one thing you need to know about each team as the season begins.

Utah

The Red Rocks are trying to make history. No program has won three straight Pac-12 championships since UCLA won four in a row from 1987-90. Utah is primed to do it. They return Maile O’Keefe, the 2021 Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year, Jaedyn Rucker, the reigning vault national champion, and seven other All-Americans. After a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships, the Red Rocks will look to stay atop the Pac-12 mountain. 

UCLA

The Janelle McDonald era will start this weekend at the Super 16 in Las Vegas. McDonald, an Arizona State alum and former Cal assistant, is trying to get the Bruins back to NCAA Championships after failing to qualify the previous two seasons. It’ll certainly help the first-year coach having Jordan Chiles, who won a team gold and a pair of silver medals on the vault and floor at the 2022 World Championships in November, and freshman Selena Harris, the top-ranked recruit of her class.

UCLA starts the season off with quite the bang. The Bruins’ first session at the Super 16 includes No. 1 Oklahoma (the defending national champions), No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 Auburn. 

California

The Super 16 will also be the first look at talented freshman eMjae Frazier. She is the younger sister of UCLA star and three-time All-American on uneven bars, Margzetta Frazier. eMjae has been a USA National Team member since 2019 and was 2022 Winter Cup floor exercise champion, beam silver medalist and All-Around bronze medalist. After graduating a large senior class, eMjae will be a big part of this season’s success. 

Oregon State

It’s impossible to mention the Beavers without talking about Olympic gold medalist Jade Carey. The reigning Pac-12 Gymnast and Freshman of the Year dazzled last season, leading the Beavers to a share of the Pac-12 regular-season championship for the first time in program history. 

Carey returned from the 2022 World Championships in November as the most decorated athlete. She won the gold in the team event with Chiles, gold in vault and bronze in floor. The uber-talented sophomore will have a chance to be the third-ever gymnast to win the Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year back-to-back years, joining Leslie Mak and Kyla Ross. 

Stanford

The 17th-ranked Cardinal is coming off its best season since Tabitha Yim took over and looks poised to build on it. Stanford has the perfect mix of experience and youth. Fifth-year Madison Brunette (vault, bars), senior Chloe Widner (bars, beam), sophomores Anapaula Gutierrez (vault, beam) and Brenna Neault (vault) set career-high marks last postseason. The Cardinal also welcomes the nation’s top recruiting class that includes highly-ranked newcomers like Anna Roberts, Claire Dean and Ashley Carter. 

Washington

The GymDawgs are another team on the rise. Washington is coming off its first regional appearance since 2018 and set its highest regional score in program history (197.125). Under second-year head coach Jen Llewellyn, the culture in Seattle seems to be changing. 

“In past years, it's taken until the end of December and we're still working on our routines," junior Taylor Russon said via a school release. "So, I think it just shows how much people worked over the summer, how much we want it, and how much Jen, Cody, and Jeffrey have made an impact on the program." 

Arizona State 

The Gym Devils also earned a share of the regular-season conference title for the first time ever. Senior Hannah Scharf and junior Emily White are a big reason for that. Scharf has earned WCGA Regular Season All-America honors in the all-around the past two seasons. White continued to improve as the season went on last year, competing in every event after she won the all-around title in the meet against UCLA. 

Arizona

The success of the GymCats this season will rely heavily on the continued development of Malia Hargrove. Last year, her career-best 39.500 all-around score at the Norman Regional fell .075 short of Arkansas’ Kennedy Hambrick for a spot at the NCAA Championships. Hargrove was an integral part of Arizona’s first-ever win over Utah. She posted a 39.450 all-around scored including career-high on the beam (9.925).