Olympic gold medalist and five-time NCAA champion Kyla Ross was promoted to associate head coach of the Gymbacks in June of 2026 and has kept the Hogs on historic pace since her arrival.
Since 2024, Ross has primarily coached the Gymbacks on vault, an event the team has seen marked growth on. In 2026, the Gymbacks set a new program record of 49.675 on the event. Arkansas did not rank lower than seventh on vault and checked in as high as No. 2 in the nation. Arkansas ended the season at NCAA Championships, where the Gymbacks scored their highest mark on the event at NCAAs since 2012 and third highest ever, 49.375.
Freshman Allison Cucci earned a 9.9375 on vault, tied for fourth in the session for First Team All-America honors and tied for sixth overall. Her score is the third highest ever by a Gymback on vault at NCAAs, and the best for Arkansas since 2014. Both Morgan Price and Leah Smith also earned All-America nods, bringing Ross’ coaching total to five on the event, along with two SEC All-Freshman honors and one All-SEC.
Ross’ leadership culminated in a historic first for the program in February, when she helped guide Morgan Price to the first-ever Perfect 10 in program history on vault against Kentucky.
In 2025, Arkansas never ranked lower than 15th in the nation on vault and scored a season high of 49.425, a top 10 program event score. She coached freshmen Joscelyn Roberson and Ja’Leigh Lang to All-SEC Freshman Team honors after both finished with team-high NQS marks of 9.865, within the top 50 nationally.
During the 2024 campaign, Arkansas set a new program high of 49.550 on vault, which included a 9.975 by freshman Hailey Klein, which matches the individual vault record. The Gymbacks ended their season at NCAA Championships, where Leah Smith and Cami Weaver both landed in the top 15 on the event, earning All-American honors. She also coached Lauren Williams to All-SEC honors at the conference championships in March.
In her first two seasons at Arkansas, Ross was mainly responsible for beam and helped the Gymbacks post then-program records in back-to-back years. The Hogs went 49+ in 10 of 12 meets on beam in 2023 and had 18 scores of 9.9 or better, with five career highs. Beam was Arkansas’ best event for much of the 2022 season, with a final ranking of 16th and placement as high as 8th throughout the regular season. The Hogs earned at least a share of the beam title six times over 13 meets.
Ross’ early success as a coach comes off one of the most successful careers in collegiate gymnastics history. During her four seasons at UCLA, Ross won four individual NCAA titles – one on each event – the 2018 team title with the Bruins, and finished as a 24-time All-American. She is one of just 13 gymnasts to record a Gym Slam – a perfect 10 on each event – and is one of only three to record multiple Gym Slams in their careers. She was also the first-ever women’s gymnast to own Olympic, world, and NCAA titles.
Ross’ presence on the staff continues a dynamic with head coach Jordyn Wieber that has seen the two as teammates, coach and athlete, and coworkers over the course of 10+ years from London 2012, to UCLA, and now at Arkansas.
With Wieber at the helm and Ross and Chris Brooks as assistants, Arkansas was the first and only NCAA women’s gymnastics program to have an all-Olympian staff in the 2022-23 slate. Brooks is a two-time Olympian and served as captain for the men’s squad at the Rio 2016 games, where he also placed 14th in the all-around competition. Wieber and Ross competed together as part of the Fierce Five, who won the United States’ first-ever women’s gymnastics gold medal on foreign soil on July 31, 2012 in London.
