Jordan Chiles is closing out her NCAA career the same way she has lived it. Loud and confident. In what is her final season with UCLA, Chiles keeps finding new ways to stand out. And her latest came on January 25, when she scored another perfect 10 on floor, which, as she revealed, was in no small part thanks to Dancing With the Stars.

Recently, the Bruins traveled to East Lansing for a Big Ten meet against Michigan State. In front of 9,000 fans, UCLA scored 197.425, edging the Spartans’ 196.900. And Chiles, who delivered the perfect 10 on the floor, later opened up about her leveled up performance.

“I mean, Dancing With the Stars definitely helped even more. I can definitely say it was different compared to my last year,” said Chiles. A lot of people really enjoyed my routine this year, and finally getting a 10 on it? I’m just happy.”

Chiles enjoyed a near-perfect night – She recorded the highest all-around total in the nation with a 39.875, scoring 9.975 on vault, 9.950 on uneven bars, 9.950 on balance beam, and 10.00 on floor.

That perfect 10 on floor was her second of the 2026 season, following her first perfect 10 on vault just a week earlier on January 18 against Nebraska.

“I think being able to feel like I’ve been an entertainer my whole life, it’s a little easier to come out onto the floor and really just be myself,” she added. “That’s the biggest thing I really take away from everything I do is just being authentic to who I am. And so, I’m happy I do have Dancing With the Stars underneath my belt, though, because it did give me a little more sparkle here and there.”

But Chiles wasn’t the only Bruin who shone on floor.

Junior Katelyn Rosen led off the rotation with a strong 9.850, while senior Ciena Alipio and freshman Tiana Sumanasekera also scored 9.850. Sophomore Sydney Barros made her career floor debut after a lineup change due to injury and scored 9.900, giving the team a boost.

Together, these four helped UCLA post a 49.450 on floor, the team’s highest event score of the season and a key factor in their win.  For Chiles, the mix of gymnastics expertise, competition, and the training provided by DWTS evidently paid off. But did it go the other way too?

Jordan Chiles’ gymnastics background worked against her on DWTS

“I’m a gymnast so I can flip and twist. I love it, but it’s challenging when in ballroom dance you can’t rely on that,” said Jordan Chiles while on Dancing With the Stars. Unlike other competitors, the novelty of seeing a gymnast flip wasn’t quite at the same level.

“When a non-gymnast flips on the show, the people are in awe and want more. Because I’m a gymnast, people think it’s expected of me and want to see less,” she added.

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Chiles joined Season 34 of Dancing With the Stars in September 2025 with professional partner Ezra Sosa. Though she did not have formal training in dance, she and Sosa got better week by week and started scoring high marks, going on to finish an impressive third overall. 

But the contest was just part of the story. The experience gave Chiles tools that she had never used before: confidence, performance nuance, and audience engagement, all of which translated to the gymnastics floor.