There’s a spark in the air inside the Missouri Tigers gymnastics facility… A quiet confidence that rises the moment the vault runway lights up. Last season’s breakthrough feels less like a surprise and more like a launchpad. But the real question is – How will this team carry that momentum forward into a new year? Well, rest assured, because the ladies in the roster are rocking the scores, even without Helen Hu on the roster this time.

The Tigers posted a stunning 197.2500 at the 2025 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championship Final in Fort Worth to finish third overall. It was their best finish in program history. Additionally, it was the first time they reached the final four.  Along the way, they recorded great highs on the vault (49.200), floor (49.4875), and beam (39.38), and their head coach, Shannon Welker, even earned the title of SEC Coach of the Year. And now, things are turning with the same fire. 

The roster for 2026 features 13 key returners and rising contributors alike. Seniors like Makayla Green will anchor the team, while underclass athletes will step into expanded roles. Even without national-champion beam specialist Helen Hu, who bagged the national beam title with 9.9650, in the lineup, the Tigers are betting on depth over dependency. At the Preseason Intrasquad meet that recently took place on Friday, October 31, and Saturday, November 1 at the Tiger Performance Complex, they teased multiple vaults with 10.0 start values, as reported by Inside Gymnastics. This signals a lineup that’s deep, bold, and ready.

As the preseason dust settles, one thing is becoming clear. Missouri’s energy isn’t dipping; it’s evolving. The spotlight is shifting from established veterans to the next wave of Tigers ready to take flight. With the vault squad already showing national-level execution and confidence, head coach Shannon Welker knows that sustaining excellence means more than repeating success. It means nurturing the future. And that’s exactly where Missouri’s newest faces come in.

Head coach of Mizzou Gymnastics opens up on how last year’s performance has helped

Coming to the 2026 season, Mizzou Gymnastics has a great reference point, and that’s nothing but their own stellar performance last season. During his appearance on the All Things Gymnastics Podcast, the head coach, Shannon Welker, was asked if last season’s performance acted as a motivator for the gymnasts in knowing that they broke a barrier. Also, in the perception of being perceived as a ‘top team.’

That’s when the Mizzou head coach claimed, “Oh, absolutely. I think we have that little saying, it’s like last year’s success is this year’s opportunity. So I think anytime you achieve a step, then the next group, they know, the next year’s team, they’re like, hey, we can do this, this team did it right, and so it really just opens the door up, not only I think from a perception standpoint, but also like a confidence standpoint.”  And as we saw at the preseason intrasquad mats, this confidence is certainly translating into material success. 

Plus, this year, with stars like Makayla Green, who won the uneven bars at the Ball State Quad and set a career high with 9.925 at No. 24 Penn State and matched it at the NCAA Regionals, it’s going to be pretty notable to see what the Mizzou lineup can pull off. After transferring from Illinois to Mizzou, Green is all set to make her debut. Plus, there will still be some spots reserved for the newcomers, too. Welker continued in the podcast, “I think over the years, really, if we even look at last year, I think we had about roughly 25% of our freshmen. Like, they accounted for about, I calculated this about 25% of our scores right in a meet.” 

The Mizzou coach then went on and warned the opponents to watch out for Kimarra Echols, a dynamic gymnast, followed by Hayli Westerlind, Maiya Terry, and Bryce Kupbens. So, even without Helen Hu, and with Missouri pulling off such performances, one can likely expect Missouri to repeat what it did last season. Or even better!