In a jaw-dropping power move that’s turning heads across college athletics, Clemson Tigers has pulled off one of the most audacious coaching raids in recent memory. With its gymnastics program still in its infancy, the Tigers have fired a thunderous warning shot. Not by building slowly, but by stealing the masterminds behind one of the NCAA’s most dominant programs. It’s a move dripping with ambition, and one that has instantly changed the balance of power in collegiate gymnastics.

The Clemson Board of Trustees compensation committee approved the bold hires Monday morning, unveiling five-year deals worth $225,000 per year. And the names behind the contracts? None other than Cal’s co-head coaches and married duo, Justin Howell and Elisabeth Crandall Howell. Their departure from Berkeley is not just a loss for Cal, it’s an emphatic statement from Clemson about its intentions to become a major gymnastics force. The Tigers have poached a coaching tandem that helped turn Cal into a national runner-up in 2024.

From the brink of irrelevance to the top of the podium, the Howells built a powerhouse in Berkeley. Since 2012, they guided Cal’s women’s gymnastics team from 49th in the national rankings to a stunning second-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Their accolades include being named the 2023 WCGA National Co-Coaches of the Year and the 2024 WCGA West Region Coach of the Year. And in their first year competing in the ACC, they were crowned ACC Co-Coaches of the Year. A title they’ll now defend in orange and purple.

“We are incredibly grateful and excited to be able to attract coaches the caliber of Justin and Liz from Cal to Clemson,” Tigers athletic director Graham Neff said during the committee meeting. His words are a clear nod to the seismic nature of the hire. And surely a message to the rest of the gymnastics world that Clemson is not content with just fielding a team. They want to dominate.

Meanwhile, the hire comes just weeks after Clemson parted ways with inaugural head coach Amy Smith. While Smith helped launch the program, Neff clearly believes the Howells are the pair to take it to championship heights. With a resume stacked with accolades and a proven formula for success, the Howells’ arrival is nothing short of a gymnastics game-changer for Clemson.

Morgan Price enters transfer portal, eyes bigger stage after historic HBCU run

Morgan Price is on the move. The two-time national champion and breakout star of Fisk University’s gymnastics program has officially entered the NCAA transfer portal, signaling a seismic shift in collegiate gymnastics and closing the door on a history-making run at the first-ever HBCU women’s gymnastics team.

“After a lot of thought, reflection, and prayer, I’ve decided to transfer for my final year of eligibility,” Price announced in an emotional Instagram post. The decision follows a dominant two-year stint where she became the face of Fisk gymnastics and the first HBCU gymnast to win a national collegiate title. She swept all four events at the 2025 Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitational Championship.

Her next destination remains unknown, but speculation is already swirling around top Power Five programs eager to add her unmatched talent and leadership. Price hinted at her ambitions, stating, “I’m eager to compete on a bigger stage and ready to push myself to new limits.”

Yet, her message was anything but a farewell. “This is not a goodbye, this is a see you again soon,” she wrote, expressing deep gratitude to Fisk for giving her “a purpose bigger than myself.” As one chapter ends, another begins. But wherever she lands, Price is poised to make headlines once again.