Jordan Chiles To Get A New Coach As UCLA Gymnastics Announces Big NCAA Season News

In the 2025 NCAA season, UCLA marked a dominating win at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad with a score of 197.550, the third-highest score in the nation this season. The Bruins also posted a national-best floor exercise score of 49.600. One of the biggest contributions came from Jordan Chiles: Winning floor with a near-perfect 9.975 (her 27th career 9.975+), while also tying for 3rd on vault (9.925) and 5th on bars (9.850). But she was not alone in doing it.

Another gymnast led UCLA to a strong opening with a first-place beam routine that secured a 49.475 team total, the third-best beam score in the nation. She matched that mark on the floor, where she tied for fourth place. This gymnast earned 9.925 on both of her events. And now, from the 2026 season, she would be coaching Jordan Chiles and other Bruins.

“‼️‼️‼️ Coaching alert! Former UCLA gymnast, Emma Malabuyo, will be sticking around as a Graduate Student Assistant Coach! Congrats Emma!” reported Inside Gymnastics Magazine via their Meta Threads account. UCLA also confirmed this via their Instagram, informing that the 2024 Olympian will be taking coaching responsibilities.

As a Graduate Student Assistant Coach, she would be assisting the head coach, Janelle McDonald, in crafting and executing training sessions from warmups to drills, routines, and conditioning. Tiana Sumanasekera, Ashlee Sullivan, Nola Matthews, and Jordis Eichman will be joining Jordan Chiles and Co. And Emma, once Chiles’ teammate, will now have to guide them. But this does not mean that we won’t see her on the mat.

Emma will continue to train and compete for the Philippines at this year’s World Championships and Southeast Asian Games. All this while pursuing a postgraduate certificate in marketing.

“This is a full circle moment, from competing as a Bruin to now serving as a graduate student assistant coach,” Malabuyo said. The Phillipino was part of a freshman class that included Brooklyn Moors, Ana Padurariu, and Jordan Chiles, who have all made their collegiate debuts in 2022. She and Chiles had their shared iconic moments, like being selected as Big Ten Gymnasts to Watch for 2025.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be part of this exceptional program and help cultivate the next generation of Bruins to reach their full potential while contributing to the legacy of UCLA Gymnastics. I’m so excited for this new chapter!” she added. Emma is the first UCLA gymnast alongside Jordan Chiles to earn Big Ten Conference Weekly Awards, as Chiles was named the conference Gymnast of the Week and Malabuyo the Co-Event Specialist of the Week in 3rd week of January.

Emma Malabuyo as a UCLA gymnast

Emma Malabuyo came to UCLA in 2022 and instantly became a key gymnast for the Bruins, bringing elite experience as a 2020 U.S. Olympic Alternate.

She was only the fourth Bruin freshman to receive a 10 on balance beam (Mar. 12 vs. UC Davis) and received Second-Team All-Pac-12 honors in beam, as well as WCGA Scholastic All-America. Emma was third in the floor at the Pac-12 Championships with a 9.925 and was named the Pac-12 Specialist of the Week (Mar. 8) after recording career highs of 9.975 on beam and 9.950 on floor.

Four of her beam routines were scored at least one perfect 10 by a judge that year, and she finished the season with a 39.500 all-around at the NCAA Regional Final. At the NCAA Championships, she scored 9.950 on beam in 2023 to become a First-Team All-American on beam, and since then, she has continued to deliver 9.9+ scores when the moment is needed most. She also performed other 9.950+ beam routines, her career-best 9.900 on bars in NCAA Regionals, and a beam silver in the 2024 Pac-12 Championships. What’s more?

In her senior year in 2025, Emma became a four-time NCAA runner-up and four-time All-American on beam. She was also an exceptional student who won First-Team Academic All-America and the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. This was the inaugural appearance of UCLA at the BIG 10, and Emma scored three 9.900+ scores at the Big Ten Championships, tying her career-high 9.950 on floor, tying for third on beam with 9.950, and scoring 9.900 on bar. She was also the NCAA beam runner-up with a season-high-tying 9.9750.

So, undoubtedly, this experience will serve UCLA as she coaches the team. But which role she shines at the most – that’s something to be seen till the 2026 season commences.