BATON ROUGE – The LSU Gymnastics program officially announced the addition of Zoe Miller, Kailin Chio, Kaliya Lincoln and Lexi Zeiss from the Class of 2024 on Wednesday afternoon.
“We are very excited about this class! This may be the most balanced group of four we have ever signed,” head coach Jay Clark said. “They possess all the traits of a class that should lead us for quite some time. Gymnastics talent is not lacking in any area, and we look forward to them joining our program and finding their roles early in their career here.”
A three-time national team member and international competitor, Miller owns a combined nine gold medals throughout her individual career at the senior elite level and with Team USA.
An all-arounder out of Spring, Texas, Miller is rated a four-star recruit by College Gym News and a five-star according to CollegeGymFans.com. She trains at the World Champions Centre under Cecile & Laurent Landi.
“Zoe brings a world class ability and the experience of competing at the highest level of the sport,” said assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Garrett Griffeth. “She competes with a calculated intensity that will make her a hit with the Tiger faithful. Her presence in lineups will certainly be felt from the jump next year.”
Miller’s journey with Team USA began in 2021 following her performance in the U.S. National Gymnastics Championships. Since then, she has made a name for herself on all four events, but especially on the uneven bars. Her first competition at the national level came in the 2022 Pan American Championships, where she was the runner up on bars. In that same year, she made her debut on the international stage, earning her first career title on bars as Team USA finished on top in the City of Jesolo Trophy competition.
Miller has earned multiple titles this year, claiming three national titles with Team USA and four individually. She recorded first place finishes on bars at the 2023 Core Hydration Classic and Winter Cup competitions, as well as first place team finishes in the Pan American Championships and the DTB Pokal Team Challenge. Her national success continued in September, when she became the bars champion at the Pan American Games in Chile. Her score of 14.666 in the competition helped lead Team USA to gold in the team all-around.
Chio is a five-star recruit out of Las Vegas, Nevada. As a former national team member and the vault and bars champion at the 2023 Women’s Development Program National Championships, she brings depth across the board with experience on the national and international levels.
“Kailin is coming to LSU with a large vocabulary of difficult and unique skills that will allow her to stand out in the NCAA. She has the ability to immediately impact all four lineups next year and her gymnastics will most certainly be a favorite for all Tiger fans,” said Griffeth.
At the junior elite level, Chio is a seven-time national champion, notching multiple team and individual titles throughout her career. She won gold on vault, bars and the all-around in the 2021 American Classic as well as a first place finish in the U.S. National Championships that year.
The Nevada native took her skills to the international stage in 2021 as she and Team USA earned gold in the team final at the Junior Pan American Championships. Chio went on to compete in the inaugural Junior Pan American Games in November 2021, where she claimed the floor title and contributed to Team USA’s success in the team final.
This year, Chio has competed as a level 10 gymnast and owns a first place finish in the all-around in the Nastia Liukin Cup and owns multiple perfect scores on vault in 2023. She trains at Gymcats under the leadership of head coach Cassie Rice and Jill Preston.
A native of the Bay area, Lincoln has seen success at the national and international levels as a four-time member of Team USA. She is the 2023 U.S. floor exercise silver medalist, Winter Cup floor exercise champion and Pan American Games team & floor exercise champion.
Lincoln is a five-star rated gymnast as she owns multiple titles in her career, including being a five-time national champion on floor. She trains at WOGA Gymnastics in Texas under Yevgeny and Haiou Sun.
“Kaliya has an incredibly high level of difficulty in her gymnastics. She’s an unbelievable athlete that has the ability to make even the hardest of skills look effortless,” said Griffeth. “She’s going to shine in front of 12,000 Tiger fans in the PMAC on a Friday night.”
In her first appearance at the elite level with the junior national team in 2020, Lincoln helped Team USA win gold. She went on to earn multiple first place finishes on floor at the 2021 U.S. Core Hydration Classic and the U.S. National Championships. She was selected to represent the U.S. at the 2021 Junior Pan American Gymnastics Championships, where she helped Team USA place first as a team and individually she won gold on vault and beam.
As a senior elite level gymnast in 2023, Lincoln placed second on floor at the Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships, second at the Core Hydration Classic, and first on floor and ninth in the all-around at the Winter Cup. She competed alongside future teammate Zoe Miller in the Pan American Games September to bring home two gold medals.
Zeiss is a two-time U.S. National Team member and 2022 World Champion. A top-rated recruit out of Omaha, Nebraska, she is ranked four stars by College Gym News and five stars by CollegeGymFans.com.
“Lexi is a natural born competitor. She’s a passionate and gritty athlete that has the unique ability to make everyone around her better,” said Griffeth. “Tiger Nation is going to love Lexi’s personality and the way she competes for the Purple and Gold.”
Her elite gymnastics debut came at the 2021 Winter Cup, where she is now the reigning all-around champion three years later after her all-around performance in the competition in 2023.
Zeiss was part of the silver medal winning team at the 2022 Pan American Championships, where she finished second in the all-around and third on beam. She was awarded the Sportsmanship Award for Excellence, Respect, and Friendship by the Pan American Gymnastics Union during that competition.
The future Tiger trains at Twin City Twisters in Minnesota under the leadership of head coach Sarah Jantzi and Seth Helland.
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