BATON ROUGE – LSU Gymnastics senior Haleigh Bryant was named one of six finalists for the 2024 AAI Award, announced by the American Athletic Incorporation on Friday morning.
Often likened to the Heisman Trophy for Women’s Gymnastics, the AAI Award is given annually to the top senior gymnast in the country. This prestigious award has become a symbol of excellence in the sport.
Bryant joins Luisa Blanco (Alabama), Audrey Davis (Oklahoma), Maile O’Keefe (Utah), Gabby Wilson (Michigan) and Raena Worley (Kentucky) as one of this year’s finalists.
The senior was voted as a finalist out of 50 nominees by head coaches throughout the nation. She joins an elite group of LSU gymnasts who have been named finalists for the award, including Sarah Finnegan, Myia Hambrick, Ashleigh Gnat and Susan Jackson.
LSU has had three AAI Award Winners in Finnegan (2019), Gnat (2017) and Susan Jackson (2010) in program history.
Bryant sets the standard for what it means to be a true competitor, teammate, and leader. She has already proven to be one of the best gymnasts in LSU and NCAA history as she continues to etch her name in the record books in her senior campaign with the Tigers.
The senior made school history as she posted a career high 39.925 in the all-around, which is the highest all-around score by any LSU gymnast, the second-best in SEC history and ties for the fourth best in the NCAA. The score is the highest score by any gymnast in the nation so far this year as she secured another week at No. 1 in the all-around.
Bryant owns an NQS of 9.900 or higher on every event and has remained the top gymnast in the nation for eight consecutive weeks this year. Her stellar performances week after week have consistently placed her amongst the top-25 performers on every event for eight consecutive weeks in 2024.
So far in her senior season, she has recorded seven meets with scores of 9.900 and has season highs of perfect 10’s on every event. She notched her first career perfect score on beam against Georgia this year to become only the 14th gymnast in NCAA history to complete a gym slam (a perfect score on every event).
On top of her gym slam, Bryant recently completed a season slam (a perfect score on every event in a single season) with her perfect score on vault in the Tigers last meet at the Podium Challenge. It was her first perfect score on the event this year as she now owns six 10’s across all four events this season with two on floor, two on bars, one on vault and one on beam. She became only the 10th gymnast in the NCAA to complete a single-season slam.
Already the all-time perfect 10 leader in LSU history, Bryant now owns 16 perfect scores in her career (9 VT, 3 UB, 3 FX, 1 BB), placing her at 10th most in NCAA history.
In the conference, Bryant has been named SEC Gymnast of the Week six times in 2024, the most by any gymnast this year. She now owns 11 weekly SEC honors in her career and remains the top performer in the conference through all 10 weeks of competition this year.
Bryant picked up right where she left off this season after an unforgettable junior season. Last year, she went 64 for 64 routines for the Tigers as she competed in the all-around in every meet and became the first LSU gymnast to average a 9.900+ across all four events in a season. Against West Virginia last year, Bryant recorded three perfect 10’s to become the first LSU Gymnast to do so in a single meet and only the fifth in NCAA history. She won the all-around 11 times in 2023, which tied for the second most in a single season at LSU. Her performance on the year earned her Honda Award finalist honors.
A native of Cornelius, North Carolina, Bryant is a 17 time All-American (5 VT, 3 UB, 2 BB, 3 FX, 4 AA) and three-time All-SEC member. The senior currently owns 83 titles in her career (sixth most in LSU history) with 30 on vault, 13 on bars, six on beam, nine on floor and 26 in the all-around. Her 30 career titles on vault are the second most in school history while she is tied with Rheagan Courville for most career all-around titles in program history.
Bryant was destined for greatness the moment she stepped on campus. In her freshman season in 2021, she took home the vault national title and was named the SEC Vault Champion and Freshman of the Year. She is the only current gymnast on the squad who owns an individual national championship.
Outside of the gym, Bryant is a two-time Scholastic All-American and three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member as she pursues her degree in sport administration with an anticipated graduation date of May 2024.
The winner of this year’s AAI Award will be announced at the 2024 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas in April.
Stay up to date with Bryant and all things LSU Gymnastics by following the team’s social media channels @LSUgym on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.