BATON ROUGE, La. – Coming off a national runner-up finish in 2026, LSU Gymnastics has announced its schedule for the 2027 season, featuring competition against some of the nation’s top programs. The Tigers will kick off the season with a New Year’s Day exhibition meet before officially opening competition on January 9.
The Tigers return 12 gymnasts from last season’s NCAA runner-up squad and welcome six newcomers, including three transfers and three freshmen, as LSU looks to build on another successful postseason run and compete for a national championship.
Leading the returning group for LSU are a trio of now-seniors in Konnor McClain, Amari Drayton and Kylie Coen, alongside now-juniors Kailin Chio, Kaliya Lincoln and Lexi Zeiss. The experienced group brings a wealth of postseason experience and individual accolades to the Tigers 2027 roster.
McClain, a six-time All-American entering her senior season, has established herself as one of the nation’s top performers on bars and beam. She earned All-America honors on both events during LSU’s 2026 national runner-up campaign, including a 9.950 on beam in the NCAA Championship Final. Drayton added another standout season to her résumé, earning First Team All-America honors on floor after posting a 9.9375 in the NCAA Semifinals. Coen also made her mark in 2026, earning her first All-SEC honor on floor last season.
Chio returns as one of the most decorated gymnasts in the country after another historic season. The 2026 SEC Gymnast of the Year, Region One Gymnast of the Year and Corbett Award winner, Chio earned eight All-America honors during the season and became the first LSU gymnast to record a perfect 10 on vault in the NCAA Championship Final. She enters her junior year with 14 career perfect scores and 67 individual event titles. Lincoln also returns following an impressive sophomore season, where she was named SEC Floor Champion and earned four All-America honors. Zeiss claimed All-SEC honors on vault in 2026 and adds valuable experience as an all-around competitor.
LSU’s six newcomers will add depth and versatility across the lineup, with freshmen Malea Milton, Annalisa Milton and Audree Valdenarro joining transfers Skyelar Kerico, Jordyn Lyden and Ariel Posen.
The Milton twins arrive in Baton Rouge as accomplished elite-level gymnasts from Gage Gymnastics in Missouri. Malea and Annalisa signed with LSU both as a four-star recruit, and Valdenarro joined the Tigers from Gymnastics Olympica USA in Los Angeles as a four-star recruit.
Kerico joined LSU for her final season of eligibility after a standout career at Penn, where she became one of the Gymnastics East Conference’s top all-around performers. A two-time GEC Gymnast of the Year and five-time individual GEC champion, Kerico earned First Team All-GEC honors on every event and in the all-around during her 2025 campaign. She also set Penn program records on vault with a 9.925 and in the all-around with a 39.450.
Lyden transferred to LSU for her senior season after three years at Minnesota, where she helped the Golden Gophers reach the NCAA Championship Final for the first time in program history in 2026. A First Team All-American on floor and the 2026 Big Ten bars champion, Lyden brings experience across uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. She recorded career-best scores of 9.950 on all three events during her junior season and competed in every meet of her collegiate career at Minnesota.
Posen rounds out LSU’s transfer class, returning to collegiate gymnastics for her final season of eligibility after medically retiring in 2023. Following the majority of her collegiate career at Georgia, Posen will add depth to the Tigers’ bars and beam lineups. A former five-star elite gymnast, she was a 10-time state champion and eight-time regional champion before beginning her collegiate career.
LSU will host its annual Gymnastics 101/Open Mike Night exhibition on New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, at 1 p.m. CT inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The event is free to the public and will give fans an early look at the 2027 Tigers ahead of the season’s first official competition. This is also the only opportunity for post-meet autographs with the team.
The Tigers will officially begin the season at the fourth-annual Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. LSU is set to appear in the opening session on Saturday, Jan. 9, at 1 p.m. CT, against reigning national champions Oklahoma, LSU, Florida and UCLA. The meet will air live on ABC.
LSU returns to Baton Rouge for its home opener against Arizona State on Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. CT. The Tigers will then hit the road for consecutive meets against Kentucky on Jan. 22 and Texas Woman’s on Jan. 24 before returning home to host Georgia on Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. CT.
The February slate features several marquee matchups, beginning with a road meet at Auburn on Feb. 5. LSU will welcome Oklahoma to the PMAC on Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. CT before traveling to Alabama on Feb. 19. The Tigers close out the month at home against Florida on Feb. 26, with the meet set for 8 p.m. CT.
LSU opens March on the road against Arkansas on March 5 before hosting Missouri on March 12 at 7:30 p.m. CT in its regular-season finale.
The Southeastern Conference Championships are set for March 20 at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida. Session times are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. CT.
Postseason competition begins with NCAA Regionals, scheduled for March 31-April 4, with Arkansas, Denver, Georgia and NC State serving as this year's host sites. The 2027 NCAA Championships will take place April 15-17 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, as the Tigers look to return to the sport’s biggest stage.
Season ticket requests for the 2027 LSU Gymnastics season are available now. Fans can click here for additional details. For the complete 2027 LSU Gymnastics schedule, visit here.
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