Following the Tigers’ first national victory, the University of Georgia pursued Jay Clark and his assistants to return to his old school. However, sources with knowledge of the issue indicate that the LSU gymnastics coaching team will stay in place.
According to insiders, Clark and aides Garrett Griffeth, Courtney McCool Griffeth, and Ashleigh Gnat are expected to receive raises and new contracts. There has been no announcement of details.
The Athens (Georgia) Banner-Herald said that Clark was Georgia’s top choice to succeed the legendary Courtney Kupets Carter, who was fired on Friday after seven seasons. According to reports, the Griffeths were also among Georgia’s top picks, either to accompany Clark as assistant coaches or to take over as co-head coaches in the event that Clark declined the position.
Another legendary gymnast from Georgia, Courtney McCool Griffeth helped the Gym Dogs win three NCAA titles and medaled for the United States in the 2004 Olympics with silver and bronze.
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Before the NCAA semifinals on Thursday, April 18, 2024 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, LSU gymnastics coach Jay Clark has a conversation with the team.
Staff Photo Credited to Michael Johnson
Josh Brooks, a native of Hammond and 2002 LSU alumnus, serves as Georgia’s athletic director. The school, which has won 10 national titles—still the most in the history of women’s gymnastics—but none since 2009, is reportedly keen to regain its position as one of the best programs in the country. Georgia has been stuck in the bottom half of the Southeastern Conference rankings in recent years, and it hasn’t made it to the NCAA championship since 2016.
Following Suzanne Yoculan’s 27-year tenure, Clark, a native of Roswell, Georgia and graduate of Georgia, succeeded her in 2010. Clark was criticized for not being able to maintain that level of performance, and he only lasted four seasons.
After the 2012 season, LSU coach D-D Breaux appointed Clark as her primary assistant. He was appointed LSU’s co-head coach in 2020, and once she retired in 2021 after 43 years as head coach, he took over as head coach alone. At the time, this was the longest tenure of any Southeastern Conference coach in any sport.
The Tigers started pounding on the door of an NCAA championship as soon as Clark joined the team. From 2014 to 2019, LSU placed second nationally four times.
Following a fourth-place finish in the NCAA championship meet in 2023, Clark and his staff guided the Tigers to their greatest season to date in 2024. LSU finished with a 31-3 record, winning the NCAA Fayetteville regional, the Southeastern Conference championship meet at the Smoothie King Center, and on Saturday, the much-anticipated NCAA title. It was the program’s tenth trip to the NCAA finals and LSU’s first SEC championship since 2019. It was also the Tigers’ eighth trip there since Clark’s arrival.
After the 2021 season, Clark hired the Griffeths away from Utah, which placed third in the NCAA final on Saturday. Courtney Griffeth began volunteering as a coach, and Garrett Griffeth was hired as a full-time assistant. When the NCAA permitted a third assistant for each school’s gymnastics program, LSU hired her as a full-time assistant in July.
Gnat competed for LSU from 2014 to 2017 and was a 17-time All-American. She also won the 2017 AAI Award, which is presented to the best senior gymnast in the country, and the NCAA floor title. After serving as assistant coach at Penn State for two years, she returned to LSU prior to the 2021 season.
Leading recruit class in the country, lead by members of the U.S. Pan American Games squad, Zoe Miller and Kaliya Lincoln, LSU is set to field another highly regarded squad in 2025.
SEC beam champion Konnor McClain, NCAA floor champion Aleah Finnegan, SEC co-floor champion KJ Johnson, and SEC bars champion Ashley Cowan are among the returning athletes.
A number of Tigers have not yet declared their intentions to play for a fifth or sixth season in 2025, but they are eligible to do so. Haleigh Bryant, the nation’s best senior gymnast, earned the AAI Award, the NCAA and SEC all-around titles, as well as the vault. She leads that group. Kiya Johnson, Olivia Dunne, Sierra Ballard, Chase Brock, and Alyona Shchennikova are also eligible to make a comeback. Alyona Shchennikova missed the full 2024 season due to an Achilles injury.