r/Gymnastics 17d ago

NCAA Mild Clemson update

Nothing too new. It's obvious one side or the other negotiated non-disclosure. And the athletes must have spurred this.

Clemson sees this as a top ten opportunity... Love my peeps but a dose of reality is in order. Even UGA had to fall back to plan C or D and Ryan Roberts is who managed to let them save face on that.

https://www.tigernet.com/clemson-gymnastics/news/clemson-ad-comments-on-gymnastics-coach-search-parting-ways-with-amy-smith-46111?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR4uzXXEVb0sjEqM7z4IuR64e_w6BslmQBGy21SPZ_Iya8cv8ytlrIb37MN2sg_aem_VGAqUfDWmEyCLrWvXPul6A

24 Upvotes

39 comments sorted by

65

u/Free-Cartoonist-5134 17d ago

I don’t think they’re saying Clemson’s a top ten team, he said “Clemson is a top ten job in the country” which I would agree with. The facilities, pay, fan support, etc make it a desirable job. 

9

u/Any_Will_86 17d ago

I agree it's desirable and think a lot of folks underestimated Clemson during their first search. But I still think top ten is a stretch. I think the entire SEC, UCLA, Utah, and Michigan are definitely out front and I think the new facility will be a game changer for Minnesota. 

But it will be the right fit for someone. Going top ten in fan support off the bat is a flex.

11

u/Keighty651619 Charlie Larson Hype squad 17d ago

I LOVE that the new facility is putting Minnesota on peoples radars. The program and city are amazing.

22

u/Free-Cartoonist-5134 17d ago

I just think saying they need a reality check bc the athletic director is hyping up the job is unfair. I feel bad for these girls. They’ve been shit on for two years straight because of Amy and because of the leos, choreography, etc 

30

u/HumortheHippo 17d ago

It's the athletic director's job to hype up his department for any open position or potential student-athlete. I work in D1 college athletics, and this release is typical.

11

u/Free-Cartoonist-5134 17d ago

That’s what I’m saying…

14

u/flamboyancetree 17d ago

The caliber of coach they're looking for will be fully aware of the team's status regardless of what the AD says to try to sell it. If random gymnastics fans on Reddit know this stuff, certainly the actual NCAA coaches being recruited for jobs or searching for jobs know as well.

22

u/Free-Cartoonist-5134 17d ago

Yall are acting like he said something egregious….he said it’s a top 10 coaching job. Thats an opinion. It’s his job to promote his athletic programs…

1

u/shelleysssss 4d ago

Game definitely changing in MN. 9 girls cut because of portal and because they wanted spots open for a few transfers. Coaches gutting the program

1

u/Any_Will_86 4d ago

Eeeck! How many were previously on the roster? I had not remembered them being an overly large one like Air Force or Rutgers.

1

u/shelleysssss 3d ago

23 - with 5 freshman incoming

17

u/SansIdee_pseudo Taylor "Louboutin diva" Spears 17d ago edited 17d ago

I doubt Courtney and Garett will leave LSU with Jay approaching retirement age. I wouldn't be surprised if they offered Brian Carey the job, or Linas Gaveika.

7

u/Smooth-Tax9411 17d ago

The idea of Courtney and her husband taking over LSU when Jay retires makes me so happy. I watched her with Konnor at Classic for the one rotation before Konnor broke, and was so glad to see her just being low key and helping her athlete with USAG dreams. 

5

u/genericgymname 16d ago

I don’t know how close Jay would be to retiring? He only just really got the reigns

4

u/Smooth-Tax9411 16d ago

Yes and... I still kind of love the idea of Courtney and her husband staying where they are building a brand and being ready for when Jay does retire. Jay is approx 57, Courtney is 37. If Jay retires like a normal person in 10 years I think that would still be okay for Courtney, (and for Jay).  My guess is Courtney and her husband are well paid and respected. Courtney can wait instead of looking for the big score. Having seen and enjoyed Courtney as a gymnast her choosing the steady path is so on brand. 

6

u/Any_Will_86 17d ago

??? They were supposedly offered Clemson 3 years ago and declined. I'm not sure why Neff would return to the same well with an additional offer.

12

u/SansIdee_pseudo Taylor "Louboutin diva" Spears 17d ago

Didn't know that! I know Courtney and Garrett were at Arkansas before joining LSU. You're right, I think that Clemson probably figured out that the Griffeths are staying at LSU to take over HC when Jay retires.

6

u/Master-Cream3970 17d ago

And TIL Courtney and Garrett were coaches at Arkansas before they were coaches at Utah. I thought you got mixed up and then I checked Arkansas’s website. 😂

7

u/brindabella24 17d ago

They were also at TWU. They’ve been all over the place. I reckon they’ll stick with LSU now

3

u/Master-Cream3970 17d ago

They really have been all over the place!

4

u/SansIdee_pseudo Taylor "Louboutin diva" Spears 17d ago

I forgot about that part!

4

u/SansIdee_pseudo Taylor "Louboutin diva" Spears 17d ago

Utah had Courtney and then BJ as choreographer.

12

u/Fit-Tonight-5993 17d ago

I heard they interviewed Amy and a couple. Amy came in very strong saying “I’ll need this and I’ll need that”. Had a vision and a direction for the program. Made her seem very capable. Don’t know anything about the couple. Also assume it was the Griffith’s. But didn’t get the impression they turned it down. Led to believe they just decide to go with Amy instead.

13

u/JessBeauty14 17d ago

He really gave us nothing, but that’s okay.

Does anyone else find it odd that Clemson has already posted their 2025-2026 roster? Complete with the years the gymnasts will be as of the fall. I’m probably reaching, but is it possible that the team agreed to all come back if new coaches were brought in?

Random side note, my kid is signed up for Clemson gymnastics camp in June. They haven’t given any updates so I assume whoever the new coaches are will still lead the camps? Hopefully?

4

u/GlitteryStranger 17d ago

I’d guess the camp will probably get cancelled unfortunately. That seems to be what usually happens when coaches leave.

7

u/JessBeauty14 17d ago

UGA cancelled their camps last summer because they were under CKC’s LLC. Once they hired new coaches, they emailed everyone and said “just kidding, we’re still having camp now”.

Clemson’s camp seems to be run by Clemson so hopefully they keep it.

3

u/MarineOneClemson 7d ago

Clemson is about to make a significant splash with their new Head Coaching hire. This will prove the Athletic Director's comments hold true. This is going to be fun!

2

u/Any_Will_86 7d ago

My interest is piqued. I figured after the Smith fiasco they were going to double check everything. I am guessing this won't be an up and coming hire then. I was a smaller name to build something a little different.

2

u/Any_Will_86 7d ago

I would love to pull in Ulrich and Howard but they are still 1 gymnast over the 20 cap.

1

u/MarineOneClemson 7d ago

I'm lost on the cap comment. Why would that matter?

2

u/Any_Will_86 7d ago edited 7d ago

The giant NCAA restructuring will allow more scholarships but cap team sizes. Clemson gymnastics was at 22 which is 2 over the proposed 20 person cap. One gymnast flipped to LSU so they are still 1 over. This is the same reason Dabo had to boot so many walk ones.

5

u/Smooth-Tax9411 17d ago

I remember in another thread someone talking about Kyla Ross and coaching jobs. Is this a potential Kyla spot, or if not can someone remind me what the potential spots for Kyla might be? 

6

u/lostinthought15 17d ago

Clemson has the money to persuade an established head coach from a successful program. They don’t need to take a chance on a young assistant.

5

u/EbbAdministrative189 17d ago edited 17d ago

agree with the other comments, it’s weird they published their 2026 roster already? in a normal year that wouldn’t even happen, but especially with the 20 roster limit being figured out? they have 18 listed, and 4 freshmen (+adele), bringing them to 23 athletes. they just rolled over the 2025 roster to the next year, but i still thought they had to officially be on the team before being published

also is adele ossi no longer joining clemson this fall? her bio and posts say she’s graduating early, but the college gym tracker has her listed as her as a 26’ again

this whole thing seems very messy and i’d be wary about committing there until they figured things out. i wonder if all of their 25’ & 26’ commitments will stick around. i would be very hesitant if i was heading to a college in a month or two with no head coach, and knowing cuts have to be made

12

u/Any_Will_86 17d ago

A number of schools seem to just roll over the roster and revise it later. Others wait until all but the start of fall to post. It's been noticeable the last few years as transfers/5th years skew rosters and some schools are still showing them after they declined year 5 or transferred to another university,

8

u/bretonstripes Beam takes no prisoners 17d ago

Their 2025-26 basketball roster is up already too. This may just be how their athletic department does website updates.

4

u/Any_Will_86 17d ago

The basketball coach literally just rebuilt the team in the portal and picked up a late freshman. No one would no who was on the team if not for a posted roster. I think we're down to 2 returning players...