By Mubarak Simmons

Through seven meets of the 2026 NCAA gymnastics season, one thing has become impossible to ignore: Kailin Chio of LSU gymnastics is the most dominant gymnast in the country. With four perfect 10s, four SEC Gymnast of the Week awards, and all-around scores that belong in the record books, the sophomore from Las Vegas is doing things that even the most optimistic LSU fans couldn’t have predicted when the season began.

Kailin Chio’s 2026 Season by the Numbers

Those numbers aren’t just impressive — they’re historic. No gymnast in the SEC has claimed four of seven weekly conference awards in a single season the way Chio has. Her 22 individual event titles through seven meets are extraordinary. And her all-around consistency, posting 39.800 or higher in back-to-back weeks including on the road against the top-ranked team in the country, puts her in a class of her own.

From SEC Freshman of the Year to 2026 Frontrunner

If you watched Chio as a freshman in 2025, you knew something special was coming. She won the NCAA vault title, earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors, and set the SEC record for most freshman weekly awards in a single season with nine. That’s not a player you lose sleep over in Year 2 — that’s a player you build around.

But even with those sky-high expectations, Chio has exceeded them. She opened the 2026 season at the Sprouts Collegiate Quad in Utah by winning the all-around with a 39.600 — edging out two-time U.S. Olympian Jordan Chiles — and hasn’t looked back. Week after week, she has been the most consistent all-around performer in the nation, posting 9.900 or higher on every event multiple times throughout the season.

The Perfect 10 Tear: Vault, Floor, and Beam

One of the most remarkable aspects of Chio’s season has been her ability to earn perfect 10s on multiple events. For most gymnasts, one career 10 is a career highlight. Chio now has five — four of them coming this season alone.

Her first perfect 10 on floor came against Auburn on February 13, capping a 39.875 all-around performance that ranks as the second-highest all-around score in LSU history. One week later at No. 1 Oklahoma in Norman — the toughest road environment in college gymnastics — she came back with two perfect 10s in a single meet, scoring 10.000 on vault and 10.000 on beam. The vault 10 was her first on that event this season. The beam 10 was her second.

That performance, in a hostile road environment against the top team in the country, wasn’t just impressive — it was a statement. Her 39.850 all-around in Norman became the highest all-around score ever posted on the road in LSU program history.

Winning at Oklahoma Means Something

LSU ultimately fell to Oklahoma 198.125–197.925 in that February 20 showdown, but context matters here. The No. 1 Sooners were at full strength in their home building. LSU was missing Konnor McClain, who suffered a warm-up injury and was held out of competition. Head coach Jay Clark noted post-meet that to win on the road, a team typically needs to outperform their opponent by roughly 0.300 — and the Tigers came within 0.200 of doing exactly that, shorthanded.

Chio’s 39.850 all-around in that environment speaks for itself. She scored four individual event titles — vault, beam, and a share of both floor and the all-around. That’s a performance you’re talking about at the end of the season when the NCAA Championship discussion begins.

Already Making LSU History as a Sophomore

It’s easy to throw around the word “historic” in sports. With Chio, it’s just accurate. Her 45 career event titles already rank 13th in LSU program history — and she has two full seasons remaining after this one. She ranks fifth in LSU history for beam titles in a single season with seven. Her career-high all-around of 39.875 places her alongside Haleigh Bryant (2023) and April Burkholder (2003) as the only Tigers ever to reach that mark.

For context: Bryant was a multi-time All-American and one of the most decorated gymnasts in LSU history. Burkholder competed over two decades ago when NCAA gymnastics scoring was at a different standard entirely. The company Chio is keeping as a sophomore is extraordinary.

What’s Ahead: Alabama and the Road to Nationals

LSU has a loaded weekend on deck. The Tigers host No. 3 Alabama on Friday, February 27 at 8:30 p.m. CT at the PMAC, then head to the Raising Cane’s River Center on Sunday, March 1 for the Podium Challenge — a quad meet against No. 3 Alabama, No. 17 North Carolina, and Arizona.

With postseason positioning coming into sharper focus, every meet from here on out carries additional weight. If Chio continues performing at this level — and there’s no reason to think she won’t — LSU will be in the national championship conversation all the way to the end. She still hasn’t scored a perfect 10 on bars, which means there may still be another gear she hasn’t hit yet this season.

The postseason is where legends are made. If the 2026 NCAA gymnastics season is any indication, Kailin Chio is building toward something that could define her generation of the sport. She’s not just the best gymnast in the SEC right now. She may be the best gymnast in the country.

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