In Jade Carey's final meet, can she win the NCAA all-around title?

JADE CAREY WAS 14 erstwhile she verbally committed to vie astatine Oregon State.

She was enamored with the squad and the coaching staff, arsenic good arsenic the Corvallis campus. It felt similar the cleanable fit.

In the astir 11 years since, Carey has go 1 of the country's astir decorated elite gymnasts, with 3 Olympic medals and 3 satellite title titles, but her emotion for Oregon State has ne'er wavered. While the balancing enactment betwixt her nationalist squad commitments, academics and NCAA gymnastics has been a situation astatine times, Carey wouldn't alteration a thing.

On Thursday, aft a stellar collegiate career, the 24-year-old Carey volition correspond Oregon State for the past clip astatine the NCAA championships successful Fort Worth, Texas. She enters the contention ranked No. 1 successful the state successful the all-around and connected equilibrium beam, and volition person 1 past accidental to bring an NCAA rubric backmost to Corvallis.

"That would mean everything to me," Carey told ESPN connected Friday. "It's been 1 of my biggest goals for a truly agelong time, and it would conscionable proceed to physique connected the bequest of astonishing gymnasts that we've had here. I've had specified a vocation present astatine Oregon State, truthful it's truly breathtaking to beryllium capable to spell to nationals 1 past clip and conscionable truly springiness it my all.

"No regrets. Leave it each retired determination and spot wherever it each falls."

THAT "NO REGRETS" MANTRA has been a taxable for Carey passim her gymnastics career.

When Carey primitively decided she wanted to travel to Oregon State, she wasn't Jade Carey, the Olympic golden medalist, oregon adjacent Jade Carey, the Olympic prospect, she was simply a talented young level 10 gymnast. While galore of her eventual Olympic teammates were grooming astatine nationalist squad camps successful their preteens, Carey wasn't adjacent connected the elite radar astatine that point.

When she was looking astatine colleges, she wasn't reasoning astir however the Olympics would origin into her timeline oregon however she could negociate both. She was conscionable excited to vie astatine the Division I level.

But aft the 2016 Olympics, the U.S. squad was looking to replenish its extent connected level and vault successful the impermanent lack of Simone Biles. Carey's skills connected some events caught the attraction of officials, and she was invited to a nationalist squad camp.

Her beingness astir instantly changed course. And abruptly she had immoderate caller dreams for herself.

In July of 2017, she won some level and vault astatine the U.S. Classic, past went connected to triumph vault and spot 2nd connected level astatine her archetypal U.S. nationals. She was named to the squad for the satellite championships aboriginal that year. It was conscionable her 3rd elite competition, yet she won metallic successful some events astatine worlds. Carey had primitively planned connected starting astatine Oregon State successful the autumn of 2018, but aft her auspicious debut connected the satellite stage, assemblage would person to wait.

The remainder of Carey's meteoric emergence is well-documented. Through a short-lived regularisation change, Carey qualified for the 2020 Olympics arsenic an individual. At the pandemic-delayed Games, Carey competed successful the all-around contention aft Biles withdrew and finished successful eighth place. She won the golden medal connected floor.

And that fall, Carey, present a household name, yet arrived connected field astatine Oregon State -- 3 years aft she primitively planned.

While determination person been Olympians who person gone connected to vie collegiately, including respective of Carey's peers from Team USA, astir person gone connected to accepted perennial powers similar UCLA, Utah and Florida. Carey's accomplishment successful Corvallis was eagerly anticipated, and determination was anticipation she could assistance bring Oregon State from extracurricular contender to morganatic rubric threat. The squad had past made the NCAA championships successful 2019 and hadn't precocious to the last since 1993.

Her interaction connected the squad was immediate. She competed connected each 4 events successful her debut conscionable and won the all-around title. By the extremity of the season, she was named the Pac-12's Gymnast and Freshman of the Year and was the 2022 NCAA runner-up connected bars. She took a abbreviated break, past returned to elite contention that summer. In autumn of 2022, she was backmost connected the U.S. squad for the satellite championships and won the vault title.

Carey continued to equilibrium some for the adjacent 2 years. She was an NCAA runner-up connected 3 different occasions (2024 all-around and floor, 2023 beam) and won a slew of Pac-12 titles and awards. While different elite stars, similar her 2020 and 2024 teammate Jordan Chiles, took the twelvemonth disconnected from NCAA contention for the Olympic lead-up, Carey stuck with both. Her strategy worked. She made her 2nd Olympic squad successful 2024, helping assistance the U.S. squad to golden and winning the bronze medal connected vault.

Though Carey made her treble beingness look easy, it was thing but. She would walk hours successful the gym aft her greeting signifier with the Beavers moving connected her elite skills with her dada Brian, her lifelong manager and present an adjunct for Oregon State. Sometimes a fewer of her teammates would enactment with her for enactment -- thing she continues to beryllium grateful for -- but different times, she was alone. It was isolating and intense. Much of the remainder of her clip was spent connected schoolwork.

"I deliberation my archetypal 3 years successful assemblage were large and I wouldn't commercialized them for the world, but the other value with elite was a lot," Carey said.

After participating successful the Gold Over America Tour pursuing her occurrence successful Paris, Carey returned to Corvallis successful November for her elder year. And for the archetypal time, she has been capable to simply beryllium a assemblage gymnast, conscionable similar she initially had planned erstwhile she committed each those years ago.

The effect has been 1 of the astir ascendant and awesome seasons successful NCAA history. Carey has won the all-around rubric successful each conscionable this season, earned 4 cleanable 10.0 scores and go conscionable the 4th gymnast to execute her 2nd vocation GymSlam (a 10.0 connected each event). On Senior Night, she earned a career-best and the highest people successful the federation this play with a 39.925, successful beforehand of a grounds assemblage of 9,042 fans. It was the fourth-highest people successful NCAA history. On Wednesday, Carey was fixed the 2025 AAI Award, an grant presented to the nation's apical elder gymnast.

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"If she had been portion of [teams that had won oregon contended for NCAA championships], she mightiness spell down successful past arsenic 1 of the top women's collegiate gymnasts to person ever lived," said ESPN expert and three-time men's NCAA all-around champion John Roethlisberger. "She is unsocial athletically and mentally. She seems unfazed. You ne'er look astatine her and go, 'Man, she's choking.' Has anybody ever said Jade Carey is choking? She conscionable doesn't bash that. She is conscionable this, a compliment, similar this gymnastics machine. She's thing unsocial and peculiar that I deliberation differentiates herself from truly anybody we've seen."

Carey credits her 2025 occurrence to being capable to absorption exclusively connected assemblage gymnastics. Without elite gymnastics to juggle, she's besides been capable to walk much clip with her teammates, successful and retired of the gym, and person existent escaped time. Carey went Instagram official with her woman Aimee Sinacola successful March, penning "Happy" alongside a carousel of pictures of the 2 together.

"This twelvemonth I haven't had the Olympics successful the backmost of my caput 24-7," Carey said. "I've conscionable been capable to deliberation astir and bask the full process and the season. I was capable to springiness much to assemblage gymnastics and to my teammates than I've ever been capable to bash before. I deliberation that's truly what's yet led maine to wherever I americium this twelvemonth and allowed maine to person a batch of fun."

WINNING AN NCAA all-around rubric wasn't Carey's lone extremity this season.

She had desperately wanted to spell to the NCAA championships and contend for the squad title. It was thing they worked toward each play and thing Carey had ne'er been capable to acquisition during her clip astatine Oregon State. But astatine the NCAA determination finals, the past halt earlier Fort Worth, the Beavers finished successful 4th spot and were eliminated. Carey, the lone subordinate of the squad to suffice arsenic an individual, was disappointed. But the nonaccomplishment gave her purpose.

"I conscionable wanted to springiness everything I had astatine the determination last and permission it each retired determination and truly propulsion for our champion accidental for the squad to get there," Carey said. "I was reminding the squad aft not to bent their heads astir the play due to the fact that it was truly unthinkable overall. I cognize that nationals was a large goal, but [they should] inactive beryllium arrogant of what they were capable to bash this year. And truthful truly for me, conscionable going into nationals, taking that each and finishing retired the year, not lone for myself but the full team. It's bigger than conscionable me."

While technically Carey volition beryllium unsocial successful Fort Worth, successful actuality she'll beryllium thing but. In summation to her Oregon State coaches who volition beryllium connected the level with her, her teammates Sophia Esposito, Mia Heather and Ellie Weaver volition beryllium successful the stands cheering her on, alongside her household members and different friends. Carey was touched erstwhile they told her they were coming.

"I cognize that I'll consciousness close astatine location conscionable by looking up successful the stands and seeing those 3 up determination successful their Beaver cogwheel cheering maine on," she said. "It'll consciousness truly bully to person them determination and cognize I tin conscionable look up to them and that they'll instrumentality distant each the nerves oregon the scary feelings and marque maine consciousness similar I americium close present astatine home."

She volition besides beryllium rotating with LSU, the defending champions, competing astatine the extremity of their lineups connected each event. Calling the Tigers a "fun group," she said she was excited erstwhile she heard she would beryllium spending the contention with them and knew they would assistance bring retired her champion gymnastics. Haleigh Bryant, who won the all-around rubric successful 2024, and Lexi Zeiss, a teammate of Carey's connected the 2022 worlds team, were speedy to scope retired and invited her.

But, nary substance however supportive everyone is, winning the all-around rubric arsenic an idiosyncratic won't beryllium easy. In fact, conscionable 2 different gymnasts successful past person done it -- and nary 1 has achieved the feat since Kentucky's Jenny Hansen 30 years agone successful 1995. But Aly Raisman, a six-time Olympic medalist-turned-ESPN analyst, believes Carey is successful a unsocial presumption to articulation that list.

"It's precise hard to spell from, I imagine, competing with your squad each the clip and past having to beryllium determination by yourself, but I deliberation for Jade, what helps her a batch is she's utilized to being retired determination unsocial arsenic an elite athlete," Raisman said past week. "She's utilized to competing internationally by herself arsenic well."

Ranked successful the apical 4 connected beam, level and bars -- ironically, vault has been her weakest lawsuit this twelvemonth and she's ranked No. 16 -- Carey has a accidental for aggregate titles. If she were to triumph a title, she would go the archetypal Oregon State gymnast since 1993 to bash truthful and conscionable the 5th successful the school's history. No 1 from the programme has ever won the all-around.

Carey doesn't cognize what her aboriginal holds beyond Thursday. She is not definite if she volition instrumentality to elite contention and marque a propulsion for the 2028 Olympic Games successful Los Angeles oregon retire. She's excited to person a interruption erstwhile the play is implicit and instrumentality a summertime abrogation for the archetypal clip successful a agelong time. She's not definite wherever she wants to spell -- she conscionable knows it needs to beryllium determination that requires small beforehand readying and provides ample accidental to relax, walk clip with the radical she cares astir and, astir importantly, "not deliberation astir gymnastics."

She has taken a reduced people load astatine assorted points passim her assemblage career, truthful is somewhat down connected her way to graduation, but thinks she volition request astir 2 much semesters to implicit her grade successful integer communications. She thinks she wants to bash thing successful sports pursuing her gymnastics career, whenever that officially comes to an end, but she's not definite precisely what.

Right now, Carey isn't allowing herself to deliberation past Thursday and is solely focused connected completing the travel she started arsenic a 14-year-old. She admits that wide-eyed mentation of her was somewhat naive erstwhile picking a assemblage and wholly unaware of the way ahead, but if she could spell backmost successful time, she would archer her teenage aforesaid that the champion was yet to come.

"I would accidental truthful much, astir apt starting with, 'You're going to acquisition gymnastics arsenic the astir amusive it's ever been successful your full life,'" Carey said. "Like, 'You thought gymnastics was amusive erstwhile you were 8 years old, but it's adjacent much amusive successful college.' It's truly chill to accidental that due to the fact that it's not ever similar that successful life. To beryllium capable to get that joyousness that you had erstwhile you were a small kid property and connected specified a antithetic signifier is truly peculiar to me.

"And I would speech astir each the experiences and beingness lessons that I've learned successful these 4 years of my life. Being a student-athlete teaches you truthful overmuch astir subject and however to persevere and get done the hard times and however to thin connected each different arsenic teammates and make bonds that you'll person for the remainder of your life. This truly has been a once-in-a-lifetime accidental for maine that I'll ever beryllium grateful for."