Four Big Ten Teams Advance to NCAA Men's Gymnastics Finals

View Session 1 Results
View Session 2 Results
NCAA Championship Finals Live Results

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference will account for four of the six teams that will compete in the final session of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships, following two prequalifying sessions held Friday at the University of Illinois’ State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill.

Nebraska (320.294 points) and Ohio State (320.059) earned spots in Saturday’s finals after finishing second and third, respectively, behind Oklahoma (322.825) in Friday’s opening session.

In Friday’s evening session, Michigan (324.623) and Illinois (319.658) finished second and third, respectively, with Stanford (327.9920) posting the night’s top score.

Nebraska will enter Saturday’s finals seeking its ninth NCAA title and first since 1994, while the Buckeyes have their sights set on a fourth crown, 25 years after winning their last. Defending NCAA champion Michigan hopes to earn a second consecutive title, the eighth in program history, while a title for Illinois would be the program’s 12th, tied for the most in Big Ten.

The Big Ten was well represented on the leaderboard in Friday’s early session. Ohio State’s Kristian Grahovski posted the top score on the horizontal bar (13.733), while teammate Parker Thackston led the pommel horse standings (14.900) and Chase Davenport-Mills paced the floor exercise competitors (13.966). Nebraska’s Asher Cohen also led the still rings (14.400).

In the nightcap, Big Ten athletes lead all six individual events. Illinois’s Garrett Schooley and Brandon Dang led the vault (14.500) and pommel horse (14.733), respectively. Michigan’s Fred Richard and Carson Eshleman topped the leaderboard on the parallel bars (14.600) and horizontal bar (14.166), respectively, while teammates Akshay Puri and Landen Blixt paced the still rings (14.166) and floor exercise (14.066) competitions.

Qualification for the finals was limited to the top three teams in each semifinal. The top three all-around competitors (not already qualified on a team) and the top three individuals for each event (not already qualified on a team or the all-around) were also granted berths into Saturday's finals. 

Saturday's action begins at 7 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN2.