Big Ten Announces 2025 Women’s Gymnastics Postseason Awards

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced its 2025 women’s gymnastics individual awards as voted upon by the conference’s 12 head coaches on Monday.

Michigan State’s Nikki Smith was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, while teammate Sage Kellerman earned the conference’s first-ever Big Ten Specialist of the Year honor. Illinois’ Chloe Cho was voted Big Ten Freshman of the Year and UCLA’s Janelle McDonald was tabbed as the Big Ten Coach of the Year.

Smith, the 2023 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, tallied a pair of 9.900s on vault and uneven bars and a 9.925 on floor exercise at the 2025 Big Ten Women’s Gymnastics Championships. The junior is the third Spartan in program history to win gymnast of the year, joining Kim Hartwick (1989) and Kristen Coleman (2007).

Kellerman is the first recipient of the conference’s specialist of the year laurel. The Croswell, Mich., native picked up second-place finishes on vault (9.950) and uneven bars (9.950) at the championships. She also earned a spot on the all-championships team.

Cho is just the third Illinois gymnast to be recognized as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, along with Ashley Williams (2002) and Allison Buckley (2008). She collected Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors four times this season, was an All-Big Ten first teamer and secured all-freshman team placement.

McDonald garnered coach of the year distinction after leading UCLA to the 2025 regular season and conference championship titles in its inaugural year in the Big Ten. The Bruins set a Big Ten Championships record with a team score of 198.450 and placed seven gymnasts on the all-championships team. Four Bruins won individual titles – Chae Campbell (all-around), Ciena Alipio (balance beam), Brooklyn Moors (floor exercise) and Jordan Chiles (floor exercise). Alipio, Moors and Chiles all scored perfect 10s in their title-clinching performances as UCLA became the first team to have three different gymnasts record a perfect score in the same championship meet.

2025 Big Ten Women’s Gymnastics Individual Awards
Gymnast of the Year: Nikki Smith, Michigan State
Specialist of the Year: Sage Kellerman, Michigan State
Freshman of the Year: Chloe Cho, Illinois
Coach of the Year: Janelle McDonald, UCLA