The California men's gymnastics team will conclude its 2026 season this Friday-Saturday in the NCAA Championships, with a 16-man Golden Bear squad set to go toe-to-toe with the finest teams in the nation at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois.
 
Cal enters the weekend as the No. 8 seed and will compete in Session I of the NCAA Qualifier on Friday along with No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 9 Greenville and No. 12 Springfield College. The first rotation of the qualifier will begin at 11 a.m. PT/1 p.m. CT, with the Golden Bears seeking their first NCAA Final team berth since 2015.
 
Cal will need to finish in the top-three teams of its session to advance as a squad to the NCAA Final, which will begin at 4 p.m. PT/6 p.m. CT Saturday. Even if the Bears do not advance as a team, they will nonetheless have a strong chance to be well-represented, as the top-three gymnasts in each event from schools that do not qualify will be admitted to the final as individual competitors.
 
Live stats for the NCAA Qualifier and NCAA Final will be shown on StatBroadcast. Individual event streams for both days will be shown on ESPN+, which will also feature a general stream for both of Friday's qualifying sessions. A general stream of Saturday's final will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN2/ESPN+.
 
Last year, Cal posted its best score of the modern era (319.091) at the NCAA Qualifier. The Bears are coming off a season-best performance of 317.750 at the MPSF Championships, with Jasper Smith-Gordon (vault – second; pommel horse – third) and Theodor Roald Gadderud (vault – third) each recording podium appearances. Smith-Gordon currently ranks second in the nation on vault with an NQA of 14.288 and a high score of 14.550.
 
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS – April 17-18 | Champaign, Illi. (State Farm Center)
Meet Hub/Tickets
Live Stream – ESPN+ (Qualifier/All Event Streams) | ESPN2 (Final)
Live Stats – Session I Qualifier | Final
 
ACROSS THE GYM - OKLAHOMA: USA Gymnastics Hall of Famer and 17-time MPSF Coach of the Year Mark Williams is in his 27th season at the helm of Oklahoma men's gymnastics and has led the Sooners to nine national titles and 10 runner-up finishes during his tenure. This year, Oklahoma is once again in prime position to make a championship run, boasting the nation's top overall score (332.100) as well as the top National Qualifying Average (NQA) (328.150). The Sooners also boast the top NQAs in the country on pommel horse (55.575) and high bar (53.850), while MPSF champion Nathan Roman and Kelton Christiansen sit atop the standings on parallel bars (14.325) and high bar (14.050), respectively. Oklahoma's star-studded roster also includes reigning MPSF champions Colby Aranda (pommel horse), Fuzzy Benas (vault) and Nico Hamilton (high bar), as well as the conference freshman of the year in Sasha Bogonosiuk.
 
Cal last met Oklahoma at the MSPF Championship in Berkeley on April 4, with the Sooners outscoring the Bears 332.100-317.750 on the way to the conference title. Oklahoma leads the all-time series 73-13.
 
ACROSS THE GYM - NEBRASKA: Guided by 17th-year head coach Chuck Chmelka, the Huskers enter the weekend with an NQA of 320.963 and a high score of 325.650 as well as a nation-leading vault squad (56.325 NQA). Asher Cohen, the Big Ten rings champion, is the country's top man in the event with an NQA of 14.231, while fellow conference champion Nathan York will prove a threat on parallel bars with his 14.219 NQA that ranks No. 2 nationwide. Max Odden will likewise have his eye on the high bar title, sitting at No. 3 in the NCAA with an NQA of 13.888.
 
Cal last met Nebraska at the 2025 NCAA Championships, with the Huskers outscoring the Bears 324.894-319.091. Cal leads the all-time series 29-10.
 
ACROSS THE GYM – OHIO STATE: Head coach Rustam Sharipov's 15th season leading Ohio State's team has seen the Buckeyes record an NQA of 317.863, but a season-high score of 326.550. Ohio State's best events are high bar (53.163 NQA) and pommel horse (55.575), with the latter unit led by Big Ten Specialist of the Year Parker Thackston and his nation-leading NQA of 14.794. Chase Davenport-Mills (13.644) won the Big Ten title on floor, outscoring national top-7 teammate Jesse Pakele (13.713).
 
Cal last met Ohio State at the Stanford Open on Jan. 24, with the Buckeyes outscoring the Bears 318.050-313.950. The all-time series between the two teams is tied 12-12.
 
ACROSS THE GYM – GREENVILLE: Led by fourth-year head coach Zach Peters, Greenville earned its first ECAC Championship title two weeks ago and heads into the NCAA Championships with an NQA of 311.325 and a high score of 314.350. The Panthers rank sixth in the nation on pommel horse with an NQA of 52.588, led by back-to-back ECAC champion Matthew Roth and his high score of 14.100 on the event. All-around conference champion Kyler Hinson owns the nation's highest NQA of 77.038, while ECAC Gymnast of the Year Jaxon Clapper picked up conference titles of his own on vault and parallel bars, his 13.888 on the latter apparatus placing him among the country's top five.
 
Cal last met Greenville at the Panthers' home gym in a tri-meet with Simpson, with the Panthers outscoring the Bears 306.650-306.600. The all-time series between the two teams is tied 1-1.
 
ACROSS THE GYM – SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE: Springfield College alumnus Matthew Davis is in his ninth season as head coach of the Pride, which has posted an NQA of 308.500 and a high score of 310.550. As a team, Springfield College's best event is floor with a 52.763 NQA (53.550 high); however, the squad also fields powerhouses on other events, such as USAG collegiate pommel horse champion Peyton Cramer and ECAC rings champion Blaise Rousseau, both top-eight gymnasts in their respective events.
 
Cal last met Springfield at the 2023 NCAA Championships, with the Bears outscoring the Pride 395.055-381.324 under the previous code of points. Cal leads the all-time series 3-0.
 
 
ALL-MPSF HONOREES
Redshirt senior Jasper Smith-Gordon earned two conference medals for the first time in his career at the MPSF Championship on April 9, placing second on vault and third on pommel horse for two All-MPSF nods, while classmate Theodor Roald Gadderud took third on vault and also earned all-conference honors on floor and parallel bars to bring his career total up to seven. Juniors Carter Kim and Jaxon Mitchell each picked up their second All-MPSF awards, with the former repeating on high bar and the latter clinching the honor on rings.
 
NATION'S BEST
Redshirt senior Jasper Smith-Gordon and sophomore Matteo Bardana ended the regular season as the country's top-ranked gymnasts in their respective events, earning CGA Regular-Season All-America honors. Smith-Gordon, who is now a three-time All-American, posted a season-best 14.550 on vault at the Stanford Open and owns a four-score average of 14.300 on the event with three titles. Bardana posted new modern program records on floor (14.200) and high bar (13.550) this season, competing in the all-around in four consecutive weeks to close out the year with a high score of 78.050 and a four-score average of 77.250 and four titles of his own.
 
ON THE WORLD STAGE
Senior Theodor Roald Gadderud of Norway and sophomore Matteo Bardana of Canada each represented their respective nations on the international stage in the summer of 2025 and have continued to turn heads in 2026. Roald Gadderud, who was one of the youngest gymnasts ever to be recruited by the Norwegian National Team at age 11, competed at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships after runner-up finishes on floor, high bar and the all-around at the Norwegian National Championships. He has represented Norway thrice this year, first at the Cottbus World Cup in Germany and later at the Baku World Cup in Azerbaijan and the Antalya World Cup in Türkiye. Bardana helped Canada to its first medal in history (silver) at the FISU World University Games as a member of the Canadian Senior Next Gen National Team, earning the spot after winning the Canadian Senior Next Gen parallel bars title and bronze medals on floor and rings.
 
NEW YEAR, NEW ROLES
Cal's coaching staff is composed of three program alumni this season, each of whom has competed or coached at the highest level. New head coach Bryan Del Castillo, who spent the previous six years with the Bears as an assistant and was the interim head coach for the second half of the 2025 season, earned five All-America honors as a gymnast at Cal and is a former member of the U.S. National Team. Third-year assistant coach Karl Ziehn is a former U.S. National Team coach as well as a seven-year assistant at Stanford, helping the Cardinal to a national title in 2019. New to Cal's staff is Donothan Bailey, a former teammate of Del Castillo's who was a three-time All-American and is the last Golden Bear to win an MPSF title on pommel horse (2012, 2014), won a bronze medal with the U.S. National Team in 2011 and also coached the USA Gymnastics Resident Team in 2011-22. During their time at Cal, Del Castillo and Bailey were named finalists for the Nissen Emery Award, the top honor presented annually to a senior collegiate men's gymnast.
 
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