Star senior expected to return from injury this week for LSU gymnastics

After suffering a preseason elbow injury in mid-December, star LSU gymnastics senior Haleigh Bryant might be nearing a return, after head coach Jay Clark announced she could be back as early as this weekend.

Star senior Haleigh Bryant expected to make 2025 season debut on the beam later this week

Fear not, ladies and gentlemen, Haleigh Bryant appears well on her way to a return to the mat for LSU gymnastics.

Coming off a season in which the now fifth-year senior solidified herself as one of the top gymnasts to ever come through Baton Rouge, expectations were sky-high for the star out of Cornelius, NC.

Unfortunately, those expectations faced a slight bump in the road, as Bryant was forced to miss her team’s first meet of the season this past week against Iowa State, as she nursed a lingering elbow injury from earlier this preseason.

With that said, it might not be all bad news, as we could see her back in action as early as this coming week, with the Tigers heading to Oklahoma City, where they’ll compete in the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad alongside No. 6 Cal, No. 4 Utah and No. 1 Oklahoma.

“We’ve made some significant progress. Depending on how this week goes – and yesterday went well – she will be available, at least on balance beam,” head coach Jay Clark began, while speaking on the star senior.

Last time we saw Bryant, she was competing in LSU’s annual Gymnastics 101 exhibition meet, where she ultimately suffered a UCL injury, while performing in the vault event.

“I don’t know that it’ll go any further than that this week, but we have made some progress, gotten some good news from the docs – I just finished talking with [Director of Sports Medicine] Micki Collins a few minutes ago. Her strength is good, so they’re optimistic that we’re moving in the right direction, so if she does well this week, she’ll be available at least on that event.”

For fans, and the team alike, this is nothing short of excellent news.

Entering her fifth, and final season of collegiate gymnastics, Haleigh Bryant has come to be adored by fans throughout the country, and it’s thanks in large part to her elite consistency in just about every single event.

Haleigh. Bryant. 🐐

The senior just scored her first career perfect 10 on beam and is now perfect on every event.

📺 SEC Network | @haleighbryant3 pic.twitter.com/buWKjmJD5S

— LSU Gymnastics (@LSUgym) February 10, 2024

Most recently being named the 2024 NCAA All-Around Champion, the 2024 SEC Gymnast of the Year, the 2024 SEC Champion in both vault and all-around, along with several other accolades, it’s fair to wonder what more she has to prove in her career.

Still, coming off a national championship winning season with her team, it doesn’t really matter all that much. Ultimately, ranking as the No. 2 team nationally, according to RoadToNationals, head coach Jay Clark has his group ready to compete, and there’s little doubt that Bryant has her eyes focused on a second national championship in as many years.

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