Inside the NCAA gymnastics postseason with Naimah: Bracket breakdown

March Madness is here gym fans: The 2026 NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships are underway, and we’ve got our matchups.

Monday’s bracket reveal set up some tough competition for regionals and fascinating play-ins for teams fighting to get to Fort Worth. Here are a few highlights, individual qualifiers, and predictions.

The individual to watch: Maggie Slife (Air Force)

An individual qualifier to put on your watch list is the dynamic Maggie Slife.

Slife has had an incredible season. In addition to helping Air Force break its program record multiple times – most recently with a 197.150 – the junior has set all-around, bars, and beam records for the Falcons with a 39.675 and 9.975s on both events. (All of the record-setting scores are also Mountain West records.) She’s certainly a force to be reckoned with at the Baton Rouge regional.

Can Slife qualify to the NCAA Championships?

Air Force can make some noise in the Baton Rouge regional, but Slife is the Falcons’ best chance at qualifying to the NCAA Championships, particularly in the all-around and on bars. Here are her key stats on those events as of the end of the regular season:

• All-Around: 7th
  • Average: 39.421
  • High: 39.675
• Bars: 8th
  • Average: 9.913
  • High: 9.975

The round to watch: Tempe play-in

There are four regional play-ins for the lowest-ranked teams to have a shot at competing in the second round, and the battle between No. 32 Arizona State and No. 33 Arizona could go either way.

The Arizona GymCats beat the Arizona State Sun Devils in their regular season meeting by four-tenths – 196.400-196.000, but the Sun Devils got the upper hand at the Big 12 Championships, beating the GymCats (despite being in the afternoon session), 195.225-194.725.

The teams have nearly identical national qualifying scores and season averages, but the GymCats seem to have a slightly higher ceiling when they’re on.

Comparing Arizonas

The toughest head-to-head matchup: Georgia vs. Michigan State

I think it goes without saying, No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 11 Michigan State will be a tough battle.

The Georgia GymDogs have had an excellent season, holding the No. 1 rank on floor, nationally, for four
straight weeks, peaking at a 198.075, and beating current SEC powerhouses LSU and Alabama. They’ve also proven they can still deliver despite being without star junior Lily Smith.

On the other side, we have Michigan State, who has put up a season-high 197.700 with their fired-up seniors like Nikki Smith and Sage Kellerman, who have both scored perfect 10s in their careers.

Assuming No. 3 Florida will advance to the NCAA semifinals, it’s likely to come down to the GymDogs and Spartans for the second and last semifinal spot. While Georgia has had the better season, Michigan State has the makings of an excellent spoiler.

Comparing Georgia vs. Michigan State

Postseason is in full swing, and the madness has only just begun!

“Inside the NCAA gymnastics postseason with Naimah” is a recurring feature by former Fisk gymnast Naimah Muhammad – the first HBCU gymnast in NCAA history.