Let’s get back into things.

The national runner-up LSU gymnastics team appears to have locked in their transfer portal class for the 2027 season. The Tigers got commitments from three senior gymnasts at various points, including one during the season itself, who each bring an interesting dynamic to the upcoming season. Two of them are known superstars, and the third is someone who came into college with great expectations. I wanted to wait until a dead spot in the LSU news cycle to talk about everyone, and that’s arrived.

Skye Kerico

Skye Kerico announced her commitment to LSU in March. I’ve never seen anyone announce their transfer destination during the season, but Kerico had good reason to do so. She came from Penn and suffered a season-ending injury in December. Ivy League schools don’t allow grad students to compete, so Kerico decided to get a head start on her grad school application and ended up committing to LSU. For those curious, she graduated from the Wharton School of Business.

Kerico was a stud all-arounder at Penn. She holds the school record for vault with a 9.925, a feat she’s accomplished twice, and she has the top four all-around scores in Penn history with a high of 39.450 at the 2025 Pennsylvania Regional. In the 2025 season opener, she became the first Quaker to compete a Yurchenko 1.5, and that’s the vault she stuck with the rest of the year. She has 9.9 potential on all four events, but her best event is bars. She can hit a solid beam set, but it hasn’t been as consistent as it needs to be in her first three years.

Kerico should make an impact on bars, an event on which LSU loses more routines than any other. She’ll be a solid depth piece on the other three events, but she’ll need to get better to beat out her teammates.

Jordyn Lyden

One of the most shocking transfers of the 2026 offseason was Jordyn Lyden. The Minnesota superstar was born and raised in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and her performance in the postseason led a Cinderella run for the ages. Thankfully, LSU managed to snag one of the top transfers to fill big holes.

Lyden was a stud for the Golden Gophers on bars, beam and floor. Her three massive scores in the Corvallis Regional Final, including the 9.950 on beam which ended Utah’s 49-year nationals streak, were crucial in pulling off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history. Her 9.9375 on floor and 9.8500 on bars helped pull off perhaps the biggest upset in NCAA semifinal history. LSU has plenty of talent on floor, though they did lose Emily Innes’ tone-setting routine. On bars, LSU has to find who takes Ashley Cowan’s spot and get someone solid in the fifth spot to account for Courtney Blackson retiring. Beam needs more depth than it had in 2026, and there’s one spot in particular that needs to be figured out. I’ll go into that in an article next week.

Lyden is going to be a favorite for a spot on bars and in the mix for a spot on beam if she’s consistent. After three years of leading a team that’s in the mix for a regional finals spot, she’ll now be working hard to help a team looking for a national title.

Ariel Posen

Ariel Posen going into the portal in the first place surprised everyone. Posen was a Georgia freshman in 2023, but injuries that season led her to take a medical retirement. College Gym News had her tied for ninth with Olivia Greaves and Faith Torrez in their recruiting rankings. Notable names ranked behind her include Anna Roberts, Kayla DiCello, Gabby Gladieux and eMjae Frazier. After three years off from competing, Posen decided to make a comeback and take a chance on herself, and she’ll be doing so on a stacked roster.

I can’t predict anything about what Posen brings to the table because of her situation. Her strengths when she came to Georgia were bars and beam, but it’s impossible to know if that’s going to carry over. If she makes lineups, that’s great. If she doesn’t, that’s fine. It’ll be interesting to see where things go, because she was definitely capable of stardom before her injuries.

Conclusion

LSU decided to top off what should be a stacked roster for 2027. Most of LSU’s routines from 2026 will be back alongside additions from the freshman class and people returning from injuries. Missing out on a national title by less than a tenth feeds a team to want to get whatever they need to win. This is one of the steps. Next week, I’ll dive into some data that shows where LSU can improve their margins for a better chance at the title.