A former collegiate All-American with ties to the Pac-12 will lead Utah State gymnastics into the future.
The Aggies announced Friday the hiring of Kristin White as the program’s new head coach.
White, a former All-American gymnast at Oklahoma and most recently an assistant coach at Arizona State, replaces Amy Smith, who left Utah State to become the head coach at Clemson.
“We are thrilled to welcome Kristin White to the Aggie family to be the head coach of our gymnastics program,” Utah State athletic director John Hartwell said in a statement. “With all of her attributes: from being an All-American gymnast at Oklahoma, to coaching at the club level, at Oklahoma, Iowa State and at Arizona State, combined with her positive personality, made her our clear-cut choice from an outstanding pool of candidates.
“Under Kristin’s leadership, we are confident the upward trajectory of our gymnastics program will continue.”
What are Kristin White’s qualifications?
White has been involved in coaching gymnastics since 2010, when she started as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma.
From 2013 through 2017, she coached at Dynamo Gymnastics in Oklahoma City. Dynamo boasts some of the most famous alumni of any gym in the country, including former USA Gymnastics legends Shannon Miller and Kerri Strug.
In 2016 while at Dynamo, White was named the Oklahoma State Coach of the Year.
From 2018 through 2020, White was an assistant coach at Iowa State, during which time the Cyclones finished in the top 25 every season.
During her final season in Ames, White coached floor exercise, and the Cyclones finished the year ranked No. 16 in the nation on the event, an improvement of 23 spots from the season before.
White spent the last two seasons at Arizona State. In 2022, she helped the Sun Devils earn a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title. The year before, in 2021, she was named the WCGA regional assistant coach of the year after ASU finished No. 9 in the country.
White coached balance beam and floor at ASU and the Sun Devils scored a 49 or better in nine straight meets on beam in 2022. Sun Devils’ junior Hannah Scharf earned second-team All-America honors and first-team All-Pac-12 honors on the event.
What Kristin White said about becoming USU’s head gymnastics coach
“I would like to thank Vice President & Athletics Director John Hartwell, Deputy AD Jerry Bovee, Executive Associate AD & SWA Amy Crosbie, and the rest of the hiring committee for believing in my vision and giving me the opportunity to lead Utah State gymnastics,” White said in a statement. “I would also like to thank the staff at Arizona State along with mentors throughout my career that have helped me become a better coach and made me who I am today.
“The Aggies are coming off a historic season and it was very clear from the moment I stepped on campus that the administration is committed to excellence. Our student-athlete experience will be at the forefront of the program, and I look forward to getting to Logan and empowering our young women to success in the classroom and on the competition floor.”
What is next for Utah State gymnastics?
The Aggies recently concluded one of the most successful seasons in program history. Utah State finished third at the Norman, Oklahoma, regional and ended the year ranked No. 23 in the nation, the highest ranking of any non-Power Five program.
At regionals, the Aggies scored at least a 49.075 on each event and finished with a team score of 196.825, the highest score in program history in a NCAA regional meet (it was also the third highest score all time in school history).
Utah State won its first-ever Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference championship in 2022 and the Aggies return key contributors such as Amari Evans, Maia Fishwick and Brianna Brooks.
That said, Utah State’s 2023 roster does not include 2022 freshman standout Brie Clark or all-arounder Rebecca Wells.
Clark was the Aggies’ lone WCGA All-American in 2022, and was the the MRGC freshman and floor specialist of the year.
It is not known where Clark or Wells will continue their gymnastics careers.