Gymnastics’ Welker Named WCGA National Coach of the Year
4/24/2025 12:00:00 PM | Gymnastics
Shannon Welker named the WCGA National Coach of the Year while Whitney Snowden, Lacey Rubin and Jackie Terpak earn the WCGA National Assistant Coaches of the Year recognition.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – After a record-setting season, University of Missouri gymnastics head coach Shannon Welker was named the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) National Coach of the Year, it announced on Thursday.
Mizzou's Whitney Snowden, Lacey Rubin and Jackie Terpak were also named the WCGA National Assistant Coaches of the Year.
Welker becomes the first Mizzou head coach to earn national coach of the year honors since wrestling's Brian Smith in 2017. This marks Snowden's second-career WCGA Assistant Coach of the Year award.
"This national recognition for Shannon and our entire gymnastics coaching staff is incredibly well deserved and a testament to the championship culture they've established at Mizzou," Director of Athletics Laird Veatch said. "Finishing third in the country and achieving a program-best result on the sport's biggest stage embodies the 'Will to Win' that drives our athletics department. We're so proud of how they represent Mizzou and excited for what's ahead."
The 2025 season was the most successful year of Missouri gymnastics, ending with a third-place finish at the NCAA Championship Final. The Tigers' final ranking of No. 3 marked the highest of any Mizzou women's sports team in school history.
The team had many program firsts along the way - its first individual national champion, Helen Hu (Chicago) on the balance beam its first score of 198, the best balance beam (49.575) and floor exercise (49.725) scores in program history, the most 10s in a single season (five) among several others.
In addition to his WCGA National Coach of the Year award, Welker earned Southeastern Coach of the Year for the second time in his career and WCGA South Central Coach of the Year. The gymnasts' accolades were numerous, with the Tigers accounting for nine WCGA All-America honors and six WCGA Regular Season All-Americans, both of which were program bests.
Snowden oversaw the uneven bars squad, which finished the year with its highest-ever national qualifying score (NQS) at No. 4 in the country. During 2025, the Tigers set five of the top 10 scores on the apparatus in program history, including the second-best of 49.575 at the SEC Championship. Snowden also managed the development of Mara Titarsolej (Zutphen, Netherlands), who ended the year ranked fourth in bars NQS (9.945), earned her second-consecutive SEC Uneven Bars Championship with the program's second 10 on the event and an NCAA Gymnastics Uneven Bars bronze medal.
On the balance beam, Rubin led the team to numerous accolades, most notably setting the highest single-meet score on the event of 49.575 at Arkansas and the NCAA Championship Second Round meet. Under her guidance, Hu scored three 10s, the most in the event in the nation. The Tigers peaked at No. 8 in beam NQS during the year, clinching spots in the NCAA Championship Semifinal and Final on the apparatus. Three gymnasts earned All-America honors on beam – Hu (First Team), Olivia Kelly (Bronx, N.Y.) and Addison Lawrence (Olathe, Kan.).
Terpak led Mizzou to a historic season on the floor exercise, highlighted by the highest score by the Black & Gold on floor of 49.725 at Zou to the Lou, tied for the third-best mark on the apparatus in the regular season. During the meet, Kennedy Griffin (Strongsville, Ohio) captured her first career 10, becoming the second-youngest Tiger to achieve perfection. The "Fab Floor" ranked fourth in the event NQS and saw 40 individual scores of 9.900 or better – the most of any Mizzou event.
Under the four coaches, Hu was named both a WCGA First Team All-American and a WCGA Regular Season First Team All-American, an All-SEC Team Member, SEC Specialist of the Year, SEC Balance Beam Champion, NCAA Seattle Regional Balance Beam Champion and a record-setting five SEC Specialist of the Week awards. Titarsolejclaimed her second-consecutive SEC Uneven Bars Champion while also being named both a WCGA First Team All-American and a WCGA Regular Season First Team All-American, while Amari Celestine (Wildomar, Calif.) was named WCGA South Central Gymnast of the Year and a Second Team WCGA Second Team All-Around Member and a Second Team WCGA Regular Season Second Team All-Around and Floor Member.
With its appearance in the NCAA Championship Regional Final, Mizzou became one of seven schools to reach the round in the last five seasons. At the NCAA Championship Semifinal, Missouri advanced to its first national title meet in dramatic fashion, trading sticks with Florida as the Tigers finished the meet on beam before Hu stepped up and earned 9.9875 to clinch the win over UF and earn the national title on the apparatus. MU then finished in third place over Utah for its best final ranking ever.
To start its postseason successes, the Tigers earned their first appearance in Session II of the Southeastern Conference Championship, where they finished fourth with a score of 197.400 - tying for the best finish in the conference championship since joining the SEC. The team went on to win its NCAA Championship Second Round meet over No. 10 Georgia, No. 21 Arizona and No. 26 Arizona State with a postseason-best score of 197.650 and earned a spot at nationals after taking second with a 197.425 in the Regional Final in Seattle.
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Players Mentioned
