Michigan
NCAA Qualifier
Maize and Blue Eyes Repeat at NCAA Championships
4/16/2026 1:12:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 2-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team (15-1) will head to Champaign, Ill., to the NCAA Championships this weekend (April 17-18) at State Farm Center, looking to defend its 2025 national title.
The Wolverines will compete in the second of two qualifying sessions on Friday at 7 p.m. CT. The top three teams from each session will advance to Saturday's team finals at 6 p.m. CT. Both qualifying sessions will be streamed on ESPN+, with Saturday's final televised live on ESPN2.
Notes
• Michigan will compete in the second qualifying session alongside No. 3 Stanford, No. 6 Penn State, No. 7 Illinois, No. 10 Navy and No. 11 Army. The top three teams from each session will advance to Saturday's finals, where team and individual champions will be crowned.
• The Wolverines captured their sixth straight Big Ten title on April 4, matching the program's longest title streak (1961-66). Michigan's 23 conference titles rank second all-time behind Illinois (28).
• Senior Fred Richard secured his fourth Big Ten all-around title, becoming just the second gymnast in conference history to accomplish the feat (John Roethlisberger, Minnesota, 1990-93). Michigan added two individual event titles, with Carson Eshleman winning high bar and Chase Pappas taking vault.
• Michigan overcame early falls at Big Tens to rally for the team title, using a strong floor rotation to seize control and clutch vault performances late to secure the win.
• The Wolverines remain second in the overall standings for the third straight rankings release. The team sits third on floor (54.288), second on the pommel horse (54.425), third on still rings (53.375), fifth on vault (55.588), fourth on parallel bars (53.275) and second on high bar (53.763)
• Charlie Larson leads the nation on floor exercise (14.188) and ranks third on vault. Aaronson Mansberger is third on pommel horse (14.363), while Akshay Puri ranks fourth on still rings (13.817).
• Carson Eshleman sits second nationally on high bar (13.817), with Pierce Wolfgang fourth (13.813). Richard is ninth in the nation on still rings (13.750), fourth on parallel bars (14.017) and fifth on high bar (13.800).
• Michigan will look to repeat as national champion after winning the 2025 title at Crisler Center. The Wolverines erased a final-rotation deficit to edge Stanford by 0.163, highlighted by a clutch anchor routine from Paul Juda.
• Richard claimed the NCAA all-around title (84.264), while Juda won parallel bars (14.200) and finished runner-up in the all-around. Juda also finished second in the all-around (82.164), with Evgeny Siminiuc taking bronze on the parallel bars (14.066). Eshleman and Richard tied for second on the high bar with a 13.766.
• Seven Wolverines combined for 17 All-America honors, with Richard earning recognition on all six events and in the all-around -- a first in NCAA history.
The Last Time a Wolverine Won an NCAA Title
All-Around: Fred Richard (2025)Floor Exercise: Paul Juda (2024)
Vault: Paul Juda (2022)
Parallel Bars: Paul Juda (2025)
High Bar: Fred Richard (2023)
Michigan NCAA Titles by Event
All-Around: 8
Floor Exercise: 4
Vault: 6
Parallel Bars: 11
High Bar: 6
Players Mentioned
