LSU Gymnastics sophomores Kailin Chio and Kaliya Lincoln received major Southeastern Conference honors on March 25, with Chio named the 2026 SEC Gymnast of the Year and Lincoln earning SEC Co-Specialist of the Year. The conference also announced that eight LSU gymnasts were selected for the All-SEC Team based on their performances at the 2026 SEC Championships.
The awards, which are determined by votes from league head coaches, recognize athletes for their achievements during both the regular season and championship events. These honors highlight significant individual contributions to LSU’s gymnastics program during a competitive year.
Chio’s recognition marks her second consecutive major conference award after being named SEC Freshman of the Year in 2025. She is now the ninth gymnast in school history to win Gymnast of the Year, following Haleigh Bryant who last earned it in 2024. During her sophomore season, Chio has held a National Qualifying Score (NQS) of 39.795 and tied an LSU record with a season-high all-around score of 39.875. At this year’s championships, she won both all-around and vault titles while achieving scores above 9.900 across all four events.
Lincoln was honored as SEC Co-Specialist of the Year after strong showings on vault, beam, and floor throughout her sophomore campaign. This is her first conference award; she joins four previous Tigers who have received this distinction since its creation, most recently Kiya Johnson in 2021. Lincoln achieved NQS marks above 9.900 on each event she competed in this season and secured her first career SEC title by sharing top honors on floor at this year’s championships.
In addition to Chio and Lincoln’s accolades, six other Tigers—Nina Ballou, Kylie Coen, Emily Innes, Konnor McClain, Victoria Roberts, and Lexi Zeiss—earned spots on the All-SEC Team based on their championship performances. For several gymnasts including Ballou (a freshman), Coen, Innes, Roberts, Zeiss and Lincoln herself it was their first time receiving such recognition.
With these results from eight gymnasts earning twelve total honors in one year alone—the program now claims a cumulative total of 128 All-SEC distinctions throughout its history.
