2025 Season Rank: 9th
Who they’re losing: eMjae Frazier (Transfer to Florida), Ella Cesario (Transfer to Clemson), Mya Lauzon, Madelyn Williams, Jordan Kane
Who they’re gaining: Tonya Paulsson, Sarah Lee, Lucia Scott, Maddison Hajjar
The New Faces:
Cal is losing several key contributors — including some of its top scorers — from the past few seasons, meaning new faces will have to do some heavy lifting right out of the gate. But don’t let the lack of experience fool you; this roster is still extremely talented and fully capable of stepping up in many ways.
Tonya Paulsson is the headliner of this Cal freshmen class. She is known for her clean execution and stunning lines on events like bars and beam, as well as her high tumbling on floor. Paulsson has represented both Sweden and Taiwan internationally and brings a level of experience and confidence that the Golden Bears will rely on right away. Originally committed to Kentucky, Sarah Lee is poised to be one of the breakout stars on this roster and is an excellent last minute pick up for Cal. She has clean gymnastics on every event and will likely see action on three to four events during the season. Lucia Scott is a standout bar and beam worker from Canada, though injuries may keep her sidelined early in the season. Finally, the Golden Bears have Canadian elite Maddison Hajjar, who will join the team in January as a late addition. Her best international results have come on floor, but her beam work is also strong and should contend for a lineup spot.
Vault Breakdown:
Losing from postseason lineup: eMjae Frazier, Mya Lauzon, Madelyn Williams
New faces to watch for: Tonya Paulsson, Sarah Lee, Annalise Newman-Achee, Ondine Achampong, Sage Melkonian
Outlook: This is the event where Cal is losing the least in terms of postseason lineup routines; however, it still needs to replace half the lineup. Three athletes return from last season: sophomore Mya Wiley (9.832 avg), senior Casey Brown (9.825 avg), and junior Kyen Mayhew (9.756 avg). They also return senior Jayden Silvers, who did not compete last season due to injury but averaged a 9.845 with her Yurchenko 1.5 during the 2024 season.
In terms of potential new contributors, Annalise Newman-Achee and Sage Melkonian have been training 1.5s that could be lineup-ready in 2026. There’s also Tonya Paulsson and Sarah Lee, who compete clean Yurchenko fulls — something Cal has relied on in the past. Ondine Achampong is another option, though her spot in this lineup is more uncertain in our opinion due to her ACL injury from 2024 and how much she’s needed for this Cal team. Obviously, the coaches won’t want to push her on an event like vault if it compromises her ability to contribute on other events. So while she’s an option, she’s not a guarantee. Sage Melkonian did not see action in the lineup last season, but was training a promising looking Y 1.5 as a Level 10, which would be huge for Cal if she could bring that to the lineup this season.
Uneven Bar Breakdown:
Losing from postseason lineup: eMjae Frazier, Mya Lauzon, Madelyn Williams, Ella Cesario
New faces to watch for: Tonya Paulsson, Sarah Lee, Ondine Achampong, Miki Aderinto, Sage Melkonian
Outlook: This was Cal’s strongest event last season, and the gaps left behind are significant. However, we still expect it to remain a strength in 2026, thanks to returning athletes who can step up and the talented newcomers joining the squad. Annalise Newman-Achee is the highest-returning scorer from last season, averaging a 9.856. Casey Brown and her stunning lines also return to the lineup, where she averaged a 9.839. Mya Wiley only saw lineup action a few times last season, but we expect her to be a mainstay in 2026.
Ondine Achampong, who only competed on beam last season, also excels on bars and should be a lock for this lineup. Rounding out our top six on this event are freshmen Tonya Paulsson and Sarah Lee, who have both looked strong in preseason and have the foundation for a routine that will translate well to NCAA gymnastics.
Two additional athletes making a push are senior Miki Aderinto — who entered college with a perfect 10 career high on bars but has been sidelined for much of her career due to injuries — and Sage Melkonian, a solid bar worker who has put in significant effort in the offseason to be in contention. Aderinto made her uneven bars debut in the exhibition spot last season, showing a beautiful routine that could absolutely contend for a lineup position.
Beam Breakdown:
Losing from postseason lineup: eMjae Frazier, Mya Lauzon, Madelyn Williams, Ella Cesario
New faces to watch for: Tonya Paulsson, Sarah Lee, Annalise Newman-Achee, CJ Keuneke, Miki Aderinto, Maddison Hajjar
Outlook: Beam is the event that head coach Geralen Stack-Eaton anticipates will be the toughest to make, with the majority of the roster training it at a high level during the preseason. They return Abbey Scanlon, a fifth-year who only debuted last season but has already proven to be a reliable competitor under pressure (9.839 avg). Ondine Achampong made her beam debut during the back half of the season and has much higher scoring potential than her average suggests (9.733). She’s someone who could be on 10-watch in 2026.
Kyen Mayhew also has lineup experience. Although she hasn’t been the most consistent (9.682 avg), she has looked fantastic in practice according to our correspondent who was at practice on November 11th. New faces throwing their hats in the ring include Tonya Paulsson, whose beam work comes with minimal built-in deductions; Sarah Lee, whose leaps are to die for; and CJ Keuneke, whom Geralen describes as “a beamer.”
Miki Aderinto made her lineup debut last season and has performed in exhibitions several times throughout her career. Geralen mentioned her as being in strong contention for a consistent spot in her final season. We also anticipate Maddison Hajjar to make a push. She’s a confident, aggressive beam worker, and we could see her scoring well with slightly reduced difficulty in a college routine.
Floor Breakdown:
Losing from postseason lineup: eMjae Frazier, Mya Lauzon, Madelyn Williams, Ella Cesario
New faces to watch for: Tonya Paulsson, Maddison Hajjar, Annalise Newman-Achee,
Ondine Achampong, Sarah Lee, Mya Wiley, Sage Melkonian, Jayden Silvers, Casey Brown
Outlook: There are a lot of unknowns with this Cal floor squad, but also a tremendous amount of potential. The two locks in this lineup are last season’s returners — CJ Keuneke (9.866 avg) and Kyen Mayhew (9.863 avg). From there, things become fairly wide open, with many options — some we know more about than others.
Tonya Paulsson has some of the highest and cleanest tumbling we could see in the NCAA this year. There are not enough words in the dictionary to describe how excited we are for her debut! Ondine Achampong is also clean on this event and has high scoring potential, though her exact pass composition remains unknown at this time – and with her past injury, we’re hesitant to call her a lock for this lineup. Maddison Hajjar is an exciting late addition to the squad, particularly because of her strength on floor, where she boasts powerful tumbling and strong performance quality.
Jayden Silvers excelled on this event during her club career but hasn’t yet had the opportunity to show her potential in college; we think this could be her year! And of course, Annalise Newman-Achee, Mya Wiley, Sarah Lee, Casey Brown and Sage Melkonian are all in strong contention for spots on this event, depending on who proves to be the most consistent in practice.
Final Outlook:
Change can sometimes be scary, but it’s also an opportunity for growth—and we expect to see a lot of it from the Cal Golden Bears in 2026. You’re going to see new faces stepping up, and while the season may start a bit slowly, the talent on this team is strong enough to contend for a spot in the regional finals and beyond!
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