“THANK YOU LSU💜,” Olivia Dunne wrote, sharing a nostalgic montage of her five-year journey with the LSU women’s gymnastics team. But she wasn’t the only icon of that golden era. Her teammate, Haleigh Bryant, debuted the same year and played a defining role in LSU’s historic NCAA title win in 2024, anchoring the final rotation with a clutch 9.950. With 33 All-American honors, five SEC titles, and 18 perfect 10s (a program record), Bryant retired in 2025, leaving behind a legacy that seemed impossible to replace. Turns out, LSU never planned to…

LSU’s assistant coach, Ashleigh Gnat, retired from coaching this year. Her farewell? “This sport has given me everything over the last 25 years, and now I’m excited to engage with the gymnastics community in new ways in my next chapter. I will always bleed Purple and Gold. All heart, all the time. Forever LSU,” she said in a heartfelt Instagram post. But now, with the position of the assistant coach open, who better to fill it than a former LSU gymnast? Who better than Olivia Dunne’s close acquaintance?

Inside Gymnastics Magazine made a post on July 23, 2025, on their official Instagram handle: a picture of Ashleigh Gnat and Haleigh Bryant hugging. “LSU Gymnastics Head Coach Jay Clark announced Haleigh Bryant as the program’s newest assistant coach. Bryant steps into the position previously held by Ashleigh Gnat,” read the overlay text. Further explaining in the caption, they wrote, “🏆🏆🏆 A new era of LSU Gymnastics has begun! One of the programs most successful athletes ever has vaulted into the role of assistant coach. We can’t wait to see Haleigh Bryant in her new role.” Next, they wrote that she’ll be spectacular.

The announcement had come back in the middle of July itself when LSU gymnastics made on X, captioned, “The LSU Legend is staying home 🙌We’re proud to announce the addition of Haleigh Bryant to the staff as Assistant Coach!”. Bryant will be joining LSU, not just as a former LSU gymnast but as an LSU great. Bryant was named the 2024 NCAA All-Around Champion after posting an All-Around score of 39.7125 in the NCAA Semifinals. The score was the third highest in program history at the NCAA Championships and made her only the second gymnast in program history to be crowned an NCAA All-Around Champion, joining Susan Jackson.

In the 2024 season, she was ranked the No. 1 gymnast in the country for 10 consecutive weeks throughout the regular season and placed in the top 10 on every event: first on vault, fourth on bars, eighth on beam, and seventh on floor. Her 2025 season was ruined because of injury (same as Olivia Dunne), but that also proved to be helpful for her.

Haleigh Bryant’s injury might have played a role in her becoming a coach

In the preseason exhibition on December 16, 2024, Haleigh Bryant suffered a re‑injury to the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in her elbow while attempting a vault. Later ruled a strain that did not require surgery. She continued with floor and beam that night but reported pain the next morning, prompting medical imaging and a conservative rehab plan that sidelined her from the season opener against Iowa State on January 3, 2025. Gradually, Bryant returned first on balance beam in early February and then vault, before eventually adding uneven bars. But in the meantime, she had an experience that might have contributed to her being a coach.

In an interview back in April, she said that she had realized what she wanted to do a kind of at the beginning of the season. “When I was hurt with my elbow and didn’t compete the first couple of meets and I was kind of just like hanging around the gym like helping out the underclassmen, just everybody that needed anything. And I’m like, okay, I really like helping people. And I was like, that’s definitely something I want to do. And obviously I love the sport of gymnastics, so definitely going to stay in the sport of gymnastics and hopefully in a coaching role,” she confessed.

How will she do in her new role? Only time will tell — but all signs point to something special!