Sooners Begin NCAA Championships Friday

THE MEET

No. 1 Oklahoma will compete for a national championship this weekend at the NCAA Championships at State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill. The Sooners begin their quest for a 13th national title at 1 p.m. CT on Friday in the first qualifying session against No. 4 Nebraska, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 8 California, No. 9 Greenville and No. 12 Springfield.

The meet will be televised on ESPN+ with Bart Conner, Brody Malone and Lauren Sisler calling the action. Individual apparatus streams will also be available on ESPN+

The top three teams from each qualifying session will advance to NCAA Finals, which will be held at 6 p.m. CT on Saturday, April 18, on ESPN2, with apparatus streams available on ESPN+. The second qualifying session, to be held at 7 p.m. CT on Friday on ESPN+, will consist of No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Stanford, No. 6 Penn State, host and No. 7 Illinois, No. 10 Navy and No. 11 Army.

The Sooners have won 12 NCAA team championships, including nine since the 2000 season. OU's last national title came in 2018, and since, Oklahoma has finished second three times (2019, '21, '22), fourth (2023) and third twice (2024 and '25). OU has reached the NCAA Finals in 24 straight years and finished among the top 3 in 22 of the last 23 NCAA Championships held.

Oklahoma's 12 NCAA team titles is tied for the most nationally (tied with Penn State), and OU's nine national championships since the 2002 season is two more than Stanford's seven in that span. The Sooners and Cardinal have combined to win 16 of the last 23 NCAA team championships, while Michigan has four, Penn State has two and Illinois has one in that time.

STICKS

• The Sooners have posted the three highest team scores in the nation with a 332.100 score at the MPSF Championship on April 4, a 331.600 against California on March 7 and a 331.300 score in a win over Nebraska on Feb. 28.

• Oklahoma has compiled a 7-0 overall record this season against teams in its qualifying session. The Sooners have defeated Nebraska twice, with a 323.950 to 315.500 at the Rocky Mountain Open on Jan. 17 and a 331.300 to 321.150 win in Norman on Feb. 28. The Sooners defeated Greenville at McCasland Field House 320.000 to 305.650 on Feb. 1 and beat Ohio State 328.650 to 317.700 on Feb. 7. OU has faced California in three straight meets with a 331.600 to 315.700 win in Norman, a 325.250 to 315.100 win in at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley and a 332.100 to 317.750 win at the MPSF Championship.

• Redshirt senior Fuzzy Benas and senior Ignacio Yockers were announced as two of the six finalists for the prestigious Nissen-Emery Award, which is presented annually to the year's outstanding collegiate gymnast. Benas is a former CGA Gymnast of the Year (2024) and Rookie of the Year (2022), a two-time all-around bronze medalist, an eight-time All-American and six-time CGA Regular Season All-American, and has been a member of the U.S. Senior National Team. Yockers is a two-time MPSF Specialist of the Year, a pommel horse bronze medalist, a four-time All-American on pommel horse and an MPSF pommel horse champion.

• Freshman Sasha Bogonosiuk was announced as the 2026 MPSF Freshman of the Year and head coach Mark Williams was named the MPSF Coach of the Year. This is Williams' third straight and 17th MPSF Coach of the Year award in his 27 seasons at the helm. Bogonosiuk is the third straight Sooner to claim the conference's Freshman of the Year honor (following Francisco Velez Belendez and Nico Hamilton). Bogonosiuk is the only freshman to rank among the top-8 nationally on two events: vault (fourth; 14.267) and floor exercise (eighth; 13.767).

• Mark Williams is in his 27th season as Oklahoma head coach. He has led the Sooners to 623 victories (626-61-1 [.911]), nine national championships and 19 MPSF conference titles since his first season in 2000.

NATIONAL RANKINGS NOTES

• Oklahoma is No. 1 in the final rankings with a 328.150 NQA after posting a 332.100 team score in a win at the MPSF Championship over Stanford (327.200), California (317.750) and Air Force (303.800).

• The Sooners rank ahead of No. 2 Michigan (324.250), while No. 3 Stanford (322.988), No. 4 Nebraska (320.963) and No. 5 Ohio State (317.863) round out the top five.

• OU holds first place on pommel horse (55.575) and high bar (53.850). The Sooners rank second on floor exercise (54.438), still rings (54.075), vault (55.825) and parallel bars (54.775).

• Oklahoma has two gymnasts ranked No. 1 on individual events, with freshman Nathan Roman atop the parallel bars rankings (14.325) and senior Kelton Christiansen leading the high bar rankings (14.050).

• Freshman Sasha Bogonosiuk ranks fourth on floor exercise (13.900) and senior Fuzzy Benas ranks fifth (13.775). Redshirt freshman Colby Aranda ranks fourth on pommel horse (14.300), while senior Ignacio Yockers is fifth (14.238). Sophomore Francisco Velez Belendez ranks sixth on still rings (13.888), and junior Tas Hajdu is 7th (13.775).

• Benas ranks fourth on vault (14.200) and Bogonosiuk sits in sixth (14.138). Bogonosiuk also ranks eighth on parallel bars and junior Nico Hamilton is 11th on high bar (13.525).

LAST TIME OUT

Freshman Nathan Roman registered the nation's highest score on parallel bars and contributed to Oklahoma's four individual conference titles, as the OU men's gymnastics team won its 21st MPSF Championship on April 4 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif. The top-ranked Sooners posted a 332.100 team total to defeat No. 3 Stanford (327.200), No. 8 California (317.750) and No. 13 Air Force (303.800).

Roman won the parallel bars title with his career-high 14.700, redshirt senior Fuzzy Benas won the vault title with his stuck 14.350, junior Nico Hamilton claimed the horizontal bar title with his career-high 14.300 and redshirt freshman Colby Aranda earned the pommel horse title with his 14.150. Benas' conference title was the third of his career and second on vault (also won vault in 2022 and parallel bars in 2025). Roman, Hamilton and Aranda each won their first individual MPSF titles.

In winning its second straight MPSF Championship, Oklahoma reset the nation's high score again with its 332.100 and now owns the top three team totals in the country this season.

The Sooners won three team events, posting a 54.950 on pommel horse, a season-high 56.150 on parallel bars and a 55.150 on high bar. OU scored a season-high 55.700 on floor exercise, a 54.450 on still rings and a 55.700 on vault.

HISTORY AND TRADITION

Oklahoma has won 12 national championships (1977, '78, '91, 2002, '03, '05, '06, '08, '15, '16, '17, '18), tied for most in NCAA history (tied with Penn State), including nine national titles since 2000. The Sooners have finished first or second in 19 of the last 23 NCAA Championships, and has reached 25 consecutive NCAA finals, or every championship held since 2000 (does not count the 2020 championship canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). OU has finished among the top 3 in 23 of the last 24 NCAA Championships held, dating back to the 2001 season.

Mark Williams has led Oklahoma to nine national titles over the course of his 26-plus seasons as head coach of the Sooners. OU won an NCAA championship held in Norman three times: 2002, 2006 and 2015.

The Sooners last won an NCAA championship in 2018 in Chicago, Ill., capping a run of four consecutive national titles (2015-18), then claimed second place in three straight championships: 2019, '21 and '22.