Upcoming Event: Women's Gymnastics versus LSU on January 10, 2026 at 3:00 PM
3:00 PM
Women's Gymnastics
vs LSU
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Women's Gymnastics
K.J. Kindler
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- kjkindler@ou.edu
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In two decades at the helm of Oklahoma women’s gymnastics, head coach K.J. Kindler has elevated the Sooners into one of the sport’s true dynasties. Since her arrival in Norman in 2006, Kindler’s visionary leadership has produced seven NCAA Championships (2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025), 13 top three national finishes, 15 straight regional titles, 15 conference championships and more than 200 All-America honors.
A four-time National Coach of the Year, Kindler has guided Oklahoma to heights once thought unattainable. Her teams have redefined consistency and excellence, spending entire seasons ranked No. 1, breaking NCAA scoring records and producing individual national champions.
Entering her 20th season at Oklahoma, with 25 seasons as a head coach to her name, Kindler has a collegiate coaching record of 638-105-3 (.857) and holds a record of 544-52-2 (.911) at OU.
Numerous Sooner gymnasts have prospered under Kindler’s leadership and garnered national, regional and conference recognition. Most recently, Jordan Bowers helped lead the Sooners to three titles in four years en route to being named the 2025 Honda Sport Award Winner for Gymnastics. Anastasia Webb and Maggie Nichols were also Honda Sport Award Winners in 2021 and 2019, respectively. All three won the NCAA All-Around Championship under Kindler’s guidance and Nichols claimed the only AAI Award honor in program history in 2020.
After spending more than 30 years in the Big 12 as an athlete and coach, Kindler made a splash in her first season in the SEC. Her 2025 squad claimed the SEC Regular Season Championship, Jordan Bowers was named SEC Gymnast of the Year and Faith Torrez won a pair of individual conference crowns.
In the Big 12 era, Sooners were named the Big 12 Gymnast of the Year a total of 11 times, Big 12 Event Specialist of the Year 10 times and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year 10 times. Maggie Nichols, Chayse Capps and Haley Scaman all earned gymnast of the year honors twice in their careers, while Jordan Bowers earned the honor twice in consecutive years in two different conferences.
Kindler closed her time in the Big 12 with a bang as the 2024 squad won the Big 12 Championship with an NCAA team scoring record 198.950. The Sooners claimed 14 Big 12 Championships, including an unprecedented eight straight from 2012-2019 under the 13-time Big 12 Coach of the Year.
OU’s most recent national title in 2025 capped another incredible season. After holding the No. 1 ranking for 11 of 12 weeks in the regular season, the Sooners stormed through the postseason to win their seventh national crown, tying for third-most in NCAA history. Jordan Bowers claimed the programs 22nd individual national title, becoming the fourth gymnast in school history to win the all-around title.
The 2024 season was one of record-breaking performances despite ending short of expectations at nationals. After shattering a 20-year NCAA scoring record, Audrey Davis and Faith Torrez went on to win a combined three national titles. The duo shared the beam title, while Davis claimed the uneven bars crown after ending the regular season as the No. 1 ranked athlete on the event.
The back-to-back national championships in 2022 and 2023 showcased both resiliency and consistency. OU staged a dramatic comeback in the NCAA finals, climbing from fourth place after the first rotation to win it all behind Ragan Smith’s brilliant beam routine. In 2023, the Sooners repeated as national champions for the second time under Kindler and Olivia Trautman brought home the individual crown on vault.
Though the 2021 season ended with a national runner-up finish, Anastasia Webb stole the show as the ninth gymnast in NCAA history to win three individual titles in one championship. Webb was crowned the all-around, vault and floor champion, the third all-around champion in school history.
The 2019 season was one for the record books as the Sooners finished with a 32-0 record and a fourth national title. Just the second undefeated season in program history, Kindler’s squad held the No.1 ranking all season, while claiming Big 12 and regional titles. Maggie Nichols and Brenna Dowell brought home three individual titles, with Nichols defending her all-around crown to become the program leader in career titles with six.
Nichols and Dowell also claimed four individual titles in 2018 as the Sooners finished as the national runner-up. Nichols was the all-around, bars and floor champion, while Dowell claimed the vault crown.
The 2017 season saw the Sooners repeat as national champions for the first time with the first perfect season (33-0) in program history. Nicole Lehrmann and Maggie Nichols shared the uneven bars national title and five gymnasts combined for 12 All-America honors. In 2016, the Sooners snagged their second national title, and first outright win, capping a 38-1 season.
Kindler’s championship legacy began in 2014 when Oklahoma became just the sixth program in NCAA history to win a national title. Taylor Spears broke a 26-year drought, becoming the Sooners first individual champion since 1988. The Sooners won their title in record-breaking fashion, posting a then-meet-record 198.175 to tie Florida atop the podium.
The 2010 season was the breakthrough year, as Kindler’s squad finished as the national runner-up at the NCAA Championships in the program’s first ever Super Six appearance. The Sooners also won their third-straight Big 12 title and the University Park Regional. Kindler was named the Big 12, Regional and National Coach of the Year as she became the first coach to lead two separate programs to the Super Six.
Named head coach in the summer of 2006, Kindler quickly positioned the Sooners among the nation’s elite. In 2007, the Sooners rattled off a streak of 12 consecutive victories, nine of which came on the road, including an upset of then-No. 6 Nebraska in Lincoln, a feat no OU team had accomplished since 1991. She followed that up with an undefeated regular season in 2008, the only team to finish the regular season undefeated. The squad won a second-straight Big 12 title in 2009.
Prior to her arrival in Norman, Kindler spent six seasons as the head coach at Iowa State where she elevated the Cyclones into national contenders in her final season. In 2006, Iowa State reached its third NCAA Championships and first ever appearance in the Super Six.
Kindler is the first and only coach to take multiple programs to the NCAA Finals.
Over her tenure at Iowa State, Kindler coached nine regional event champions, seven NCAA individual qualifiers and 13 Big 12 Champions, laying the foundation for her reputation as one of the sports most innovative leaders.
Kindler, an Iowa State graduate, was a three-time MVP for the Cyclones and runner-up in the all-around at the 1992 Big Eight Championships. She was the school's first individual NCAA Regional qualifier and competed three times in the postseason meet.
The eldest of five siblings, Kindler hails from a gymnastics family. One sister, Lori, competed at the University of Minnesota. She and her husband own and operate Flips Gymnastics in the Twin Cities area.
Kindler is married to OU assistant coach Lou Ball. The couple has two daughters, Maggie and Adelade.
FORGED: Episode 1
Sunday, September 21
FORGED: Episode 2
Saturday, September 20
FORGED: Episode 3
Friday, September 19
WGYM National Championship Celebration
Monday, April 28
