As the former No. 1 gymnastics recruit in the country, Avery Neff has dealt with the weight of expectation.
She has dealt with disappointment after seriously spraining both of her ankles during her freshman campaign.
And she has heard the criticisms that come whenever the Utah Red Rocks come up short.
But the standout sophomore says she is focusing on gratitude and fun this year as she leads the No. 5 Utes.
“People just think I’m the No. 1 recruit, but I’m just Avery Neff,“ she said. “I do this because it’s fun for me. When you love your job so much, you don’t work a day in your life, and that’s how I feel. I’m in such an incredible position that I’m so grateful for that I get to do gymnastics as a job.”
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah’s Avery Neff competes on the beam during the Collegiate Quad gymnastics event at The Maverik Center in West Valley City on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026.
Neff is already off to a hot start, too, landing the first perfect 10.0 of the college season on vault last Saturday. On Monday, she helped lead the Utes to a win at the Best of Utah quad, topping Utah State, BYU and Southern Utah.
Having navigated injuries and struggles a season ago, Neff knows how to keep her team on track.
“I think I had a really hard freshman year, physically and mentally,” she said. “Being a captain, too, I’ve really taken the opportunity to kind of try to guide the freshmen.”
Last season, Neff thought her year would be over after spraining both of her ankles, but she ultimately found a way back into the all-around rotation before the start of the 2025 postseason. Neff is now using her struggles from last year to give wisdom to her own teammates.
“I kind of reiterate to them that it’s not going to be easy, and that the preseason is really hard,” she said. “But, once the season comes, everything kind of pays off. That’s truly where we grow as a team and where you kind of grow as a person.”
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Avery Neff performs on the floor, during the Utah Gymnastics Red Rocks Preview at the Jon M. Huntsman Center, on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025.
Former Red Rock gymnast Grace McCallum, now a Utah assistant coach, has been impressed with what she’s seen from Neff’s leadership as an underclassman.
“She is just stepping into her own as a leader,” McCallum said. “Her gymnastics has always been phenomenal. She’s just a top-tier performer in person. She’s really using her voice and being the person to motivate this team and lead them in the right direction.”
Neff’s struggles last year also taught her other valuable lessons.
She never wants to take her gymnastics career for granted. She also wants to have more fun while competing between rotations.
It’s evident in her smile, and she’s just starting to find her groove early in Utah’s season.
“I think this year’s just been so much about having gratitude that I even get to do gymnastics,“ Neff said. ”There’s so many people that wish that they could have this as their job. There’s so many people that wish they could even do something like a cartwheel.
“The fact that I get to just flip around all day is amazing.”