Alabama Gymnastics Earns No. 8 Overall Seed in NCAA Tournament

The Crimson Tide is headed to the Norman, Oklahoma regional.

Alabama Athletics

After a strong performance at the SEC Championships over the weekend with a 197.925, Alabama gymnastics moved up to No. 8 in the rankings to be the 8-seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

The Crimson will be in the Norman, Oklahoma regional with No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 9 Kentucky, No. 16 Ohio State, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, North Carolina State and Ball State. 

Alabama will compete in the first semifinal session at 2 p.m. March 30 against Kentucky, Illinois and Iowa. The Crimson Tide will begin the meet on the balance beam, rotating to the floor exercise and the vault before finishing out the day on the uneven bars.

The second semifinal will feature No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 16 Ohio State, Arkansas and the winner of Wednesday’s play-in matchup between NC State and Ball State. The session will get underway at 7 p.m. The top two teams from each of Thursday’s semifinals will advance to the NCAA Regional Finals on Saturday, April 1

The top two teams from each of the four regionals (Norman, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Denver) will advance to the Finals in Fort Worth, Texas at Dickies Arena with all eight teams competing April 13 and the top four moving on to the championship April 15. 

Alabama has a national qualifying score of 197.720, which is calculated by taking a team’s top six scores from the season, of which at least three must have been scored away from home, removing the high score, and averaging the remaining five. The Crimson Tide's highest overall score this season was a 198 at the Metroplex Challenge in Fort Worth back on Feb. 11. The big score put up at SECs helped boost Alabama's NQS.

This will be Alabama's first trip to the postseason under head coach Ashley Johnston. Last season as an assistant at Auburn, she helped the Tigers reach their first ever Final Four.

Since the format changed from the Super Six to Four on the Floor in 2019, Alabama has not made the final night of competition. The Crimson Tide finished seventh nationally last season and fifth in 2021. 

See also:

An Alabama Gymnastics Bond Formed in a Snap 

Alabama Gymnastics Rises to the Challenge with Impressive Showing in SEC Championships

How To Watch: No. 1 Alabama Basketball vs. No. 5 San Diego State (NCAA Tournament)