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UCLA Gymnastics: Bruins Add Two New Assistant Coaches

Sam Garcia

Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

The UCLA gymnastics program has added two new assistant coaches. 

On Tuesday, the Bruins announced via X that Mark Freeman and Lacy Dagen would complete the 2025 gymnastics coaching staff. 

This is the second major change in the UCLA gymnastics coaching staff in three years. The first came in 2021 when head coach Janelle McDonald took the reins of the program from Valorie Kondos Field. 

Freeman is a California gymnastics alum and was an assistant coach for the Golden Bears from 2017-19, which is how he first met McDonald who became an assistant coach for California in 2019.

After his stint at California, Freeman became the assistant coach of four-time defending NCAA champions Stanford men’s gymnastics. He is a four-time West Region Assistant Coach of the Year, with a resume including membership on five National Coaching Staff of the Year.

Freeman’s coaching helped produce multiple male Olympians at the last two summer Olympic Games, including the 2024 Paris Olympic team bronze medalists Brody Malone and Asher Hong.

In addition to his coaching background, Freeman was a member of Great Britain’s Senior National Team from 2001-04. As a member of their Junior National Team, he made history as the first British gymnast to earn a gold medal in a major international competition, winning the gold medal on rings in 2002.

"I am beyond excited and honored to be joining UCLA Women's Gymnastics," Freeman said to UCLA Athletics. "The legacy and reputation of this iconic program speaks for itself. To be associated with it is truly humbling. I am eager to contribute, to help our team develop and grow, and to assist the Bruins in achieving success."

Dagen is also a familiar face to the Bruins as she coached former Pac-12 opponents, Arizona State and Oregon State. She most recently served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Sun Devils. 

Dagen will replace Autumn as UCLA’s beam coach. During her time with ASU, she helped coach the team to a record-breaking 11 consecutive 49.0+  point meets. One of which (49.550) was the highest the Sun Devils had achieved on the apparatus since 2017 and was the sixth highest in program history. 

Similarly to Freeman, Dagen has coached Olympic gymnasts, including the 2024 Paris Olympic team gold medalist Jade Carey. Dagen coached Carey in 2023 when she served as an assistant coach for Oregon State. Across one season with the Beavers, Dagen helped the team achieve the highest team score in program history (198.075). She also helped Oregon State claim a piece of the Pac-12 regular season title. 

"I'm thrilled to join UCLA's legendary program," Dagen said to UCLA Athletics. "I look forward to proudly wearing the blue and gold back in my home state, helping an exceptional group of student-athletes accomplish their goals both in the classroom and out on the competition floor, and contributing to the legacy that is UCLA Gymnastics."

Freeman and Dagen will join McDonald and floor coach BJ Das as the 2025 UCLA gymnastics coaching staff.

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Sam Garcia
SAM GARCIA

Samantha Garcia is a student at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Professional Writing. She is also a sports writer for the Daily Bruin at UCLA.

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