LSU Gymnastics scores a massive recruiting win landing Gold Medal Gymnast

LSU Gymnastics scored a huge recruiting win this week as Olympic Gold Medalist Hezly Rivera announced her commitment to the program.

At 16, Rivera was the youngest member of Team USA's women's gymnastics team this summer, and she was the only team member without previous Olympic experience. Although she did not compete in the Olympic team or individual finals, her scores contributed to Team USA's qualifying score for the team all around final which earned her a gold medal. In spite of her limited roll on the mat, Rivera proved to be an enthusiastic and supportive teammate, and after the Paris games her legendary teammate Simone Biles said, "She's a great competitor ... I don't think this will be her last Olympics."

Rivera posted photos from her official visit to LSU just three days before she announced her commitment to the program. LSU Gymnastics is coming off the school's very first national championship in the sport earlier this year, and scored a major win earlier this summer when superstar gymnast Livvy Dunne announced her return to LSU for one final season. A picture emerged after the commitment of Dunne and Rivera as children together at a gymnastics meet, along with a recent one of them reunited at LSU.

Rivera is a high school junior and will certainly have her sights set on competing in the Los Angeles Olympic games in 2028, so it could be as long as five years before she debuts with the Tigers. In the meantime, LSU's head coach Jay Clark will continue to build on the veteran trio of Livvy Dunne, Haleigh Bryant, and Aleah Finnegan this season as they prepare to welcome more star power to the team in the coming years.

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