STANFORD, Calif. - Sophomore Brody Malone repeated as Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Gymnast of the Year, while head coach Thom Glielmi earned his second consecutive Coach of the Year honor, it was announced by the MPSF on Wednesday.
Malone is the first Stanford men's gymnast to repeat as Gymnast of the Year since Akash Modi took the honor in four consecutive seasons from 2014 through 2017, becoming just the third four-time MPSF Athlete of the Year in any sport, joining Tony Azevedo (Stanford Men's Water Polo; 2001-04) and Aimee Harrison (Hawaii Women's Diving; 2013-16).
With Malone capturing the honor in his first two seasons on The Farm, Stanford has now earned nine MPSF Gymnast of the Year selections in the last 17 years. Joining Malone on the list are Modi, Tim Gentry (2011), Sho Nakamori (2009) and Dan Gill (2004).
Malone finished third in the all-around at the 2020 Winter Cup, including finishing second on parallel bars and vault, seventh on pommel horse and high bar, and 12th on still rings on day one of competition – earning his spot on the US Senior National Team.
At the conclusion of the season, Malone was awarded three All-America selections, finishing top eight in the all-around, and on vault and parallel bars. The nation's top gymnast on parallel bars, Malone averaged a 14.500 in the event, placed second in the all-around (82.650), and ranked sixth on vault (14.617). The native of Summerville, Ga. managed the third-highest vault score (14.900), third-best all-around score (84.200) and fourth-highest parallel bars score (14.800) in the nation this year. A two-time MPSF Gymnast of the Week, Malone won seven event titles, including four on parallel bars, and one each on still rings, vault and the all-around.
Adding to all-around, floor, high bar, parallel bars and still rings All-America honors from 2019, Malone has now accumulated eight All-America honors in his two years at Stanford.
For Glielmi, 2020 marks his fourth MPSF Coach of the Year honor, first earning it in the NCAA and conference championship season of 2009, then again in 2014 as a Co-Coach of the Year with Kip Simons of Air Force.
Under Glielmi's tutelage, the Cardinal finished the season ranked first in the nation on parallel bars (69.333), still rings (69.017) and vault (73.117), second on floor (70.067) and high bar (67.167), and fourth on pommel horse (66.417). The Cardinal entered and finished the year ranked No. 1 in the nation, and Stanford's average team score of 414.783 was more than four points better than Oklahoma's second-place average of 410.133.
Individually, eight different gymnasts combined for a program-record 16 All-America honors this year. The 16 selections, led by four from sophomore Ian Gunther, eclipsed the previous record of 15 from 2008 and 2019. Included in the haul were five vault honors, four all-around selections, three apiece on parallel bars and still rings, and one on pommel horse. The 16 selections were also the most in the nation this year, with Michigan taking second with eight.
Glielmi, who completed his 18th season at the helm of the program in 2020, has guided Stanford to NCAA championships in 2009, 2011 and 2019.
