STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford women's gymnast Kyla Bryant is one of six finalists for the AAI Award – presented to the nation's most outstanding senior women's gymnast – as announced by the organization Monday.
The two-time AAI award nominee and 2021 Pac-12 Co-Champion on floor adds another impressive honor to her illustrious career as a Stanford gymnast.
"We are thrilled for Kyla to earn this amazing honor," noted head coach Tabitha Yim. "Her passion on the competition floor is second to none, and she has truly made an impact on the Stanford community with her work through CardinalBLCK. It has been incredible watching Kyla develop over the past five years, and we are grateful for her contributions to the Stanford family!"
During her time on the farm, Bryant has won 61 individual event titles, recorded four All-Pac-12 selections and earned WGCA Second-Team All-American honors in 2020.
In the 2022 season alone, Bryant has earned 11 of Stanford's 16 individual event titles while owning the Cardinal's top 2022 scores on all four events and all-around. As a super senior, Bryant recorded new career bests on vault (9.925), beam (9.975), and all-around (39.675), while matching her career-best scores on bars (9.95) and floor (9.975) in nine 2022 regular-season meets. The Athens, Ga. career-best matching 9.975 on floor was earned against UCLA on Feb. 12 in the anchor spot of Stanford's final rotation, sealing the Cardinal's first win over the Bruins since 2016. She has not recorded a score less than 9.90 on floor since March 14, 2021.
Bryant has also excelled in the classroom and holds a 3.33 GPA as a Science, Technology and Society major with Concentrations in Communications and Media. Bryant is the co-founder and two-time president of CardinalBLCK, an organization with the mission to provide a safe space for Black student-athletes to connect, share, and foster a meaningful community that will support them long after their undergraduate experience is over. She also serves on Stanford's Student-Athlete Community Leadership Council and gives her time each Sunday at VIVE Church as a leader in the Youth Ministry sector.
Bryant joins Ivana Hong (2016 AAI Award Finalist) and Elizabeth Price (2018 AAI Award Winner) as recent Stanford gymnasts honored by the organization for excellence during their college careers.
Bryant is joined by Lexi Graber (Alabama), Derrian Gobourne (Auburn), Ona Loper (Minnesota), Trinity Thomas (Florida), and Natalie Wojcik (Michigan) as finalists.