The Utah gymnastics program has added a transfer who will be immediately eligible in January, adding to a deep recruiting class as a rare case of a gymnast joining the Utes from another school.
Emilie LeBlanc, who competed in 29 meets for Maryland over two seasons, will have two years of eligibility at Utah. She will join four freshmen who have arrived on campus: USA National Team members Abby Paulson and Maile O'Keefe, plus Junior Olympic national champions Jillian Hoffman and Jaedyn Rucker.
The Utes also have a commitment from Jaylene Gilstrap of McKinney, Texas, who finished third on floor in last weekend’s American Classic at the Huntsman Center. Gilstrap is in the high school class of 2020.
Utah historically has filled its roster with four-year competitors, but had an opening for LeBlanc as a transfer.
“Emilie has the aptitude to make immediate impacts on both bars and beam,” Ute coach Tom Farden said. “Her infectious personality and proven success in the NCAA will be a huge asset to our program.”
Before enrolling at Maryland, LeBlanc finished fifth in the all-around in the 2016 Junior Olympic Nationals.
In 2019, the 5-foot-6 LeBlanc won three beam titles and two bars titles, scoring 9.85 or higher four times on bars and three times on bars. Her career high is 9.90 in each event.
