AAI Award 2024: Full list of finalists ft. LSU's Haleigh Bryant and Kentucky's Raena Worley

The finalists of the 2024 AAI Award are out, and the six gymnasts nominated are Haleigh Bryant, Audrey Davis, Maile O'Keefe, Lusia Blanco, Gabby Wilson, and Raena Worley.

The award is presented each year to the most outstanding senior female collegiate gymnast in America. The AAI was first introduced in 1982, and the winner of the honor is decided by NCAA women's gymnastics head coaches.

This year, there were 50 initial nominees, and we are now down to the final six.

Haleigh Bryant is an LSU Tiger and has had a phenomenal year so far. Early into the 2024 season, she earned her first-ever collegiate perfect 10 on the beam, becoming the only gymnast from her school to have posted a perfect score on each apparatus. She is also only the 14th NCAA gymnast to achieve this feat.

After three impressive years at the University of Oklahoma, Audrey Davis has continued to stun into her senior year. This season has seen the 2023 uneven bars Big 12 champion hit all of her routines, going 43 for 43 so far.

For Utah’s Maile O'Keefe, this is her second consecutive year of being an AAI Award finalist. Last season the 22-year-old won the NCAA Championship on the beam and all-around but missed out on the award. 2024 has seen O'Keefe collect another round of accolades, including joining Theresa Kulikowski as the Red Rock with most-career perfect 10s.

For Alabama’s Luisa Blanco, 2024 has been unforgettable. She has qualified to represent Colombia at the upcoming Paris Olympics and has earned eight outright event titles as part of the Crimson Tides. She was also named the SEC Gymnast of the Week on January 30.

Gabby Willson’s 2024 has seen her claim her fourth perfect ten on the floor. If she were to win, the University of Michigan’s team captain would become only the fifth gymnast from her school to be honored with the AAI Award.

Lastly, Raena Worley’s season has seen the University of Kentucky gymnast claim consecutive perfect 10s on the floor, alongside being named the WKYT Athlete of the Week and more.

Who won the AAI Award in 2023?

In 2023, Sierra Brooks won the prestigious AAI Award, after a truly outstanding season on all counts. Competing for the University of Michigan, Brooks is the 2021 NCAA Championship in the team event and a three-time NCAA Championships silver-medalist.

Last year, Brooks, a six-time All-American, truly outside herself on all counts. She claimed a whopping 16 event titles, four of which were for the all-around. In 2023, the Michigan Wolverine was also named Gymnast of the Week thrice, alongside taking her second-consecutive Big Ten Gymnast of the Year award.