A former Crimson Tide star, Ashley Johnston infuses Alabama gymnastics with championship DNA, reigniting a legacy of dominance and elite performance.
There’s something different about Alabama gymnastics right now, and it starts at the top.
Head coach Ashley Johnston isn’t just leading the Crimson Tide.
She lived it.
She trained in it.
She won in it.
A former 10-time All-American for the Alabama Crimson Tide from 2009–2013, Johnston knows exactly what championship standards look like because she helped build them as an athlete. Now, in her fourth season as head coach (2025–26), she’s restoring that same edge to the program she once dominated on the mat.
Friday night inside Coleman Coliseum, Alabama delivered one of those “statement” performances.
Facing the Oregon State Beavers, the Tide unleashed an electric 49.675 on floor, a rotation that brought the crowd to its feet and reminded everyone what Alabama gymnastics is supposed to look like. The score tied the fourth-highest floor total in program history and powered a convincing 197.450–195.825 win.
That floor rotation wasn’t just clean, it was confident. Sharp landings. Aggressive choreography. Fearless performances. That doesn’t happen by accident. That’s coaching. That’s culture.
That’s a team that knows it’s prepared and believes it belongs among the nation’s best.
Johnston’s influence is everywhere.
This group competes with purpose.
They carry themselves like contenders.
There’s a calm intensity about them; the kind you only get when expectations are clear and standards never waver.
Alabama isn’t trying to figure out who it is anymore.
It knows.
The result?
A No. 3 ranking, a 3–1 record, and momentum that’s building fast.
Next up is a massive road test in Norman against the top-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. The kind of meet that defines seasons and reveals just how far a team has come.
And under Ashley Johnston, Alabama won’t walk in wide-eyed or intimidated. They’ll walk in prepared.
Because when your head coach has stood on the podium herself, she knows exactly what it takes to get back there.
Alabama gymnastics is rising, and it’s being led by one of its own. And this season has quickly become one of the most fascinating to watch in Tuscaloosa for years. Why? Because this team truly has it all. The talent, the coaching, the mindset, and the momentum to win it all.