Jade Carey’s Journey: From a 14-Year-Old Dreamer to an NCAA Powerhouse
When Jade Carey was just 14 years old, she made a decision that would shape the next decade of her life. She verbally committed to compete at Oregon State, drawn in by the team, the coaching staff, and the picturesque Corvallis campus. It seemed like the perfect fit for a young gymnast with big dreams.
Fast forward nearly 11 years, and Carey has become one of the most decorated elite gymnasts in the country, boasting three Olympic medals and three world championship titles. Yet, her love for Oregon State has remained steadfast. Balancing her national team commitments, academics, and NCAA gymnastics has been challenging, but Carey wouldn’t have it any other way.
On Thursday, Carey, now 24, will don the Oregon State colors for the last time at the NCAA championships in Fort Worth, Texas. She enters the competition ranked No. 1 in the country in the all-around and on balance beam, with one final opportunity to bring an NCAA title back to Corvallis.
“That would mean everything to me,” Carey shared with ESPN. “It’s been one of my biggest goals for a really long time, and it would just continue to build on the legacy of amazing gymnasts that we’ve had here. I’ve had such a career here at Oregon State, so it’s really exciting to be able to go to nationals one last time and just really give it my all. No regrets. Leave it all out there and see where it all falls.”
The “No Regrets” Mantra
Carey’s “no regrets” mantra has been a guiding principle throughout her gymnastics career. When she first set her sights on Oregon State, she wasn’t yet the Olympic gold medalist or even an Olympic prospect. She was simply a talented young level 10 gymnast, not yet on the elite radar.
At that time, Carey wasn’t considering how the Olympics might fit into her timeline or how she could manage both collegiate and elite gymnastics. She was just thrilled at the prospect of competing at the Division I level.
However, after the 2016 Olympics, the U.S. team needed to bolster its depth on floor and vault in Simone Biles’ temporary absence. Carey’s skills caught the attention of officials, leading to an invitation to a national team camp. Her life took a dramatic turn, and new dreams began to form.
In July 2017, Carey won both floor and vault at the U.S. Classic, followed by a vault victory and a second-place finish on floor at her first U.S. nationals. She was named to the world championships team later that year, where she won silver in both events. Originally planning to start at Oregon State in 2018, her college plans were postponed due to her rapid rise on the world stage.
Carey’s journey continued to soar. Through a short-lived rule change, she qualified for the 2020 Olympics as an individual. At the pandemic-delayed Games, she competed in the all-around after Biles withdrew, finishing eighth and winning gold on floor.
Finally, in the fall of 2020, Carey arrived at Oregon State, three years later than planned. Her arrival was eagerly anticipated, with hopes that she could elevate Oregon State from an outside contender to a legitimate title threat. The team hadn’t advanced to the NCAA championships final since 1993.
Immediate Impact and Continued Success
Carey’s impact was immediate. She competed on all four events in her debut meet, winning the all-around title. By season’s end, she was named the Pac-12’s Gymnast and Freshman of the Year and was the 2022 NCAA runner-up on bars. After a brief break, she returned to elite competition, winning the vault title at the 2022 world championships.
Over the next two years, Carey continued to balance both collegiate and elite gymnastics. She was an NCAA runner-up on three occasions (2024 all-around and floor, 2023 beam) and won numerous Pac-12 titles and awards. Unlike some elite stars who took a year off for the Olympic lead-up, Carey maintained her dual commitments. Her strategy paid off, as she made her second Olympic team in 2024, helping the U.S. team to gold and winning bronze on vault.
Despite making it look easy, Carey’s dual life was anything but. She spent countless hours in the gym, often alone, working on her elite skills with her father, Brian, her lifelong coach and now an assistant at Oregon State. The support of her teammates, who sometimes stayed with her for encouragement, was invaluable.
“I think my first three years in college were great and I wouldn’t trade them for the world, but the extra weight with elite was a lot,” Carey admitted.
After participating in the Gold Over America Tour following her success in Paris, Carey returned to Corvallis in November for her senior year. For the first time, she could focus solely on being a college gymnast, just as she had envisioned when she first committed to Oregon State.
A Season for the Ages
The result has been one of the most dominant seasons in NCAA history. Carey has won the all-around title in every meet this season, earned four perfect 10.0 scores, and became just the fourth gymnast to achieve her second career GymSlam (a 10.0 on every event). On Senior Night, she earned a career-best and the highest score in the nation this season with a 39.925, in front of a record crowd of 9,042 fans. It was the fourth-highest score in NCAA history. On Wednesday, Carey was awarded the 2025 AAI Award, an honor presented to the nation’s top senior gymnast.
“If she had been part of [teams that had won or contended for NCAA championships], she might go down in history as one of the greatest women’s collegiate gymnasts to have ever lived,” said ESPN analyst and three-time men’s NCAA all-around champion John Roethlisberger. “She is unique athletically and mentally. She seems unfazed. You never look at her and go, ‘Man, she’s choking.’ Has anybody ever said Jade Carey is choking? She just doesn’t do that. She is just this, a compliment, like this gymnastics machine. She’s something unique and special that I think differentiates herself from really anybody we’ve seen.”
Carey attributes her 2025 success to being able to focus exclusively on college gymnastics. Without the demands of elite gymnastics, she’s had more time to bond with her teammates and enjoy some much-needed free time. In March, Carey went Instagram official with her girlfriend Aimee Sinacola, sharing a carousel of pictures with the caption “Happy.”
“This year I haven’t had the Olympics in the back of my mind 24-7,” Carey said. “I’ve just been able to think about and enjoy the whole process and the season. I was able to give more to college gymnastics and to my teammates than I’ve ever been able to do before. I think that’s really what’s ultimately led me to where I am this year and allowed me to have a lot of fun.”
Chasing the NCAA Dream
Winning an NCAA all-around title wasn’t Carey’s only goal this season. She had hoped to lead her team to the NCAA championships and contend for the team title. However, at the NCAA regional finals, the Beavers finished fourth, ending their journey. Carey, the only team member to qualify as an individual, was disappointed but found motivation in the setback.
“I just wanted to give everything I had at the regional final and leave it all out there and really push for our best chance for the team to get there,” Carey said. “I was reminding the team after not to hang their heads about the season because it was really incredible overall. I know that nationals was a big goal, but [they should] still be proud of what they were able to do this year. And so really for me, just going into nationals, taking that all and finishing out the year, not only for myself but the entire team. It’s bigger than just me.”
While Carey will technically be alone in Fort Worth, she won’t be without support. Her Oregon State coaches will be on the floor with her, and her teammates Sophia Esposito, Mia Heather, and Ellie Weaver will be in the stands, along with her family and friends. Carey was touched by their decision to come.
“I know that I’ll feel right at home just by looking up in the stands and seeing those three up there in their Beaver gear cheering me on,” she said. “It’ll feel really nice to have them there and know I can just look up to them and that they’ll take away all the nerves or the scary feelings and make me feel like I am right here at home.”
Carey will also be rotating with LSU, the defending champions, and competing at the end of their lineups on each event. She described the Tigers as a “fun group” and was excited to compete alongside them, knowing they would help bring out her best gymnastics. Haleigh Bryant, the 2024 all-around champion, and Lexi Zeiss, a teammate of Carey’s on the 2022 worlds team, reached out to welcome her.
Winning the all-around title as an individual won’t be easy. Only two other gymnasts have achieved this feat, with the last being Kentucky’s Jenny Hansen in 1995. However, Aly Raisman, a six-time Olympic medalist-turned-ESPN analyst, believes Carey is uniquely positioned to join that exclusive list.
“It’s very hard to go from, I imagine, competing with your team all the time and then having to be there by yourself, but I think for Jade, what helps her a lot is she’s used to being out there alone as an elite athlete,” Raisman said. “She’s used to competing internationally by herself as well.”
Ranked in the top four on beam, floor, and bars, Carey has a chance for multiple titles. If she wins, she would become the first Oregon State gymnast since 1993 to do so and just the fifth in the school’s history. No one from the program has ever won the all-around.
Looking Beyond the Gym
Carey is uncertain about her future beyond Thursday. She’s unsure if she’ll return to elite competition for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles or retire. For now, she’s looking forward to a break and a summer vacation, a rare opportunity to relax and spend time with loved ones without the pressures of gymnastics.
Carey has taken a reduced course load at times, so she’s slightly behind on her path to graduation. She estimates needing about two more semesters to complete her degree in digital communications. While she envisions a future in sports, she’s still exploring her options.
For now, Carey is focused on completing the journey she began as a 14-year-old. Reflecting on her younger self, she would tell her that the best was yet to come.
“I would say so much, probably starting with, ‘You’re going to experience gymnastics as the most fun it’s ever been in your whole life,'” Carey said. “Like, ‘You thought gymnastics was fun when you were 8 years old, but it’s even more fun in college.’ It’s really cool to say that because it’s not always like that in life. To be able to get that joy that you had when you were a little kid age and on such a different stage is really special to me.
“And I would talk about all the experiences and life lessons that I’ve learned in these four years of my life. Being a student-athlete teaches you so much about discipline and how to persevere and get through the hard times and how to lean on each other as teammates and create bonds that you’ll have for the rest of your life. This really has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me that I’ll always be grateful for.”
Originally Written by: D’Arcy Maine
