Four-time NCAA champion and 2024 Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles will return to Pauley Pavilion as a student coach for the UCLA gymnastics coaching staff, according to an announcement from uclabruins.com. Chiles, who completed a decorated collegiate career from 2021 to 2026, transitions into the new role following a senior season where she captured the AAI Award as the nation’s top senior gymnast.
During her final competitive season at UCLA, Chiles earned eight perfect 10 scores and claimed the NCAA floor exercise title, according to uclabruins.com and dailynews.com. She also secured the Big Ten all-around title and individual victories on the floor exercise during the conference championships, guiding the Bruins to both the Big Ten Conference regular season and championship team titles before a fifth-place overall national finish, as reported by dailynews.com.
Coaching Transition and Roster Leadership
As a student coach on the 2027 staff, Chiles will step into a mentoring role for a squad that features three seniors and 14 underclassmen, including key sophomore returners Ashlee Sullivan and Tiana Sumanasekera, according to dailynews.com. Head coach Janelle McDonald expressed enthusiasm for the addition in a statement published by uclabruins.com, noting that Chiles’s experience will benefit the program.
“Jordan has made an incredible impact on our program over the years,” McDonald said, according to uclabruins.com. “I’m excited to watch her continue that influence in a new capacity as she steps into this next chapter with student coaching.”
Collegiate and International Resume
Chiles finished her time in Westwood as a 23-time All-American, a seven-time conference champion, and a 19-time perfect 10 scorer, according to uclabruins.com. Beyond her collegiate accolades, she won a team silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and team gold alongside a bronze medal on the floor exercise at the 2024 Paris Olympics, as detailed by uclabruins.com. Her career also includes three medals at the 2022 World Championships—team gold alongside vault and floor silver—and an 11-year tenure on the U.S. National Team.
Outside of gymnastics, Chiles was a finalist on “Dancing with the Stars,” was named a TIME Magazine Woman of the Year in 2025, was selected to TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in Sports in 2026, and authored the New York Times best-seller I’m That Girl, according to uclabruins.com. She is finishing her degree in African American Studies at UCLA.
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