Six Deep: My College Vault Lineup From the Class of 2028

Building a college lineup means finding the right mix of power, consistency, style, and confidence. With so many talented gymnasts to choose from, narrowing the field to just six is no easy task, but that's what makes it fun.   Welcome to Six Deep, where I'm putting together my own six-gymnast lineup for each event. First up is vault, where I'm looking for the athletes I'd trust to set the tone, build momentum, and deliver when it matters. These are the six gymnasts I'd want on my vault roster.    Malatesta's Yurchenko full stands out for the combination of distance and precision she brings to the vault. She gets exceptional travel off the table, creating a vault that carries powerfully down the runway while maintaining the height and control needed to set up a confident landing. Her body position stays tight and composed throughout the post-flight, allowing the vault to maintain a clean, polished look from takeoff through the landing.   Perhaps most impressively, Malatesta has developed an ability to consistently find the stick. She's able to generate the power needed to complete the vault while controlling it all the way through the landing, giving her Yurchenko full a level of precision that makes it especially effective in competition. The combination of amplitude, distance, and repeatable landings gives Malatesta a vault that immediately catches the eye.     Fang's Yurchenko full stands out for the consistency and precision she brings to every attempt. She has a natural ability to control the vault from the moment she leaves the table through the landing, allowing her to repeatedly find that elusive perfect stick. Rather than relying on a big reaction or a save at the end, Fang's landings look intentional and controlled, giving the vault a polished quality from start to finish.   That reliability is what makes her Yurchenko full such a valuable weapon. She has the power and technique to generate a strong vault, but her ability to reproduce it with confidence and finish it with a clean landing is what truly sets it apart. In a sport where a well-executed stick can make all the difference, Fang has shown that she can consistently deliver one.     Smith's Yurchenko 1.5 already has the look of a college-ready vault, combining impressive power with exceptional body control. She generates tremendous lift off the table, giving herself plenty of height and rotation while maintaining a fully extended position through the post-flight. Rather than folding or losing her shape as she moves through the vault, Smith stays long and controlled, creating a clean, powerful line from the table through the landing.   What makes the vault especially impressive is the combination of amplitude and extension. Smith generates the power to not only complete the 1.5 twist, but also has extra power on the landing. The result is a Yurchenko 1.5 with the kind of height, shape, and power that immediately stands out and gives her a strong vaulting foundation as she continues to develop.     Murphy has turned her Yurchenko 1.5 into one of the most impressive vaults in the country, earning her the title of reigning National vault champion. The height she generates off the table is immediately striking, giving the vault tremendous amplitude while allowing her to maintain a beautifully extended body position throughout the post-flight. From her hips through her legs and all the way to her toe point, Murphy maintains exceptional extension, creating a long, powerful shape in the air.   That combination of amplitude, power, and precise body position has translated into remarkable consistency this season. Murphy hasn't scored below a 9.8 on vault, a reflection of just how reliably she is able to reproduce such a high-level vault in competition. With a Yurchenko 1.5 that already carries the quality of a championship-level vault, the Alabama commit is bringing a major weapon to the Crimson Tide lineup.     Busser's vault stands out immediately because she brings something different to the table than the traditional Yurchenko lineup. The Auburn commit competes a front handspring-front pike that combines impressive height and distance with exceptional body position. She gets enough lift and travel to fully showcase the shape of the pike in the air, creating a vault that is both powerful and visually clean. Rather than rushing through the skill, she has the amplitude to let the position develop before preparing for the landing.   She also makes the vault look remarkably easy to control. Busser has a natural ability to find the landing, giving her a confident, almost effortless stick that adds another layer to an already impressive vault. With the power and amplitude she already generates, there is plenty of room for her to continue upgrading in the future. That combination of originality, power, and landing consistency makes Busser's vault especially intriguing.     Although Umphrey's season was cut short by injury, her Yurchenko double full makes her impossible to leave out of any conversation about standout vaults. The moment she leaves the table, the vault demands attention. She generates tremendous height while maintaining an incredibly quick twist, allowing her to get through the rotation with time to spare and still prepare for the landing. What makes it even more impressive is how easy she makes such a difficult vault look. There is a confidence and efficiency to the skill that gives it an almost effortless quality.   After returning to training, Umphrey has already shown that the double full is looking ready for next season. And she isn't stopping there. She is also training a Yurchenko half-on, pike off, giving her another unique and highly difficult option to add to her vault arsenal. With her double full already looking competition-ready and an additional upgrade in development, Umphrey has plenty of reason to be one of the vaulters to watch heading into next season.

Building a college lineup means finding the right mix of power, consistency, style, and confidence. With so many talented gymnasts to choose from, narrowing the field to just six is no easy task, but that's what makes it fun.