CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
· Sarah Brown begins her eighth year as the head coach of the Penn State women’s gymnastics team in 2025.
· Brown was named the eighth head coach of the Penn State women’s gymnastics program on May 4, 2017. A two-time Big 12 Conference Gymnast of the Year during her competition days, Brown came to Happy Valley after serving as the head coach at Eastern Michigan.
· During the summer of 2024, Brown completed a trip to Minnesota to serve as an auxiliary judge at the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials and present at the 2024 USA Gymnastics National Congress. Both experiences were firsts for Brown as she continues to use her platform to be an advocate for the sport of gymnastics.
2024 SEASON
· The Nittany Lions reached new heights in 2024 under Brown’s guidance. Penn State set its school record with a 196.825 NQS and advanced to the NCAA Regional Final for the first time in program history, upsetting Michigan and Kent State in the second round of the Ann Arbor regional to reach the Super 16. The 60th season of Penn State women’s gymnastics ended in outstanding fashion, with the team achieving its highest total of the season in the NCAA Regional Final, a 197.050 effort, which also is the team’s best score of Brown’s tenure and a regional school record. Penn State also set regional program records on bars (49.375) and beam (49.325) during their Super 16 run.
· In 2024, the Nittany Lions produced six of the top 17 team scores in program history, including three totals at or above the 197.000 threshold. The Nittany Lions’ 197.000 at NC State on March 10 is the team’s third-best true road score in its history. Brown’s squad made a splash in its first Rec Hall appearance of the season as well, scoring a 196.625 against Iowa State on Jan. 12, the team’s highest home-opening total since at least 2000.
· Penn State’s No. 15 finish in the final rankings is the highest of Brown’s tenure and the best a Nittany Lion team has placed in the final standings since 2014.
· With Brown as her event coach, Amani Herring advanced to the NCAA Championships on the balance beam for the Nittany Lions. This marked the second consecutive season that a Nittany Lion qualified to the national meet.
· Penn State received plenty of recognition in the year-end awards following its magical run in 2024. Brown and her staff mentored standout sophomore Ava Piedrahita to a WCGA North East Region Co-Gymnast of the Year award and First Team All-Big Ten recognition while newcomer Kalea McElligott picked up Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors for her fabulous first season with Brown’s Nittany Lions.
· As a testament to her fantastic work with the Nittany Lions, Brown was tabbed the North East Region Head Coach of the Year by the WCGA, her first coaching award with the Nittany Lions. Additionally, her outstanding assistant coaching staff, Rachel Inniss, Ralph Rosso, and Lynnzee Brown, earned North East Region Assistant Coaching Staff of the Year recognition following the 2024 season.
2023 SEASON
· Brown led the Penn State squad to the NCAA Regionals in 2023, the group’s first appearance as a team since 2021. At regionals, Penn State set its regional then-program record with a 196.825 total score, a mark that was surpassed twice during the 2024 season. The Nittany Lions also set regional then-program records on bars (49.325) and beam (49.150) en route to their outstanding total. Senior Cassidy Rushlow (bars) and freshman Ava Piedrahita (vault) qualified for the NCAA Championships in their respective events as well.
· At the NCAA Championships, Piedrahita’s 9.875 on vault led her to become Penn State’s first postseason All-American since Sharaya Musser in 2013.
· Both Piedrahita and Rushlow earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors at the conclusion of the season for their excellent contributions to the Nittany Lions’ 2023 season.
· Penn State finished the 2023 season with a No. 25 national ranking, jumping 15 spots in just one year, tied for the largest leap in all of college gymnastics. The Nittany Lions ended with a 196.415 team NQS.
2022 SEASON
· In 2022, Brown took four individuals to the NCAA Regional Championships following standout seasons in the Blue & White. Lauren Bridgens concluded her fantastic Penn State career with an appearance in the NCAA Regionals on bars following a season that included three 9.9 scores in the event. Alissa Bonsall qualified for her fourth NCAA Regional appearance and Cassidy Rushlow (bars) and Isabella Salcedo (floor) rounded out the four NCAA qualifiers for Brown and the Nittany Lions.
· Brown guided Bridgens to her fourth All-Big Ten honor in 2022, as she claimed second team accolades in the final year of her historic Nittany Lion career.
· Penn State finished top-25 in the country on both the floor exercise and bars in the 2022 season under Brown, highlighted by the aforementioned exemplary performances by the Nittany Lions’ upperclassmen on bars.
· As a team in 2022, Penn State posted nine scores of 49.000 or above on bars, along with eight on floor, six on vault and one on beam.
2021 SEASON
· In 2021 Brown helped guide four Nittany Lions to NCAA Regional appearances as the team battled through adversity in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Penn State finished the season ranked 33rd in RoadToNationals rankings, recording an average score of 195.283. The Nittany Lions shined on bars throughout the season, closing out the year ranked 19th on the apparatus with a national qualifying score of 49.231.
· Three Nittany Lions garnered All-Big Ten accolades, with Cassidy Rushlow being named to the first team, and Alissa Bonsall and Ava Verdeflor earning second team honors.
· As a team, Penn State recorded eight scores above a 49.000 on bars, four scores above 49.000 on both beam and floor and one on vault.
2020 SEASON
· Brown led the Nittany Lions to eight dual-meet wins in 2020, including four against Big Ten opponents, and a No. 30 ranking in the RoadToNationals standings. Penn State earned five scores above a 196.000, its most since 2015. The Nittany Lions averaged a 196.230 in five home meets, their highest average since 2015. No postseason events were held after the season was canceled on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Nittany Lions finished the season with a 195.860 National Qualifying Score (NQS). Penn State ranked 21st in the nation on bars (49.130 NQS) and held a 49.045 NQS on floor. On the season, PSU had five scores above a 49.000 on bars, five scores above a 49.000 on floor, four on beam and two on vault.
· Junior Lauren Bridgens was named All-Big Ten first team, becoming the ninth Nittany Lion to earn at least three first-team All-Big Ten honors in their career. Bridgens won 13 event titles, including four all-around. She tallied six scores of 9.900 and finished the season ranked 28th in the nation in all-around, 47th on bars and 51st on floor.
· Freshman Cassidy Rushlow garnered All-Big Ten second team accolades. She won five event titles, including one in all-around.
· The Nittany Lions finished the season with a 195.860 National Qualifying Score (NQS). Penn State ranked 21st in the nation on bars (49.130 NQS) and held a 49.045 NQS on floor. On the season, PSU had five scores above a 49.000 on bars, five scores above a 49.000 on floor, four on beam and two on vault.
· The Nittany Lions tallied in overall team-high of 196.575 in their Quad Meet sweep over NC State, Cornell and Towson.
2019 SEASON
· In 2019, the Nittany Lions had a 10-9 meet record, including victories over No. 21 Arizona State, No. 22 Ohio State, No. 27 NC State, No. 32 Temple and No. 34 Illinois. Penn State placed fifth in the Big Ten Championships, hosted at Rec Hall. Penn State was selected for the NCAA Regional in Ann Arbor and finished third in the Session I meet against No. 7 Michigan, No. 10 Alabama and No. 26 Ohio State. The Nittany Lions ended the season ranked No. 24 in the RoadToNationals poll, its highest finish since 2015.
· Senior Sabrina Garcia and freshman Jessie Bastardi qualified for the NCAA Championships. Garcia earned a 9.900 on bars at the NCAA Regional, tying for the top score in the regional and tying her score from 2017 for PSU’s top bars score in a regional. Bastardi secured a 9.900 on beam at the NCAA Regional, also matching the top score in the regional and tying Meredith Hoover (2003) for the top beam score in PSU regional history. Sophomore Lauren Bridgens was a first-team All-Big Ten selection, while Garcia earned second-team accolades.
2018 SEASON
· In her first season at Penn State, Brown led the 2018 Nittany Lions to an 11-8 meet record, including three wins over ranked opponents. The Nittany Lions made an appearance in the NCAA Regionals and finished the season with a No. 32 national ranking.
· Freshman Lauren Bridgens and senior Briannah Tsang earned All-America honors following the 2018 campaign. Tsang was the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, the eighth in program history, after winning the individual floor exercise title at the Big Ten Championships. Bridgens and Tsang were first-team All-Big Ten selections, while junior Sabrina Garcia was a second-team honoree. Bridgens competed in the All-Around at the NCAA Championships.
· On March 4, 2018, Bridgens set a Nittany Lion record with a perfect 10 on the uneven bars. Tsang earned two top five scores in program history on the floor exercise.
BEFORE PENN STATE
· During her lone season as the head coach of the Eastern Michigan women’s gymnastics team in 2017, Brown led the Eagles to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) regular-season title, the MAC Championship title, an appearance at the NCAA Regionals and a final national ranking of No. 27. At the 2017 MAC Gymnastics Championships, Eastern Michigan tallied its second-best score in program history (196.500), recorded a school record on the uneven bars (49.300) and three gymnasts tied for the uneven bars title.
· During the 2016-17 season, a total of 10 Eastern Michigan gymnasts were named Academic All-MAC and five were selected MAC Distinguished Scholars. Four of the Eagles’ MAC Distinguished scholars owned a grade-point average of 3.85 or higher.
· Brown served for one season as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Michigan during the 2015-16 year, helping the Wolverines win the 2016 Big Ten Championship.
· Before joining the Michigan coaching staff, Brown was an assistant women’s gymnastics coach at Southeast Missouri State University for three seasons, where she was selected the Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) Assistant Coach of the Year in 2014. Brown was the head beam coach and beam/floor choreographer and helped develop three MIC individual champions in 2014, two MIC Freshman of the Year selections and four NCAA regional all-around competitors.
· She also was the director of operations for the University of Missouri women’s gymnastics program for one year before starting her collegiate coaching career.
· Brown began her collegiate gymnastics career at the University of Utah for one season before completing her collegiate career at the University of Missouri. A four-time All-American at Mizzou, she was the Tigers’ Female Athlete of the Year in 2009 and 2010 and earned the Director of Athletics Leadership Award in 2010.
· Along with her All-America plaudits, Brown was selected the Big 12 Conference Gymnast of the Year in 2009 and 2010, was named to the All-Big 12 Championship Team nine times and was a nominee for the 2010 Honda Broderick Cup. A 2015 Missouri Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Brown was named the 2008 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and earned South Central Regional Gymnast of the Year honors twice (2009-10).
· While she was at Utah, Brown was a member of the team that finished second at the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships in 2007.
· Prior to her collegiate gymnastics career, she was a four-time member of the USA National Team (2002-05).
COACHING HONORS
· 2024 WCGA North East Region Head Coach of the Year
· 2014 MIC Assistant Coach of the Year
THE SARAH BROWN FILE
Personal
Year at Penn State: Eighth
Hometown: Columbia, Mo.
Education: Missouri, 2010 – B.A. in interdisciplinary studies (emphasis in comm. and business)
Missouri, 2012 – M.E. in counseling psychology (emphasis in sport psychology)
Family: Husband: Antonio Brown, Sons: Isaiah and Elijah
Coaching Timeline
2017-Present – Penn State (Head Coach)
2016-17 – Eastern Michigan (Head Coach)
2015-16 – Michigan (Volunteer Assistant)
2013-15 – Southest Missouri State (Assistant Coach)
2012-13 – Missouri (Director of Operations)