Florida Riley McCusker competes on the uneven bars at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Friday, January 16, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]

Riley McCusker Named SEC Gymnast Specialist of the Week

Florida Gymnastics senior and 2023 All-American Riley McCusker claimed her second SEC Specialist Gymnast of the Week honor after she helped Florida defeat No. 11 Auburn on Friday.

McCusker earned the award after scoring a nearly perfect 9.975 on uneven bars, securing the 197.10 – 196.70 win. Her performance is the nation’s highest bar mark of 2026. This season will be her fifth and final year at the University of Florida.

McCusker is capitalizing off her final year, gaining graduate eligibility due to missing the entirety of her junior season after a severe ankle injury. She injured her ankle in November of 2023 while training and underwent surgery soon after.

So far this season, McCusker has secured scores of 9.925 on uneven bars against Alabama, and a 9.90 against the quad-opener with the University of North Carolina, West Virginia University and Temple University.

The senior from Bradenton, Florida, has many other accolades including being the 2025 SEC uneven bars co-champion, 2023 All-American and 2018 gold medalist at the U.S. World Championship.

She previously scored a perfect 10 in 2025 at the SEC Gymnastics Championship against LSU, Oklahoma and Missouri. That same score is what gave the Gators the highest uneven bar score out of any opponent in the entire 2025 season.

Riley will be on bars next when the No. 3 Gators compete in a Top-10 matchup against No. 6 Arkansas at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Friday at 7:15 p.m.

Category: Gator Sports, Gators Gymnastics, Gymnastics, SEC