The names and leotard of 18 former Arizona GymCats hang in the rafters of McKale Center. Next year, fellow alumna Elena Deets will join that group as her name is added to the Ring of Honor in the southwest
corner of the arena.
Deets found out about the honor last week when she attended an Arizona practice thinking she was doing a video. Instead, athletic director Desiree Reed-Francois gave the five-year member of the squad the good news.
Deets received the honor by earning a major conference postseason award. In her case, it was the 2025 Big 12 co-Specialist of the Year after being named Specialist of the Week three times during the 2025 season. She was also named to the 2025 All-Big 12 Balance Beam team.
Deets performed on balance beam, uneven parallel bars, and floor exercise for the GymCats over her five-year career. She had a career high of 9.925 on bars and floor exercise. Her career high on beam was 9.975 with the perfect 10 proving ever elusive.
Deets appeared in all 14 meets in both her fifth year (2025) and her senior year (2024). She appeared in 10 as a junior (2023), 12 as sophomore (2022), and nine as a freshman (2021).
The date that Deets will be inducted has not been announced. The GymCats preview their season on Dec. 13 with the intrasquad GymCat Showcase. Competition begins on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 when former Pac-12 opponent Washington comes to Tucson.
Arizona finished second in the Big 12 in both the regular season and the conference championship, landing behind Utah on both occasions. The GymCats were 21st in the nation and advanced to the Regional Finals. That’s the gymnastics equivalent of the Sweet Sixteen. It marked the program’s first appearance since the postseason format changed in 2019.
