On the Mat
• Missouri State Acrobatics and Tumbling begins its second season as a program Sunday with its first home meet of 2026, hosting No. 2 Oregon. First toss is set for 3 p.m., and the meet will be streamed live on the Missouri State Athletics YouTube account.
• Sunday's meet marks the first competition of the season for both teams. The Bears enter year two of the program after posting a 1-7 record in 2025, highlighted by the program's first victory against East Texas Baptist (202.560–188.365).
• Acrobatics and Tumbling continues to grow nationally after the NCAA voted at the 2026 Convention to add the sport as an official championship sport across all three divisions. The NCAA's first Acrobatics and Tumbling championship is projected for spring 2027.
• Missouri State will field a roster of 30 student-athletes in 2026, including 13 freshmen, nine sophomores, six juniors and two seniors. The Bears return 10 athletes from last season while welcoming seven transfers.
• Missouri State added six transfers from Limestone University:
Abbie Henderlight,
Ansley Fields,
Destiny McDonald,
Kylynn Hanson,
Ainsley Cornstuble and
Anna Warring, along with
Briana Milton from Morgan State.
• The Bears' roster spans across the country and internationally, including five student-athletes from Missouri, five from Texas and four from Illinois. Missouri State also features athletes from Kansas, Georgia, California, Pennsylvania, Indiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, Oregon, Alabama, Virginia and Oklahoma, along with international student-athletes from Brazil, Ireland and Canada.
• Missouri State added
Tori Letourneau as graduate assistant coach ahead of the 2026 season. Letourneau competed at Hawaii Pacific University, earning Specialist of the Year honors in 2024 and Veteran of the Year recognition in 2025.
• Head coach
Kimberlee Adkins enters her second season leading the Bears after being named the program's first head coach in April 2024. Adkins previously served as head coach at Davis & Elkins College and has extensive experience in collegiate acrobatics and tumbling, cheer and athlete development.
• Acrobatics and Tumbling meets consist of six events with a 15-minute halftime. The meet begins with compulsory, followed by acro and pyramid. After halftime, teams compete in toss, tumbling and the team event.
• Each meet features 20 heats with a maximum of 10 points per heat, while the team event offers up to 110 points. Teams can earn a maximum of 300 points per meet, with start values assigned based on difficulty before deductions are taken for execution.
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