No matter how much an athlete prepares physically or mentally, one thing they can never fully predict or avoid is injury.
In the summer of 2024, Daisy Stephenson arrived in Provo from McKinney, Texas, ready to begin her freshman season with BYU gymnastics. Just months later, that opportunity was suddenly put on hold.
“It was like a month before the season was starting, and we do squads where everyone’s family and friends come in and it’s live-streamed,” Stephenson said. “I was warming up and something just went a little bit wrong, and I went down so fast.”
Stephenson tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee that November, forcing her to miss the 2025 season and face a long recovery process.
While the physical rehab was demanding, Stephenson said the toughest challenge came mentally.
“The hardest part was actually mentally overcoming it, because I suddenly got the okay from my doctors to go ahead and do gymnastics again,” Stephenson said.
Even after being cleared, the fear of re-injury lingered.
“I ran into some mental blocks where I just couldn’t make myself do it,” she said. “I’d be standing at the end of the floor about to do a pass and I would have a flash go through my head of re-tearing it. Sometimes I’d even have dreams the night before that I re-tore it.”
Stephenson had done everything she needed to physically recover, but regaining confidence took time.
“I had done all of the rehab and the therapy, so I knew I was going to be okay,” she said. “But it’s hard to make your body do things when your mind doesn’t want to.”
What pushed her forward was the desire to compete alongside her teammates.
“I had seen what it looked like from the sidelines the year before,” Stephenson said. “I had seen what competing looked like from all my teammates, and I wanted to experience that. I wanted a turn at that.”
That motivation helped her earn a place in the lineup, where she now competes on vault, beam and floor for the Cougars.
So far this season, BYU has thrived in those areas, posting a 10–7 record and securing its first winning season since 2022.
To close out the Big 12 Championship, the Cougars defeated Arizona and earned a third-place finish, scoring 196.175 to the Wildcats’ 194.725. In that meet, Stephenson stood out with a career-high 9.925 on floor.
Assistant coach Brogan Evanson, who works primarily with vault and floor, saw Stephenson’s determination throughout the recovery process.
“I met with Daisy every week this fall to set goals and help her overcome the physical limitations from the ACL,” Evanson said. “She’s very determined. She fights hard, and she’s super gritty.”
Evanson noted that Stephenson’s personality plays a big role in her success.
“She brings a lot of passion,” Evanson said. “She worries about meeting her goals and expectations, but she matches that with grit. She has earned everything she’s accomplished this season.”
As the season progressed, Stephenson began to find her confidence again, helped in part by the trust of her coaches and a unique system in practice.
“They believed in me when I did not believe in myself,” Stephenson said. “Watching other people have faith in you makes you feel a little bit better.”
Something new the team incorporated this season is a “sticker chart,” created by assistant coach MaKenna Giles as an added motivator in practice.
Giles, who served as a volunteer coach from 2022 to 2023, was brought on as a full-time assistant in 2025. Having competed in NCAA gymnastics from 2016 to 2019, she brings recent experience that has helped her connect with the athletes.
“She brought this level of increased expectation for the girls, and she even has a sticker chart where they can earn a sticker,” assistant coach Brogan Evanson said. “It sounds funny, but it represents that they brought a level of excellence to their practices.”
Evanson said Giles’ background has made an immediate impact on the team.
“MaKenna had such a successful college career, and we were excited to hire her,” Evanson said. “She shares BYU’s values and has great experience. The athletes gravitate to her because she’s done it — they respect her immediately.”
Beyond her experience, Evanson emphasized the way Giles connects with the team on a personal level.
“She’s a great coach, but she’s also just a great person and really cares about each girl,” Evanson said
Stephenson added to a team wide sticker chart used in practice as a surprisingly effective motivator.
“After getting that first sticker, it was like, ‘I am capable. I earned this spot,’” she said. “It helped me stop worrying about just making the routine and focus on doing my best.”
That shift in mindset made a noticeable difference.
“When I can go from ‘I hope I make this’ to ‘I’m going to make this, but let me make it the best I can,’ that’s helped build my confidence,” she said.
Stephenson continued, joking that even at 20 years old, one of her biggest motivators is earning the coveted sticker.
Stephenson is not the only newcomer making an impact. BYU’s roster features 11 freshmen out of 22 athletes, making it one of the youngest teams in the program.
Despite that, the team has grown quickly together.
“We’re all fairly new, so we haven’t known each other for very long,” Stephenson said. “We’re all kind of figuring things out at the same time, and that’s brought us closer together. It makes us want to support each other and build each other up.”
Evanson said the team’s youth is largely a result of recruiting cycles rather than intentional planning.
“It really depends on the recruiting class,” Evanson said. “It’s not that we’re trying to have a team full of freshmen. It’s about finding the right fit for our program.”
She added that younger athletes have embraced a competitive mindset early.
“The freshmen are pushing the seniors, and the seniors are bringing along the younger classmen,” Evanson said.
That balance has helped BYU build momentum heading into NCAA regionals April 1-5 in Arizona, where the Cougars will look to continue their strong season.
In sports, it’s typical for younger players to take time to progress and watch the upperclassmen before getting their time under the lights. With such a young team, Evanson wanted to put an to that mindset early.
"We come in and we play. We don’t just sit and wait our turn — we go now," she said.
After months of recovery, doubt, and determination, Stephenson is no longer watching from the sidelines as she and her team continue to build off each other to the next stage.