Brynlee Andersen-Broekman took the floor this season to showcase her beaming attitude about how gymnastics at BYU has helped her deepen her relationship with God and become the person she wants to become.
Andersen-Broekman, the junior captain of BYU’s gymnastic squad, continues to set anticipated records and show leadership through Christ-like love and motivation.
The all-around gymnast currently focuses on her beam and floor routines, in which she has pasted her name tied for second place on the all-time leaderboard at BYU for the balance beam event at 9.975.
During her sophomore year in high school as recruiting started to be a focus, she suffered a back injury that caused her to worry about potential options for competing at the collegiate level.
“I couldn’t really train because my back was hurt so I would just go to the gym and condition.” Andersen-Broekman said. “At this point I was behind because I hadn’t done gym for so long, and I missed my prime recruiting year.”
She maintained optimism through the pain and after seeing multiple chiropractors and doctors to get the necessary adjustments, she was able to take to the gym again and continue showcasing her talents in order to get that recruitment she so badly wanted.
“I was behind in my class, but I thought, you know what, it doesn’t matter. I’m going to work hard and I’m going to keep going. I worked really hard over the whole summer, and then my junior year is when BYU offered me.”
She continued: “Things like that really just teach you that no matter what you put your mind to it is possible as long as you’re willing to work hard enough and do what it takes.”
BYU wasn’t her initial choice after high school, though. She had a few colleges looking to recruit her, so she felt like she had a decision to make, especially as she resumed practicing right before her junior year started.
Andersen-Broekman attended and competed at Timpanogos High School in Orem, so she knew lots of other girls that went to BYU to compete for the Cougars. She didn’t feel the same draw to Provo that others did. Then things changed.
“I was talking to some other colleges and I was like, should I do this? Then my club coach texted me and asked, ‘Brynlee what do you want?’ And in that moment I immediately knew I wanted to be at BYU with all of my friends," she said. “My other best friends were already going there, and I just knew that that was where I was going to be the happiest and that’s where I was meant to be.”
As a true freshman, she competed on the balance beam in every meet and earned 10s from one judge in two different meets. She established her dominance that season with a career-and-team high beam score of 9.975 when the Cougars hosted Ohio State in Provo on Mar. 8, 2024. She earned the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week award and scored a 9.8 or higher in 13 of the 15 meets that season.
Her sophomore year, Andersen-Broekman was ranked No. 24 in the nation on the beam and was selected for the 2025 All-Big 12 Beam Team. She competed on the beam every meet that season and competed on the floor in all but one meet. She scored above 9.9 on beam eight times and did it twice during the NCAA Utah Regional. She was the first BYU gymnast to qualify for Nationals as an individual since Abbey Miner-Alder did it in 2021.
Moving into her junior season, Andersen-Broekman broke a rib last December while practicing bars before the upcoming season. As she was doing a high to low transition, she released her grip and landed on the lower bar, cracking a rib and causing her to wonder if she’d be able to compete in the 2026 season.
Andersen-Broekman was looking forward to competing in her usual beam and floor routines but wanted to eventually make the bars lineup for the meets. That dream was snuffed by her rib injury.
“It was awful and hurt so bad, but somehow God healed me and I healed perfectly in time to come back for the season," she said. “I was getting close to bars, but when I broke my rib I thought, okay, I have to focus on the [events] that I’m going to make the lineups on.”
Andersen-Broekman’s outlook on life and athletics is a big reason why she is who she is now.
“My whole life, I’ve had a lot of trials so the only thing I ever knew was to just work hard," she said. “When things are maybe not going our way or we don’t know the outcome, what do we come back to? Something I come back to is that I’m resilient, I’m gritty, and I know how to work hard and make things happen.”
Andersen-Broekman made it apparent that her coaches are a huge influence on her testimony of Jesus Christ and her spirit as an athlete. She got married in August of 2025 to the son of her beam coach, Natalie Broekman.
“Everyone always thinks it’s such a big deal, but I met her way before I met my husband.” Andersen-Broekman explained. “Your coaches in the gym honestly already feel like your mom and you just trust them so much.”
During her junior season, Andersen-Broekman was selected as one of the team captains for the squad in Provo. She has competed on beam and floor in every meet.
At Clemson, on March 13, she scored a 9.975 on the beam tying her career high and earning a perfect 10 from one of the judges. She has earned nine individual event titles, eight of those being on beam and one being on the floor. She was scored at 9.900 on both her beam and floor routines in the Big 12 Championship on Mar. 21, 2026.
Despite all her awards and accomplishments her junior year, Andersen-Broekman has expressed that she isn’t particularly satisfied with the way the judges have been scoring her.
“You can’t control what score the judge gives you so sometimes it’s pretty discouraging because I’m doing my job but then it doesn’t really feel like it’s turning out," Andersen-Broekman said. "Before coming into the gym every single day, either I can choose to be discouraged, or I can pick myself up. If they’re going to deduct me then I’m going to fix it.”
She continued: “It’s hard to go in and nit-pick every single little thing. That’s what I did leading up to Clemson … but when I was about to go on beam, I knew exactly what to do because my coach Natalie and I worked on every single part and everything that I needed to do.”
Andersen-Broekman shared that it’s common to not be awarded the score she wants.
When that happens, she said, “I take a deep breath and usually look at my husband in the stands because he’s not really that happy either. He just reminds me to take a deep breath, and that it’s okay, and in that moment, I just have to remind myself to trust God … because if I’m being honest, I’m frustrated about this, so I just have to go back to trusting God. His plan is ultimately better than mine and He knows what’s best.”
She explained that her husband has a big influence on her performance and attitude during meets.
“Sometimes I actually look at him when I’m on the beam at the Marriott Center and I kind of just laugh which is funny, but I love him. Especially when the judges don’t really score me and I’m frustrated, he always helps me calm down and remind me that I’m okay and that I’m good at what I do.”
Andersen-Broekman said that one of her favorite things about BYU is the relationship with God that she’s able to nurture.
“At BYU we have a unique opportunity that other colleges don’t get," she said. " Here you’re at His university, you’re representing the talents that He gave you, so I feel like I’ve come way closer to Him while being at BYU. Something I love about BYU is that when we are in class or when we’re at practice, we are always including God in every single thing that we do.”
Andersen-Broekman expressed her appreciation for the religious aspect of the university.
“We have the opportunity to shine His light through our talents, so we have the opportunity to glorify God. That’s what I bring with me every single day and into every single meet and I feel like that’s brought me so close to Him," she said. "Trusting in His plan has also brought me so close to Him because when things are uncertain or I’m frustrated, I just feel like as I lean on Him, there’s peace in that and He’s going to get me where He wants me to be.”
When asked about advice she might have for anyone aspiring to be a Cougar gymnast, Andersen-Broekman said, “Always work hard, and never give up … If you work hard enough, you’re going to get to where you want to be. Always believe in yourself … trust in God’s plan because He’s going to get you there.”
Andersen-Broekman has one more year of eligibility and she looks forward to what the next season has in store for her and her team.
Speaking to the fans wearing royal blue that she notes seeing at every meet, whether it’s home or away, Andersen-Broekman said, “I love them all so much and I’m so grateful for their support. I’m so grateful to be a Cougar.”