LSU Gymnastics
Kailin Chio, the All-American gymnast for LSU’s national runner-up program, was selected as the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s James J. Corbett Memorial Award winner as the top non-professional female athlete in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, selects annual award winners in a variety of categories; it also selects Sugar Bowl Athletes of the Month and each year’s New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame class.
“This award means so much to me and I’m very grateful to be selected,” Chio said. “To continue the legacy of LSU and to put gymnastics out there means a lot. I want people to know we’re just as good as all the other sports. I’m not just representing LSU, but gymnastics as a sport.”
Chio is the fifth LSU gymnast to win the honor joining Haleigh Bryant (2023-24), Sarah Finnegan (2018-19), Ashleigh Gnat (2016-17), and Susan Jackson (2009-10).
A sophomore from Henderson, Nev., Chio earned eight All-America honors in 2026 and helped lead LSU to an NCAA national runner-up finish with only its second 198+ finals score in school history. She became the first Tiger in school history to score a perfect 10.00 at nationals.
“It’s a bummer that we didn’t win the championship, but I’m super proud of what we accomplished,” Chio said. “We finished second in the nation which is nothing to be shy about. We fought out there. We were in tune with each other; the chemistry was great. We were a team full of sisters with everybody doing their job, you can’t ask for more than that. I’m proud of the entire team.”
She was also named the SEC Gymnast of the Year and Region One Gymnast of the Year as she finished her sophomore season with 13 perfect scores, the most by any LSU gymnast in a single season and the second most 10s in a single season by any NCAA Gymnast since 2019.
“[The accomplishments] are very exciting,” Chio said. “I didn’t expect any of this; I’m just super grateful and thankful for my family, friends, and coaches. I’m super proud to see my hard work paying off.”
She had 44 event wins on the year, the third most in school history in a single season, with her 14 on vault this season being the most in a single season, her 11 in the all-around being the second-most, and 11 on beam matching the program record. She now owns 67 titles in her career. Chio ranked No. 1 in the all-around for four consecutive weeks during the regular season and held the No. 1 spot in the nation on vault and beam. She was the 2026 SEC Champion in the all-around and vault while posting 9.900+ on all four events.
And she returns to an LSU squad that is expected to once again compete for the national championship in 2026-27.
“I want to have more of the same, this time winning the natty,” she said. “I want to see the same team chemistry, the same training and focus. I want us to all do everything right to have the best chance to win the natty, which is our main goal as a team.”
The Sugar Bowl also conducted a fan vote for its annual awards and the female Corbett Award winner was Tashina Alase from the Southern University track and field program. Alase established herself as one of the top hurdlers in the nation – she won the SWAC Outdoor Championship with the No. 1 time in the nation to that point and then finished eighth at the NCAA Championships.
The other finalists for the female Corbett Award were Flau’jae Johnson (LSU Basketball) and Leah Varisco (Sacred Heart Cross Country/Track/Basketball/Soccer). Johnson was selected as an All-American and the Louisiana Women’s Basketball Player of the Year after starting all 35 games and averaging 14.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per contest for the Tigers. Varisco was the MVP of four teams at Sacred Heart as she led the basketball team to the state semifinals, was the leading scorer on the soccer team, finished third at the state cross country championships, and had three podium finishes in track and field.
The New Orleans Sports Awards Committee came together when James Collins spearheaded a group of sports journalists to form a sports awards committee to immortalize local sports history. For 13 years, the committee honored local athletes each month and a variety of annual award winners. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the creation of the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, honoring 10 legends from the Crescent City in its first induction class. While adding the responsibility of selecting Hall of Famers, the committee has continued to recognize the top athlete in the New Orleans area each month as well as a range of annual awards – the honors enter their 70th year in 2026.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 114 Hall of Fame players, 55 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 92-year history. The 93rd Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will serve as a College Football Playoff Semifinal, will be played on January 15, 2027. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.6 billion into the local economy in the last decade.
-www.AllstateSugarBowl.org-
