In NCAA gymnastics, there is a group of six to eight teams that have maintained their elite position for years and can be expected to jostle for a championship each season. While it's exciting to follow these talented programs, it's also intriguing to see how some under-the-radar schools have risen through the ranks to find recent success.

As the college gymnastics season approaches, here's a look at the NCAA Divison I schools that have improved their regular season rankings the most over a three-year period since 2014. Check out our list below for the top five most improved teams.

1) Eastern Michigan

Eastern Michigan has done phenomenal work with its program over the past few years, having risen from No. 46 in the 2014 regular season rankings to No. 24 in the 2016. Part of this is due to the direction of former Eagles head coach Jay Santos, who joined the program in the summer of 2014. It's also due in part to some of the top-notch recruits the team has secured, many of whom were freshmen in 2014 and have continued to improve. This past season, the team won its second ever MAC Championship and also secured its first berth to NCAA Regionals.

The Eagles will have to overcome two major losses this season after Santos left to coach Arizona State and Rachel Slocum, a top contributor on vault and floor, transferred to Florida. Still, Eastern Michigan is in a great position to continue its trajectory upward for the 2017 season. The Eagles' new head coach, Sarah Brown, comes to the program from Michigan, where she was a volunteer assistant coach.

Eastern Michigan will also see the return of some of its top performers, including seniors Lacey Rubin, Natalie Gervais, and Sydney McEachern; juniors Catie Conrad and Kendall Valentin; and sophomores Megan Hultgreen and Ciara Gresham. The team also has three incoming freshmen: Emili Dobronics, Hollie Minichiello, and Allison Smith.

Valentin has been a huge contributor for the Eagles, especially on uneven bars where she was tied for 27th in the regular season rankings last season. Check out her routine from the MAC Championship, where she scored a 9.9:

Video via emuathletics

2) Missouri

Mizzou is our No. 2 most improved team, having gone from being ranked 41st in the 2014 regular season to No. 20 in the 2016 regular season. As with EMU, this is partly thanks to Tigers head coach Shannon Welker, who joined Missouri in 2014 and has continuously improved the program over the years.

The team has changed shape quite a bit, from being reliant on majority upperclassmen in 2014 to having one of the largest freshman rosters in the country in 2016. Most of the Tigers' high scores in 2014 came from juniors Rachel Updike, Laura Kappler, Rebecca Johnson, and Briana Conkle.

In 2015, the team brought some top freshmen into the mix who made important contributions. Shauna Miller, Kennedi Harris, and Becca Schugel put up big numbers across all four events, and combined with the team's large senior class, were able to bring Mizzou to regionals that year.

The Tigers' successful 2016 season, which was mostly thanks to their stellar underclassmen, puts them in a good position going into 2017, and it's likely they will only continue to improve. The team went into the 2016 season with 12 underclassmen who had amazing performances throughout the year and helped lead Missouri to regionals once again, placing third overall. Notable contributors included sophomores Harris and Schugel and freshmen Morgan Porter, Britney Ward, Brooke Kelly, and Allison Bower. Porter was ranked 20th in the national all-around standings, and Ward was ranked 15th on beam and No. 21 on vault. Check out Ward's beautiful beam routine from last season below:

Video via MIZZOUGYMNASTICS

3) Iowa

The Iowa Hawkeyes have jumped from ranking No. 38 in the 2014 regular season to No. 19 in the 2016 regular season. Head coach Larissa Libby has coached the team for the past 12 years, and she has brought in some star talent that has helped propel the GymHawks forward since 2014.

The 2014 season saw two important additions to the team: freshmen Angel Metcalf and Mollie Drenth. These two gymnasts were early contributors for the team, but they have also grown over the years to produce some of the highest scores on all four events. Metcalf won the all-around at the Big Ten Championships last season, and Drenth competed in the all-around in every meet for Iowa in 2016. Check out Drenth's impressive beam routine from last season below, which includes a unique mount and a tough triple series:

Video via NCAA Gymnastics

In addition to the performances by the underclassmen, 2015 was a big year for senior Sydney Hoerr, a top all-arounder for Iowa, junior Alie Glover, and redshirt junior Johanny Sotillo. That same year, Melissa Zurawski and Lanie Snyder were added to the roster, and both have put up strong scores on bars and floor since joining the team. Maria Ortiz and Rose Piorkowski were added as freshmen last season and were important contributors to the vault lineup.

For this upcoming season, the GymHawks will have Metcalf, Drenth, and Mura back for their senior season in addition to their rising juniors and sophomores. The team has also brought in five freshmen: Breanna Fitzke, Clair Kaji, Annie Kustoff, Gina Leal, and Charlotte Sullivan.

4) Washington

Elise Ray was named head coach of the Washington Huskies in May, after serving as an assistant coach on the team for five seasons. Along with former head coach Joanne Bowers, Ray has helped to improve the Huskies' performance over the past few years. Washington has risen from being ranked No. 33 in 2014 to being ranked 17th this past season.

One of the biggest contributors to the Huskies' success was Allison Northey, who graduated this past year. Northey competed all-around for Washington and managed to improve every year. In her junior season, she was the Huskies' most consistent high-scoring gymnast on bars and floor. In her senior season, she became even better on vault and beam.

In addition to Northey's accomplishments, the Huskies have added talented freshmen to the roster who have contributed to the program's success every year. In 2014, Alexandra Yacalis, a top vault and floor worker, joined the team, along with Janae Janik, who put up high scores on bars and beam.

In 2015, then-freshmen Hailey Burleson, Joslyn Goings and Zoey Schafer beefed up the Huskies' roster further. Burleson was one of the highest scoring gymnasts on vault for the team that season, while Goings put up big numbers on vault and beam, and Schafer contributed on floor. Last season, Goings continued to improve and has become one of the Washington's top all-around competitors.

The Huskies have added five freshmen to their roster for the upcoming 2017 season, including Madison Copiak, a top Canadian gymnast who competed at the World Championships last year.

5) George Washington

This upcoming season will be George Washington head coach Margie Foster-Cunningham's 32nd year with the program. Most recently, Foster-Cunningham oversaw the Colonials rise from being ranked No. 42 in the regular season in 2014 to 27th this past season.

During the 2014 season, George Washington brought on Chelsea Raineri and Alex DeMoura as freshmen, both of whom made big contributions to the team on vault and floor. Raineri was the most consistent high scorer for the team on both events. Seniors Kiera Kenney and Betsy Zander bolstered the team's performance with their work on bars and beam but needed more from their lineups on these events.

In 2015, the Colonials started six freshmen who have been instrumental to the program's success over the past two years: Camille Drouin-Allaire, Jillian Winstanley, Sara Mermelstein, Liz Pfeiler, Alexandra Zois, and Madeline Seibold. Drouin-Allaire and Winstanley began competing all-around in their freshman season in 2015 and put up some of the highest scores all season, leading the team to regionals that year.

This success continued into 2016. Drouin-Allaire was named the 2016 EAGL Gymnast of the Year, the first in program history, while Winstanley became the EAGL vault champion. Zois was also named the EAGL co-champion on uneven bars. With much of this star-studded roster due to return next year, the 2017 season promises to be an exciting one for the Colonials.


Related:
Getting to Know Eastern Michigan's First-Year Head Coach: Sarah Brown

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