Oklahoma Sooners coach K.J. Kindler's daughter Maggie Ball joins Iowa Hawkeyes' NCAA gymnastics setup

Maggie Ball, the daughter of gymnastics coach K.J. Kindler, will follow her mother into college gymnastics. She has decided to join the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Kindler was a gymnast for the Hawkeyes' rivals Iowa State and later became their assistant coach in 1992. Nine years later, she became the team's head gymnastics coach and worked with them till 2006. That year, she became the Oklahoma Sooners' head coach and has held the position ever since.

Her daughter Maggie Ball took to Instagram to announce that she would pursue college gymnastics at the University of Iowa.

"It has always been my dream since I was a little girl to compete as a college gymnast. If you told me a year ago I would be able to fulfill that dream I’m not sure if I would have believed you," Ball wrote.

"But through perseverance of unexpected obstacles and the grace of God I am extremely blessed to announce that I will be accepting a scholarship at the University of Iowa to continue my athletic and academic career! I am especially thankful for everyone who helped me get to this point," she added.

K.J. Kindler has had an impressive coaching career so far in college gymnastics, guiding the Oklahoma Sooners to a whopping 14 Big-12 championships. Her exploits have seen her being adjudged the National Coach of the Year on four occasions, in 2005, 2010, 2015 and most recently, 2024.

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K.J. Kindler has coached Oklahoma Sooners to six NCAA championships

K.J. Kindler (in black) celebrates the 2022 NCAA Championships win with the Oklahoma Sooners

K.J. Kindler has had an impressive stint with the Oklahoma Sooners, leading them to six NCAA Gymnastics Championships. The first of these came in 2014 in Birmingham, Alabama, when the team tied with the Florida Gators for the title.

The Sooners won consecutive NCAA Championships in 2016 and 2017, edging out the LSU Tigers on both instances. Their fourth title under Kindler came in 2019, when the national championships were held in Fort Worth, Texas.

The venue was also where Oklahoma won the NCAA Championships in 2022 and 2023, pushing the Florida Gators to second place on both occasions.

In 2024, the Sooners were the defending champions and reached the regional final after winning their second-round meet, that involved NC State, Ohio State and the University of Illinois. They won the regional final and qualified for the semifinal round of the NCAA Championship.

Here, the Oklahoma Sooners were up against Utah, Florida and Alabama, and finished third, thus being unable to qualify for the final.