Jillian Hoffman Transfers to LSU

LSU gym is loading up for 2024

Women’s basketball isn’t the only program at LSU improving their roster with the transfer portal.

Former Utah gymnast Jillian Hoffman announced she was transferring to LSU Saturday following weeks of speculation online. Head coach Jay Clark said he doesn’t want LSU to become a portal program, but he’s fine taking in transfers if they seem like a good fit. Last offseason, LSU added Utah grad transfer Cammy Hall, but she tore her Achilles in November and redshirted the 2023 season. Hoffman is a graduate student electing to spend her final year of eligibility in Baton Rouge.

College career

Hoffman’s freshman season was cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic and injuries. She competed four floor routines and exhibitioned three bars routines, but she fell on half her floor routines and missed two meets with an injury. Hoffman missed the entire 2021 season with a shoulder injury. In 2022, Hoffman opened the season on vault and earned the lead spot on floor in the third meet of the season. She scored well in the lead spot including a career-high 9.975. Her Yurchenko 1.5 vault scored well, too, and she scored a season-high 9.900 with it at Cal. Unfortunately, she tore her Achilles in the warm-up period before the floor rotation and saw her season end early.

2023 was Hoffman’s best season. She competed in 13 of the team’s 15 meets. She only made one floor lineup, but she was a key contributor on vault. She had five 9.900+ vaults including a career-high 9.975 against UCLA. She could’ve used her Covid redshirt year at Utah, but she decided to reunite with her vault and floor coaches from her first two seasons.

Potential impact at LSU

LSU’s biggest needs are bars and beam, events on which Hoffman has never competed. Bars and beam are Utah’s deepest events and beam is by far their best. Hoffman is talented on both events, so there’s a chance she breaks into those lineups. Floor and vault, on the other hand, are LSU’s deepest events. Three of LSU’s super seniors have 10.0 SV vaults and Bryce Wilson should be working on getting her Yurchenko Double ready for NCAA competition. Garrett Griffeth has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal for 2024 and Hoffman could be a key piece to the lineups. Floor is where I find things to be most interesting. LSU lost the luxury of being able to rest either Aleah Finnegan or Haleigh Bryant on any event during the season, and floor is taxing. Hoffman could see time as a substitute for either them or Kiya Johnson on floor in order to give them much-needed rest.

The 2024 team had high expectations following the super-senior announcements, and this addition is only growing them.