Staff Directory
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- Phone:
- 435-4708
Phone: 517-432-3189
Email: Email Coach Rowe
Mike Rowe enters his ninth season as head coach of the Michigan State gymnastics program in 2025-26 and 12th season overall on the Spartan coaching staff at his alma mater.
In his eight seasons as head coach of the Spartans, Rowe has coached 15 All-Big Ten gymnasts for a total of 31 All-Big Ten selections, 40 Big Ten Distinguished Scholars, 54 Academic All-Big Ten gymnasts and 40 WCGA Scholastic All-America Award winners. He holds an overall record of 135-93-1, eclipsing the 100-win mark in 2024. In 2024, he was named Big Ten Women's Gymnastics Coach of the Year for the third-straight year, and in 2022, he was named WCGA Region 4 Coach of the Year and WCGA National Coach of the Year. Rowe's staff was also named both Region 4 and National Coaching Staff of the Year by the WCGA in 2022, while his assistants were recognized with Region 4 Assistant of the Year honors again in 2023. Rowe and his staff also earned WCGA Regional Coach of the Year accolades in 2025. In 2022, he coached his first All-American in NCAA Championship qualifier Skyla Schulte, the first Spartan to advance to the Championships since 2016 and the first All-American since 1995. Lea Mitchell earned CoSIDA Academic All-America Division I At-Large Third team accolades, becoming just the second Spartan gymnast all-time to reach CoSIDA Academic All-American status in 2022. In 2023, Gabrielle Stephen and Delanie Harkness qualified for the NCAA Championships, marking the first time the Spartans qualified multiple individuals to the national championships since 1997. Schulte and Nikki Smith qualified for the 2024 NCAA Championships, while Schulte became the became the first Michigan State gymnast to earn multiple NCAA All-America honors and just the second overall to earn multiple All-American nods with a seventh-place finish on floor. In 2025, MSU advanced as a team to the NCAA Championships for just the second time ever and first since 1988.
Additionally, during Rowe’s time leading the Spartans, MSU gymnasts have been recognized with four Big Ten Medal of Honor Award winners in Gabrielle Stephen, Lea Mitchell, Jessica Ling and Gabriella Douglas and one Chester Brewer Leadership Award and one Gwendolyn Norrell Community Service and Leadership Award, with Douglas being recognized with both. In 2024, Schulte won MSU's George Alderton Female Athlete of the Year award, becoming the first Spartan gymnast to do so since 1993. Stephen was named the Alderton Female Athlete of the Year in 2025 to mark back-to-back selections for the gymnastics program.
In 2025, MSU tied its program overall wins total again with a 29-8 overall record. The Spartans notched two team scores of 198.000 or better, including a program road-high of 198.150 at the Big Ten Championships to finish second, marking the fourth-straight season with a top-two finish at the conference meet. Gabrielle Stephen collected a trio of regional titles en route to being named MSU's first-ever WCGA Regional Gymnast of the Year and scored two perfect 10.000s (vault, beam), including one at the Big Ten Championships to capture a share of the beam title. Olivia Zsarmani also won the Big Ten vault title outright.
Sage Kellerman, Skyla Schulte, Nikki Smith, Gabrielle Stephen, Delanie Harkness and Olivia Zsarmani all collected All-Big Ten honors in 2025. Kellerman, Smith and Zsarmani combined for four WCGA Regular Season All-America nods, while Amy Doyle, Sage Kellerman, Skyla Schulte, Gabrielle Stephen and Olivia Zsarmani combined for seven All-America honors at the NCAA Championships. MSU ended the season with a program-high No. 6 ranking, the best postseason finish in program history.
The 2024 Spartans posted an overall record of 29-7 for the most wins in program history. MSU earned its second-straight Big Ten regular season title and first Big Ten Championship title, while earning four of its top 10 team scores in program history, including the team's then-highest road score in history with a 198.050 at Michigan on February 4. Schulte became MSU's first Big Ten all-around champion and collected a share of the conference floor title and Baleigh Garcia earned a share of the beam title.
Sage Kellerman, Skyla Schulte, Nikki Smith, Gabrielle Stephen, Baleigh Garcia, Delanie Harkness and MaKayla Tucker collected All-Big Ten nods in 2024. Kellerman and Smith, who were named the program's first WCGA Regular Season All-Americans on vault, scored a combined four perfect 10.000s, with Kellerman scoring two on vault while Smith scored one on vault and the program's first-ever 10.000 on floor.
2023 marked another record-breaking year for the Spartans, with Michigan State advancing to the NCAA Regional Finals for the second-straight year and ending the season with a third-place finish at the NCAA Pittsburgh Regional Final. The Spartans won the Big Five Meet for the second-consecutive year and finished second as a team at the Big Ten Championships. Rowe coached freshman Sage Kellerman to the Big Ten vault title and junior Delanie Harkness to the conference bars title, marking the first year since 2017 that the Spartans won an individual event title at the Big Ten Championships. MSU also won the Big Ten Regular Season title for the first time in program history in 2023.
The Spartans broke the overall team score twice in 2023 and scored the first 198.000-plus score in program history with a 198.225 in a tri-meet with Bowling Green and LIU on March 5. MSU also broke the program vault (49.575), bars (49.725), and beam (49.600) records, while Nikki Smith (vault) and Jori Jackard (bars) scored the third and fourth perfect 10.000s in program history. The Spartans ended the season ranked 11th in the country.
Five Spartans were named All-Big Ten in 2023, with Delanie Harkness, Skyla Schulte, Nikki Smith and Gabrielle Stephen earning First-Team honors, while Baleigh Garcia was named Second-Team All-B1G. Nikki Smith, a six-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week and two-time Big Ten Gymnast of the Week honoree, was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, while Stephen was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week twice and Jori Jackard earned Specialist of the Week honors on March 8.
2022 was a breakout year for the Green & White, as Michigan State qualified for the postseason as a team for the first time since 2016 and competed in the NCAA Regionals in Seattle, Washington, making it all the way to Regional Finals and placing third. Rowe and his staff led the Spartans to a first-place finish at the Big Five meet on Feb. 19 and second-place finishes at the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Regionals Second Round.
MSU broke the overall team score three times over in 2022, eclipsing the 197.000 mark on five occasions in addition to setting new program highs on vault, bars (49.500), beam (49.500) and floor (49.675). The grand finale for MSU was a new program best score of 197.650 set in the Regional Finals. The Spartans concluded the season with a program-best ranking of ninth in the nation, boasting a ninth-place ranking on floor, 10th on beam, 15th on bars and 19th on vault.
In addition, a total of six gymnasts were named to the All-Big Ten team in 2022, with freshman duo Skyla Schulte and Gabrielle Stephen earning First Team marks and sophomores Delanie Harkness, Baleigh Garcia, Giana Kalefe and Ashley Hofelich being named to the Second Team. In addition, Schulte was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Schulte was a five-time B1G Freshman of the Week and a Gymnast of the Week, while Stephen received Freshman of the Week honors three times and Harkness was named Specialist of the Week on Feb. 15.
The Spartans completed two meets in 2021 before having to cancel the remainder of the season due to health and safety, and training concerns stemming from COVID-19. MSU competed in two tri-meets, winning the first and third in the latter, with Baleigh Garcia being named B1G Freshman of the Week after her performance in the season-opening meet.
The 2020 season was shortened due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, canceling one regular-season meet, plus the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Regionals and Championships. Despite the shortened season, MSU gymnasts earned two All-Big Ten accolades as Lea Mitchell earned First Team All-Big Ten honors, while senior Gabriella Douglas collected Second Team All-Big Ten recognition. In the classroom, the Spartans tied a program record with 12 Scholastic All-America Award winners, as well as collecting seven Big Ten Distinguished Scholar accolades and 10 Academic All-Big Ten honors.
In 2019, Rowe coached three NCAA Regionals qualifiers in Gabriella Douglas, Lea Mitchell and Jessica Ling. The trio was also named to the Big Ten All-Championships team while Douglas and Mitchell earned All-Big Ten Gymnastics Second Team honors. MSU gymnasts also earned 11 WCGA Scholastic All-America award recipients, five Big Ten Distinguished Scholar award winners and nine Academic All-Big Ten selections.
Under Rowe’s leadership, senior Jessica Ling was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor following the 2019 season. The last Spartan gymnast to receive the award was Lisa Burt in 2016.
During his first season as head coach in 2018, Rowe led Lea Mitchell and Hailee Westney to the NCAA Regionals. Westney was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team after posting nine first-place finishes throughout the season. MSU gymnasts collected eight WCGA Scholastic All-America award winners, four Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors and seven academic All-Big Ten honorees.
Rowe spent the previous three seasons as assistant coach at his alma mater, joining the coaching staff in 2014. He was an integral part in returning Spartan gymnastics team to NCAA postseason competition in 2015, placing fourth at the Iowa State Regional and ending the season with a No. 26 national ranking.
During his time as assistant coach of the Spartans, Rowe mentored seven All-Big Ten award honorees, including two in 2017 in seniors Nicola Deans and Kira Frederick. Rowe also coached three Big Ten Co-Champions on floor in 2017, as Deans, Frederick and fellow senior Elana Lagoski became the first Big Ten individual champions for the Spartans since 2006.
MSU tied for the most on the Big Ten Championship team with four gymnasts in Deans, Frederick, Lagoski and junior Hailee Westney, in helping the Spartans win the first session of the Big Ten Championships, finishing sixth as a team for MSU’s highest finish since 2010. Additionally, the team posted a 49.475 on floor, tying the program’s highest floor score. The 49.475 was also the single-highest event total of any team on any apparatus at the 2017 Big Ten Championships.
In addition to Michigan State qualifying for the NCAA Regionals as a team in both 2015 and 2016, the Spartans sent five individuals to regionals in 2017. Deans competed in the all-around competition, Lagoski and Frederick represented the Spartans on the floor, while Westney and junior Lindsey Lemke competed on the uneven bars. In 2016, Rowe helped coach Lisa Burt to the NCAA National Championships as an all-arounder, as MSU’s first National Championships appearance since 2010.
A native of Lowell, Michigan, Rowe earned his bachelor’s of science degree in landscape architecture from MSU in 1985 and was a member of the cheer squad. In 2013, Rowe received his master’s in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University.
Rowe returned to MSU following nine years at the University of Pittsburgh, where he served as assistant coach with primary focus on the uneven bars and recruiting coordinator. While there, he was a two-time Northeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year and coached two East Atlantic Gymnastics League (EAGL) bar champions, three EAGL Rookies of the Year and numerous NCAA Regional Qualifier on bars.
In addition to his coaching career, he has performed as a professional dancer from 1985-97 in New York City, national and international tours, and commercial and music video performances.
