Missouri gymnastics is set to enter the 2025 season with four transfer athletes, all of whom have shown success with their former programs and are looking to elevate the MU gymnastics program. 

Former Towson University gymnast Elise Tisler and former University of Oklahoma gymnast Amy Wier are stand-out transfers for Missouri. Tisler has a career-high of 9.975 on both floor and vault. Wier was a part of the national championship-winning Oklahoma gymnastics teams for 2022 and 2023. Despite this success, both athletes decided to enter the transfer portal. The decision was not taken lightly by either gymnast. 

“Entering the transfer portal was definitely one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make,” Tisler said. “Inevitably it was not wanting to leave gymnastics with any regrets. My sophomore season was cut short due to an Achilles injury and so being able to come back, I really wanted to reach my full potential.” 

After visiting campus, it was hard for Tisler to turn down the offer to compete for MU. 

“After talking with the coaches here in Mizzou and coming on campus and meeting the girls and really understanding the goals and the process here, I couldn’t resist,” Tisler said. “Mizzou was definitely the only option in my mind after that.”

During her time at Oklahoma, Wier performed an exhibition on beam in 2022 and 2023. Wier sat out the 2024 season and decided to transfer to evolve in the sport. 

“I was looking for an opportunity to grow and become the best version of myself,” Wier said. “I think it was in my best interest to enter the portal.”

For Wier, the opportunity to compete for Missouri is a homecoming. The gymnast is originally from St. Louis, Missouri, and is excited to be close to family again. 

“I was always surrounded by Mizzou gymnastics,” Wier said. “My dad was a wrestler at Mizzou, and so it’s nice to have that connection with him as both being athletes at Mizzou. My dad and I used to travel here to watch gymnastics meets and ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ where they have wrestling and gymnastics at the same time. It’s always something that I was interested in coming to Mizzou for.” 

Despite the change a new school brings, they feel the support from the coaching staff and their teammates. 

“The team has been amazing,” Tisler said. “They had open arms since the very beginning, and I’ve definitely met lifelong friends already.”

Wier has enjoyed the change the coaching staff has provided her. 

“Since I’ve been here, they’ve (the coaching staff) pushed me outside of my comfort zone,” Wier said. “We do a dance warm-up. I’m not used to doing things like that. We do a lot of trampoline drills and it’s helpful because it’s bringing me more air awareness for floor.” 

These dance warm-ups help Missouri gymnastics assistant coach and choreographer Jackie Terpak form choreography for each athlete. 

“We do a variety of dance warm-ups each week as a team,” Terpak said. “This exposes them to different styles of movement and allows us to figure out what works best for them. Oftentimes they realize their body can move in ways they didn’t expect.” 

For both gymnasts, it is their first time competing in the Southeastern Conference. 

“I mean, growing up, I would always watch SEC meets with my grandma,” Tisler said. “So it’s so awesome. It’s so cool to be a part of this. It’s always been a dream of mine, and I’m so excited to be in a full crowd, in a full arena.” 

Wier and Tisler are joined by two other transfer athletes: former San Jose State gymnast Lauren Macpherson and former Illinois gymnast Abby Mueller. Having four transfer athletes join a team in the same season is a rarity in college gymnastics; Over the last ten years, Missouri has never had more than one transfer per season. The Missouri transfers feel the support of having teammates in similar situations. 

“It’s nice to have three other people that have gone through the same thing,” Wier said. “This is definitely a different experience for all of us, especially Abby, my roommate. It’s been nice to have her as a roommate, just because we’re able to talk about certain things. It kind of just helped us all bond on that topic.”

These four transfers have already proved themselves at the collegiate level. Their experience mixed with the sheer number of new faces has Missouri gymnastics dubbing the group the “number one transfer class in the country.”

“Having the number one transfer class in the country is huge for our program,” Terpak said. “We are fortunate to add Abby, Amy, Elise and Lauren to our team this year. Not only are they talented athletes with many individual accolades, but they are incredible people who share our same values. Our staff believes they have a great opportunity to contribute to this program and make a positive impact, both athletically and academically.”

This year the Tigers are filled with new faces. The four transfers are joined by five freshmen. Wier feels the entire group has adjusted quickly. 

“It’s been really cool to work with the freshmen,” Wier said. “We have this little mantra called ‘GUAC’, and each letter stands for a different word. And so ‘A’ is adaptability. I feel like the freshmen have been really adaptable coming into this environment, because it can be really hard as a freshman coming in, and just with all the training we’re doing, it can be a little bit overwhelming. And I feel like they’ve been really good at adapting to our style and like what we do here and our goals and our plans.” 

Both gymnasts offer the Tigers rich experience they gained from their former schools. Competing for Towson, Tisler was the 2024 East Atlantic Gymnastics League specialist of the year. However, her time there was filled with adversity, including a nagging Achilles injury. 

“My time at Towson was definitely full of ups and downs, especially with my Achilles,” Tisler said. “One of my biggest takeaways was definitely it led me to be much more resilient. Coming back and having to learn how to walk again was definitely a process, but it also led me to be so grateful for the little things and really appreciate every day and the ability to do this awesome sport.”

During her time at Oklahoma, Wier won the 2022 and 2023 national championships. These successes provided her with a new perspective. 

“Just learning a championship mindset,” Wier said. “I’ve been there, and I know what it’s like to be there, and I think that was one of the biggest things that I could take away is just what it’s like to be there and what it takes to get there to that point.”  

Tisler and Wier join a Missouri gymnastics team that finished No. 11 last season. Wier hopes to raise the Tigers’ beam score, which ranked No. 22 last year, their lowest of the four apparatuses. While Wier also trains on floor and bars, beam still remains her top event.

“That’s like my main event, per se. So I really am hoping to contribute on beam in any way that I can,” Wier said. The biggest thing as a team is to make it to that final day of nationals. That’s the goal that we’ve been talking about.”

Missouri gymnastics head Shannon Welker spoke about the impact he feels Wier could have on beam.

“I know she [Wier]  doesn’t have a lot of competitive history, but she’s good, she was the next person up at Oklahoma who has a pretty good beam lineup, right,” Welker said.  

While academically both gymnasts are seniors, they each have two years of eligibility remaining and would be big additions to the 2026 team.

Tisler, Wier and the rest of the transfers will make their Missouri gymnastics debuts in January. 

Edited by Dylan Heinrich | dheinrich@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Emma Harper and Natalie Kientzy | nkientzy@themaneater.com

Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com