Mike Powell enters his seventh season leading the William & Mary men’s and women’s gymnastics programs as the Director of Gymnastics.
Prior to assuming his current position, Powell served as the men’s head coach for three seasons after a one-year stint on the staff as an assistant in 2016.
Highlighting Powell’s tenure with the Tribe are three of ECAC Men’s Coach of the Year honors (2017, 2020, 2021) and a selection as the 2021 College Gymnastics Association East Region Coach of the Year. Additionally, he led the men’s program to the NCAA Championships twice (2021, 2025) and a conference title in 2017.
In 2024, he was honored with the prestigious Plumeri Award for Athletics Leadership Excellence, which recognizes and rewards outstanding coaches and staff whose core virtues and accomplishments help to define excellence in intercollegiate athletics at William & Mary.
His men’s teams have produced 66 NCAA Championship individual qualifiers (in addition to the two team appearances), 82 all-conference postseason honors and 64 USA Gymnastics Collegiate All-America accolades. Highlighting those individual distinctions are two NCAA All-Americans, four USAG Collegiate National Champions, four Nissen-Emery Award finalists, four USAG Collegiate Senior Athletes of the Year and three ECAC Senior Gymnasts of the Year.
In addition to the success in the gym, W&M has continued to build upon the program’s outstanding legacy of academic excellence under Powell’s direction, as the Tribe men’s program claimed its ninth CGA team title in 2018 with a combined grade point average of 3.531. W&M also earned second-place finishes in 2019, 2020 and 2022.
Individually, Tribe men’s gymnasts have garnered 113 CGA All-America Scholar-Athletes awards during Powell’s tenure, which includes 93 first-team selections (through 2024). Highlighting the academic standouts is Jacop Gliozzi, who is a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-America At-Large selection.
The tremendously successful 2025 season produced a number of memorable highlights, as the squad rose as high as No. 10 in the national rankings and earned a bid to the NCAA Championships for the second time in the last five years.
In addition to the collective success, a number of Tribe standouts posted outstanding seasons. The lengthy list of standouts was highlighted by Connor Barrow, who won the USA Gymnastics Collegiate national title on vault, and Ricky Pizem, who claimed the ECAC title on high bar. Additionally, Luke Tully was honored as the ECAC Rookie of the Year, while Sam Lee earned one of the conference’s sportsmanship awards.
In total, four Tribe gymnasts garnered USA Gymnastics Collegiate All-America honors, while five W&M standouts earned all-conference accolades. Additionally, a school-record five Tribe gymnasts competed in the finals at the NCAA Championships.
The Tribe also continued to distinguish themselves in the classroom as 17 members of the squad were honored as CGA Academic All-Americans.
W&M’s women’s team also completed another successful season in 2025, as it earned the program’s highest win total in a decade and equaled its second-most victories during the last 16 years. Additionally, the squad placed fourth at the Gymnastics East Conference Championship.
Highlighting the 2024 campaign were a number of standouts who posted tremendous seasons. Led by the USA Gymnastics Collegiate Outstanding Senior Gymnast, Aidan Cuy, 10 Tribe standouts were individual qualifiers at the NCAA Championships. Additionally, W&M gymnasts combined to earn eight USAG Collegiate All-America honors and seven All-ECAC accolades.
Additionally, Alek Kuzmenchuk was selected as the featured Student-Athlete Speaker at the NCAA Championships, while he also became the fifth Tribe men’s gymnast to be inducted into the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Society during Powell’s tenure. He led a group of 12 standouts who garnered W&M's Provost Award for academic excellence.
The Tribe’s success in the classroom was highlighted by a third-place finish in the CGA Academic Team Standings, while 13 standouts earned Academic All-America honors.
The W&M women’s program also posted one of the most successful seasons in program history, as it set a school-record 193.920 National Qualifying Score (NQS). En route to breaking the record, W&M posted two overall team scores that ranked among the top 10 in school history. Additionally, the Tribe earned scores that ranked among the program’s top 10 on vault, bars and beam, which included the third-best total in school history on bars (49.000 at Towson).
In 2023 W&M continued to build upon the program’s tradition of success with a number of accomplishments. In addition to 11 standouts qualifying as individuals for the NCAA Championships, Aidan Cuy won the USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Title in all-around and Christian Marsh was honored as the USAG Collegiate Senior Athlete of the Year. In total, Tribe gymnasts combined to win nine USAG Collegiate All-America honors and six All-ECAC accolades.
W&M gymnasts also distinguished themselves academically, as 13 standouts were named to the ECAC All-Academic Team while 10 earned CGA All-America Scholar-Athlete distinction and nine garnered W&M’s Provost Award.
During the 2022 season a school-record 12 individual qualifiers for the NCAA Championships. Additionally, four gymnasts combined to earn five USA Gymnastics Collegiate All-American honors, while the team secured nine All-ECAC accolades, highlighted by Christian Marsh’s winning performance on rings.
W&M also excelled in the classroom as 11 standouts were selected to the ECAC All-Academic Team, while Alek Kuzmenchuk garnered the NCAA Elite 90 award for earning the highest cumulative grade-point average of all the student-athletes competing at the national championships. Additionally, nine Tribe gymnasts were named CGA All-America Scholar-Athletes, while W&M placed second nationally with a combined grade point average of 3.453. The women's team also excelled academically, as 15 members of the Tribe were honored as GEC Scholar Athletes while 14 were named WCGA Scholastic All-Americans.
The 2021 season was remarkable for many reasons, as the men’s team successfully navigated the challenges of the COVID-19 global pandemic to earn the program’s first NCAA Championships bid since 2014. Andrew Lyubovsky highlighted the Tribe’s efforts at the national championship meet, as he became the eighth gymnast in program history to garner NCAA All-America distinction with his sixth-place performance on parallel bars.
In addition to the national recognition, W&M placed second at the ECAC Championship meet as nine Tribe standouts combined to earned 15 all-conference accolades for finishing among the top six in various events and all-around. Additionally, Sam Lee was selected as the league’s Rookie of the Year and Jordan Kula as honored as Most Improved.
The success led to multiple Coach of the Year accolades, as Powell was selected as the top head coach in the ECAC as well as the East Region by the CGA.
W&M also continued to excel in the classroom as 12 standouts garnered W&M’s Provost Award, while 13 gymnasts garnered CGA first-team All-America Scholar-Athlete distinction. Additionally, Spencer Schrandt was inducted into the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Society, joining recent Tribe men’s gymnastics initiates Jacopo Gliozzi, Peter Makey and David Allen.
The women's program was also tremendously successful in the classroom and finished 10th nationally in the academic team rankings, while 10 standouts garnered WCGA Scholastic All-America distinction.
In his first year as Director of Gymnastics, both the men’s and women’s programs experienced tremendous success. Honored as the 2020 ECAC Men’s Co-Coach of the Year, the squad finished the year ranked 13th nationally and was on pace to once again produce a number of NCAA individual qualifiers before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Five men’s standouts combined to earn seven USAG Collegiate All-America honors, while four members of the squad combined to garner five all-conference accolades, including Zane Petras who was selected as the Co-Most Improved Gymnast.
Andrew Lyubovsky provided one of the season’s most memorable performances by setting a school record on high bar at Army. His impressive routine (14.6) ranked as the nation’s best score in the event during the 2020 campaign. Lyubovsky also etched his name in the Tribe’s record book on parallel bars by tying the program’s second-best score in the win against Springfield at Kaplan Arena.
In addition to the success in the gym, the men’s program continued its tradition of excellence in the classroom as 15 standouts garnered CGA Scholastic All-America honors en route to the team placing second in the nation with a combined grade point average of 3.572. Additionally, nine members of the squad earned W&M’s Provost Award while six garnered USAG Scholar-Athlete distinction. David Allen ’19 was inducted into the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Society, while the team earned the NCAA Public Recognition Award after garnering an elite APR score.
Among the many highlights from the women’s 2020 season were two outstanding performances that ranked among the program’s all-time top 10 list, while the Tribe etched its name in the program’s top-10 lists three times on bars and twice on vault.
W&M standouts also posted some of the best individual performances in school history, as Katie Waldman set a program record on bars and recorded the fifth-best score in all-around while Erika Marr registered the fourth-best mark on vault.
In addition to the record-setting performances a number of Tribe standouts were recognized with all-conference honors for their outstanding seasons, as five members of the squad combined to earn nine All-ECAC accolades in various events.
Tribe gymnasts also excelled in the classroom as 13 standouts were honored as Scholastic All-Americans by the WCGA, while eight members of the squad earned W&M’s Provost Award and seven were named to the ECAC All-Academic Team. Additionally, the team earned the NCAA Public Recognition Award after garnering an APR score that ranked among the top 10 percent of all Division I women’s gymnastics programs.
As head coach of the men’s program in 2019, Powell led W&M to third-place finishes at the ECAC Championship and the USAG Collegiate National Championships. Tribe gymnasts performed well at the pair of postseason meets and collected nine USAG Collegiate All-America accolades and seven All-ECAC awards. Additionally, W&M matched a school record for the third consecutive season with 11 individual qualifiers for the NCAA Championships, which included a school-record three standouts who advanced to the event finals. Jacopo Gliozzi highlighted the individual recognition, as he was named a Nissen-Emery Award Finalist, USAG Collegiate Senior Athlete of the Year and ECAC Co-Gymnast of the Year.
Academically, 11 standouts earned CGA All-America distinction, as the squad finished second in the national academic team rankings with a cumulative grade point average of 3.412.
In 2018, W&M finished at the ECAC Championship and the USAG Collegiate National Championships. Additionally, Powell helped a school-record 11 Tribe standouts qualify as individuals for the NCAA Championships – an impressive figure that matched the school record set under his direction in 2016.
En route to the second-place finish at the 2018 conference championship, seven W&M gymnasts combined to earn nine all-league honors, including four individual event titles. Additionally, Griffin Antle was selected as the league’s Senior Gymnast of the Year while David Watkins was chosen as the Most Improved Gymnast of the Year.
Highlighting the 10 Tribe standouts who combined to earn 12 USAG Collegiate All-America honors in 2018 were Peter Makey, who won the rings title, and Antle, who was selected as the USAG Collegiate Senior Athlete of the Year.
Powell posted a tremendously successful first campaign leading W&M in 2017. Honored as the 2017 Eastern College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, he led the Green & Gold to a league title – the fifth in the program’s history.
En route to winning the conference championship, three Tribe gymnasts claimed individual event titles and 10 standouts combined to garner 14 all-conference accolades. Additionally, a school-record 11 Tribe gymnasts qualified as individuals for the NCAA Championships. Highlighting those individual accomplishments were sophomore Jacopo Gliozzi, who earned NCAA All-America honors on pommel horse, and senior Rob Meyer, who was honored as the ECAC Senior Gymnast of the Year.
The successful 2017 campaign has also included a second-place finish at the USAG Collegiate National Championships. Among the many notable performances at the National Championships was Meyer’s winning effort on parallel bars, while five Tribe standouts combined to earn 10 USAG Collegiate All-America honors.
After being selected as W&M’s assistant coach in July 2015, Powell led the Tribe to a successful 2016 campaign. In addition to helping nine Tribe gymnasts qualify for the NCAA Championships, four W&M standouts garnered USA Gymnastics Collegiate All-America honors. Rob Meyer highlighted those honorees, as he claimed the USAG Collegiate national title on parallel bars.
While the success in the gym was notable during his lone season as an assistant, Tribe gymnasts also continued to distinguish themselves in the classroom by earning the National Academic Team title for a record eighth occasion.
A 2004 graduate of W&M, Powell was a four-year member of the Tribe men’s gymnastics team and helped the program win four USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships. Additionally, W&M won a national academic team title and two second-place designations from the College Gymnastics Association during his career at W&M. Highlighting Powell’s individual accolades was the prestigious Benjamin Stoddert Ewell Award, which he received at W&M Commencement for exemplifying a well-rounded liberal arts education through his activities and academic studies.
After years of coaching in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, Powell accepted the Education Coordinator position at MHG Gymnastics in Minneapolis, Minn., in 2011 where he was a vital part in developing a prominent program. Throughout his career, Powell helped coach teams and individuals who have earned multiple USA Gymnastics state and regional championship titles, medaled at the Junior Elite and Junior Olympic Nationals, and qualified to the senior national P&G Championships.
Powell has a national coach certification through USA Gymnastics as well as a national level judging certification through the National Gymnastics Judges Association. He is also currently a member of the NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Committee.
Between receiving his bachelor’s degree from W&M and earning a Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Powell served as a volunteer in India for the Young Adults in Global Mission. He went on to found the Young Adults in Global Mission Twin Cities Group and became a founding member of the YAGM Alumni Leadership Team, tasked with creating an alumni network for the organization. Since then, Powell has helped collect and organize alumni data, plan alumni events, create an alumni newsletter and social media presence, and spearheaded the creation of annual alumni scholarships.
He and his wife, Sharon Powell, an immigration attorney, reside in Williamsburg with their daughter, Mira.
