TUCSON, Ariz. – Taylor Spears has been named Associate Head Coach of Arizona Gymnastics after four years as an assistant coach, head coach John Court announced on Wednesday.
 
"It's with great pleasure and excitement that we elevate Taylor to Associate Head Coach," Court said. "Taylor has been part of this journey the last four years and she is valued as a person, coach, and mentor to our student-athletes. She has exceeded several expectations and has shown growth and a desire to elevate our program. The future at Arizona is very bright and she will thrive in her new role."
 
"I would like to thank John, Dave Heeke, Suzy Mason, and Krystal Swindlehurst for giving me the opportunity to be part of this great program," Spears said. "It has been an honor to see this program grow over the past four seasons, and I am so excited for the future!"
 
Spears, who coaches balance beam, is coming off a historic 2022 season where the GymCats beat Utah for the first time in program history, scored the most consecutive 196s since 2004, and scored the second-highest floor score in program history during the regional semifinal. Under Spears' guidance, the beam team finished No. 25 in the nation and Sirena Linton earned All-American honors on beam – the first GymCat to earn All-American on beam since 2012.
 
During Spears' four years on staff, the GymCats have produced two WCGA All-Americans, two All-Pac-12 honorees, and 24 WCGA Academic All-Americans. Spears has coached the beam team to a nine-rank improvement since 2019 and has coached beam to a final NQS of 49.0 or higher for three-straight seasons.
 
Following the 2020 season, Spears was named Region 4 Assistant Coach of the Year for her work with the team's culture, academics, recruiting efforts, and leotard designs.