2026 Season Preview: Centenary STUNT
The Centenary College STUNT team opens its 2026 season in the McNeese Tournament on Sunday as the Ladies will play three matches against the host Cowgirls, Texas Woman's University and Texas A&M University-Kingsville inside The Legacy Center.
Lake Charles, La. - The Centenary College STUNT team opens its 2026 season in the McNeese Tournament on Sunday as the Ladies will play three matches against the host Cowgirls, Texas Woman's University and Texas A&M University-Kingsville inside Townsley Law Arena.
The Ladies will face McNeese at 10:15 AM, TWU at 12:15 PM, and Texas A&M-Kingsville at 1:15 PM as they begin the season with a challenge against D1 McNeese and a pair of division II teams in the Pioneers and the Javelinas.
Centenary will welcome Muskingum University and McNeese to the Gold Dome on Sunday, Feb. 8 as the Ladies will make their home debut as a program with the matches set for 10 AM and 1 PM.
The Ladies are ranked eighth in the country in the division III preseason rankings after finishing eighth nationally out of 13 teams last season, and ranked seventh in the preseason in 2025, as the first and only NCAA Varsity STUNT team in the state of Louisiana. As the only DIII team in the south, the Ladies were forced to play cross divisional the entire 2025 season.
See the complete preseason rankings here: https://collegestunt.org/2026-rankings/
"As we head into our second season, I am looking forward to what's ahead for our athletes," said head coach Kaylee King. It's going to be a tough season because we will be playing our season in less than a month, and the bulk of it in just over a week."
"These athletes have been working since the fall to learn the new routines as they embark on playing full-length games this season instead of the 8-round format. One difference this season, is that over half of the routines are new instead of just the odd routines changing. This has posed a new challenge for us, but this team has been resilient from the beginning and has continued to conquer new skills on a daily basis."
"I am excited about the new talent that has joined us this season. These athletes will allow us to be more competitive in the jumps and tumbling routines where we gave up several points last season. I believe the most challenging rounds for us will be the partner stunt routines, as they have significantly more difficult skills than in prior years, but these Ladies haven't let that stop them. Our focus this season, like it was last year, is to simply put points on the board and play our own game, especially when we face some of the larger teams from the D1 or D2 divisions."
"Hosting for the first time in school history has created a great deal of excitement amongst our team. They are eager to show not only the campus community but their family and friends what the sport of STUNT is actually about. It will be a great, low-key event with three total games being played that day. We will face off against Muskingum University from Muskingum, Ohio and we will end the day with a game versus McNeese."
"It will still be early in our season, so some modifications are expected, but it will be a great chance to showcase how and what a STUNT game is to those who have never seen it. So, we are looking forward to this opportunity."
"Our season is shorter with three fewer games than last year," said King. "We are playing two weekends in a row, one of which is home and then we are spending 10 days in the Midwest covering four states and playing the majority of our season."
NOTES ON THE LADIES:
In the inaugural 2025 season, Centenary went 3-15 and did not play another division III team.
This season, the Ladies are set to play nine D3 teams, a pair of D2 teams, one club team D1 (McNeese), and one NAIA squad.
The Ladies return nine student-athletes from last season, with two of them being CSCA All-American Nominees for second team and honorable mention.
King is assisted by Destiny Duhon.
2025 Season Recap: Three Ladies were named All-Americans by the College STUNT Coaches Association (CSCA) as senior Avery Cauley (Little Rock, Ark.), sophomore Ezmeriah Gonzalez (Longview, Texas), and sophomore J'Anna Sweat (Pitkin, La.) all earned the prestigious honor. Cauley was named to the First Team, Sweat to the Second Team, and Gonzales earned Honorable-Mention honors.
The number of athletes from each team receiving All-American honors was based on the end of the season ranking for each team. The Ladies' eighth-place final ranking allotted them one honoree for each category. All-Americans are selected by the members of the College STUNT Coach Association. In total, the team went 163 rounds of play averaging 10 rounds of play per game with four athletes earning all 163 rounds.
Cauley, junior Jo Hoffman (Ragley, La.), and sophomore Alli Ledoux (Port Barre, La.) were named to the College STUNT Coaches Association Academic Honor Roll for the 2025 season. The trio was recognized for their success in the classroom. Nominated student-athletes have a cumulative GPA above a 3.50 and have completed a minimum of 24 credits/units at their current STUNT institution.
THE MORE YOU KNOW:
At the 2026 NCAA Convention, all three divisions voted to approve stunt becoming an NCAA championship sport, with its first NCAA championship projected for spring 2027.
Stunt transforms traditional cheerleading skills into a head-to-head, four-quarter format emphasizing athleticism and precision. Teams compete in partner stunts, pyramids, and jumps and tumbling, with points awarded based on execution.
The sport is governed at the collegiate level by USA Cheer and continues to grow through robust high school and club pipelines.
See the complete Ladies' season schedule here: https://gocentenary.com/sports/stunt/2025-26/schedule
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