Jordan Chiles brought the Bruin floor party to Dancing with the Stars this fall, capturing third place.

Now, the two-time Olympian will dance alongside a new set of UCLA stars for her final hurrah in 2026.

Following UCLA gymnastics’ Meet the Bruins showcase Dec. 13, the senior said that each season has felt unique for her due to both personal changes and shifts in team personnel.

But there has been one constant for the self-proclaimed “That Girl” – winning.

Chiles took home the NCAA titles on bars and floor during her sophomore year. After taking a break from collegiate competition in 2024 to train for the Olympics, Chiles won team gold and was awarded the bronze medal on floor in Paris. And just last season, she earned a second NCAA bars title, tied for the Big Ten floor crown, and helped guide the squad to a second-place finish in the national championship.

Chiles did not participate in a preseason with the Bruins during her first three seasons, rejoining the 2025 squad just weeks before competition season. This year, however, she trained with the team and the new freshman class from the beginning.

“The minute I came on campus, it was so welcoming,” said freshman Ashlee Sullivan. “The family dynamic was already there.”

With the loss of eight gymnasts and the arrival of seven newcomers, coach Janelle McDonald said that cultivating that cohesive team spirit early in the preseason was a key focus.

Although Chiles still did not have a typical preseason – balancing gymnastics practice, schoolwork and Dancing with the Stars rehearsal – McDonald praised her ability to adapt to such a tight schedule.

“Dancing with the Stars showed me a different side of myself that I did not know that I needed to be shown,” Chiles said.

The Houston local added that she will bring elements from her experience on the show into her routines this year. Fans saw a preview of her beam routine at Meet the Bruins, where she incorporated elements of her Dancing with the Stars freestyle from the finale.

Chiles performed her Prince routine from her junior year for the last time at Meet the Bruins, hinting that she is going even further back in time for the music on her new routine for the upcoming season.

“I’ve got the cutesy, I’ve done the hip hop,” Chiles said. “This is more like the passionate, confident last year of being a Bruin.”

With a floor average of 9.937 last season – about one hundredth of a point behind NCAA floor exercise champion teammate and now-alumnus Brooklyn Moors – Chiles will need to put up consistent, near-perfect performances to take her routine to the next level.

Chiles has collected six perfect scores on floor and five on bars but has yet to record a perfect score on vault or beam, despite notching 9.975s on both events. The upcoming season marks her final chance to reach perfection on all four events.

With Chiles at the forefront, a senior class that features 2025 Big Ten beam champion and four-time U.S. national team member Ciena Alipio, Madisyn Anyimi and graduate student Carissa Clay have one more shot at taking home the national title.

McDonald said that senior team members have displayed a growth mindset coming into their final year of eligibility.

“It is really easy to be at the end of your career thinking, ‘Okay, I am good with where I am at,’ but they do not have that mentality,” McDonald said.

The senior class will kick off its final campaign at the Washington Quad in Seattle on January 3rd.