2012 National Coach of the Year 2012 Regional Coach of the Year 2011 Big Ten Coach of the Year 2009 Regional Coach of the Year 2007 Big Ten Coach of the Year
The Ohio State women's gymnastics program continues to climb up the rankings under the leadership of Carey Fagan. Entering her ninth season at the helm in 2013, Fagan has produced five of the eight All-Americans in the program's history, and led the Buckeyes to the NCAA National Championships for the first time in 23 years. Additionally, the Buckeyes finished second in the Big Ten to Nebraska.
With Fagan as an assistant coach in 2003-04, the Buckeyes finished with an average team score that ranked No. 42 in the nation. In 2004-05, her first season as head coach, that ranking rose to No. 38, then the Buckeyes upped their position to No. 27 and qualified for the NCAA regional championships in 2006. Fagan earned her first Big Ten Coach of the Year award in 2007 and led the Buckeyes into the Top 20 at No. 19 before tying for 18th in 2008. The 2009 squad continued the growing trend, posting four team totals that ranked in the Top 10 all-time Ohio State scores, including the fourth-best mark. Rebecca Best became the sixth Buckeye All-American and Taylor Jones was named Big Ten Rookie of the Year, the second in OSU history. With a 195.735 regional qualifying score, the Buckeyes finished ranked in the nation's Top 15 - a feat unmatched by an Ohio State squad in over a decade. For her team's success, Fagan was recognized as the 2009 Central Region Coach of the Year, her first career regional coaching laurel.
In 2011, Fagan picked up her second Big Ten Coach of the Year honor and guided the Buckeyes to their sixth-consecutive NCAA regional appearance, missing the NCAA Championships by one-tenth of a point. Fagan helped guide Sarah Miller to 2011 Big Ten Freshman of the Year laurels and first team All-Big Ten honors along with Colleen Dean.
The 2012 season marked Fagan's 10th overall in Columbus - the first two as an assistant coach and now eight as head coach. Fagan was named the first NACGC/W National Coach of the Year in program history after guiding the Buckeyes to a 10th-place NCAA finish. Under Fagan's direction, Sarah Miller and Colleen Dean were named second team All-Americans and Miller garnered first team All-Big Ten honors for the second-consecutive season. The Buckeyes set a program-record team score 197.625 in a dual meet win against Denver as 14 individual career highs were set. In addition, Ohio State almost knocked off perennial power and No. 2 Oklahoma on Senior Day in Columbus, falling 196.825-196.700.
"My coaching philosophy has always been to train the individual, not the team," Fagan said. "I believe each athlete has individual needs and my role as a coach is to figure out what each person needs to be successful and to implement workouts and training techniques to help each team member reach her full potential. In the sport of gymnastics, self confidence is critical for successful performance. I really focus on building confidence in my student-athletes so that when it comes time to perform, they know they are ready to compete."
At Ohio State, Fagan has coached two student-athletes to back-to-back All-America honors. In 2009, Rebecca Best received the national laurel on floor as a sophomore after traveling to the NCAA championships as an alternate her first season. In 2008, Kaylan Clevinger (2006-08) earned All-America honors on the uneven bars, becoming the first Buckeye to earn the accolade since 1999. Clevinger made two national appearances on bars (2007 and 2008) and earned All-Big Ten honors in the same years.
Academics have been one of the major focuses of Fagan's program. In 2012, 10 Buckeyes were named NACGC/W Scholastic All-Americans. Victoria Aepli, Colleen Dean, Alex DeLuca, Miranda Der, Sarah Grady, Taylor Jones, Nicole Krauter, Aly Marohn, Melanie Shaffer and Morgan Zlotolow each received the Academic All-America honor. In addition, the Buckeyes finished seventh nationally with a team GPA of 3.58. For two consecutive years, the women's gymnastics team has posted the highest overall team GPA for all 36 varsity sports at Ohio State.
A 1994 graduate of Hoover High School in North Canton, Ohio, Fagan graduated from Penn State in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts in speech communication and a Bachelor of Arts in media studies and also was a full-scholarship gymnast at Penn State. The Nittany Lions won the NCAA Northeast Regional championship all four years of Fagan's career (1995-98) and also qualified each year to the NCAA national championships.
While at Penn State, Fagan was a three-year letterwinner, serving as captain her senior year in 1998. She was only able to compete for three seasons of her eligibility at Penn State because of a severe leg fracture at the end of her sophomore season. Fagan returned to competition during her senior year after undergoing three surgeries and was able to compete on the uneven bars, helping the team to a Top 10 finish at the NCAA national championships in 1998.
Fagan was the recipient of the "Penn State Pride" award in 1996 and 1998 for outstanding team leadership and also was a member of the "Spirit of the Lion" Academic/Athletic Honor Society in 1998 for excellence in the classroom and in the gym. Additionally, Fagan was honored by the University with the establishment of the "Carey Hoyt Perseverance Award," which is given to athletes who overcome injuries and obstacles to return to competition and contribute to the team's success.
Prior to attending Penn State, Fagan competed at the senior elite level at the Parkette National Training Center. She also was a member of the Junior Olympic National Team and a member of the Region 5 National Team in 1994.
Fagan, 35, came to Ohio State in 2001 to join the OSU coaching staff as an assistant coach under the direction of Larry Cox. When Cox stepped down following the 2003-04 season, it was Fagan who was handed the reigns of the Ohio State program. Fagan began her coaching career as an undergraduate assistant at Penn State. After graduation from Penn State in 1998, Fagan landed a corporate marketing job in Albuquerque, N.M., with a large commercial real estate firm. In addition to this position, Fagan also coached gymnastics part-time in the evenings.
Fagan and her husband, Ryan, have a 10-year-old son, Brady.
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