CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois women's gymnastics head coach, Nadalie Walsh, announced the addition of nine-time All-American, Jessie DeZiel, to her staff. DeZiel joins Walsh and fellow-assistant coach Chris Bogantes from Ball State University, where both Walsh and Bogantes once coached.

"Jessie's three years of college coaching experience has given her a solid foundation to build upon as she will continue to grow with the current direction of the program, said Walsh. "Her experience coaching the Ball State floor team and leading their strength and conditioning program contributed to the success in helping Ball State have their best seasons in the past two years. I am excited to see how her eager, outgoing, and ambitious personality will keep moving Illinois up the ranks. As a standout gymnast for Nebraska, Jessie knows what it takes to compete at the national level and I am excited to have her joining my staff."

DeZiel joins the Fighting Illini women's gymnastics program after serving two seasons as an assistant coach at Ball State University, where she was the primary floor coach and assisted with vault and beam. In 2018, she led the Cardinals floor squad to a season high of 49.325 vs. Kent State in late January. Individually, DeZiel helped Freshman Tia Kiaku breakthrough as one of the top scorers for Ball State, scoring two 9.900s throughout the season and earning a spot as an individual competitor at the NCAA Columbus Regional. In her first year with the cardinals, she guided the floor team to an all-time high score of 49.500 vs. Western Michigan and University of Illinois-Chicago.

Prior to her time at Ball State, DeZiel was a member of the Nebraska gymnastics coaching staff for one season as a student assistant coach. Assisting with the beam squad, she helped the Huskers earn an eighth place finish at the 2016 NCAA Championships. DeZiel was also an elite gymnast on both the collegiate and international stage.

"I am very excited to be joining the University of Illinois coaching staff and look forward to working with Nadalie and Chris," said DeZiel. "The campus here is beautiful and the resources are everything a student athlete needs to be successful. I am grateful for this opportunity and excited to get to work with a program that is on the rise and am confident I too can contribute and help the Illini."

On the international elite scene, she was named to the 2011 U.S. Senior National Team and led Team USA to gold at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Individually, she qualified to the floor final, finishing in sixth place. Prior to her elite career, she was a two-time J.O. National Champion (2010-11) and five-time J.O. Nationals qualifier (2007-11).

While at Nebraska (2012-15), DeZiel was a nine-time All-American that hit 206 of her 207 routines and earned 61 career titles. Her individual success helped the Huskers win a Big Ten title in 2013 and  qualify to back-to-back NCAA Championships, including a Super Six appearance in 2014. DeZiel garnered many awards throughout her collegiate career including the Big Ten Medal of Honor, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and a finalist for the AAI Gymnastics Award, which recognizes the most outstanding college senior. In the classroom, DeZiel a three-time Academic All-Big Ten Team honoree and was named  Nebraska's Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 2015.

A native of Rogers, Minn., DeZiel is the daughter of Craig and Jean DeZiel. Her older sister, also competed as a collegiate gymnast at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. The former Husker earned a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition Exercise and Health Science in 2016 from the University of Nebraska.

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