Men's Gymnastics
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- dribeir2
- Alma Mater:
- Illinois '11
Daniel Ribeiro enters his fifth season as the head coach of the Fighting Illini men’s gymnastics program for the 2026-27 campaign.
In his first season as head coach (2023), Ribeiro led the Illini to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships, where nine Illini earned All-American status. Of the nine, Ashton Anaya (still rings), and Ian Skirkey (pommel horse) became national champions in their respective events.
During his second season, Ribeiro led the Illini to a fifth-place finish at the 2024 NCAA Championships where the Illini had six All-Americans. Of the six, Tate Costa won the high bar title to become the third national champion of Ribeiro’s career as a head coach. The team also won a share of the Big Ten regular season crown for the first time in program history. Ribeiro also led the team to victories over then-ranked No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 3 Michigan at home. Ribeiro was awarded CGA Regional Coach of the Year for the central region.
In his third season at the helm, Ribeiro’s squad finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships behind four regular season All-Americans and a two-time conference champion in Brandon Dang. At the NCAA Championships, the Illini finished sixth, with three Illini earning postseason All-American bids. Ribeiro’s athletes also dominated the annual awards with Dang and Ian Sandoval earning both the conference and national Specialist of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards, respectively.
In 2026, the Fighting Illini hosted the NCAA Championships at State Farm Center, with Ribeiro coaching Dang to Big Ten and NCAA pommel horse titles. Dang became the fourth gymnast in program history to collect three Big Ten pommel horse titles when he did so at the Big Ten Championships on April 4, 2026, while Sam Phillips and Garrett Schooley claimed silver on horizontal bar and vault, respectively. Five Illini student-athletes were tabbed with CGA Regular Season All-America recognition – Dang, Preston Ngai, Phillips, and Nathan Whitaker – before Dang, Phillips, and Schooley all secured All-Big Ten status. The Illini advanced to Day 2 of the NCAA Championships before Costa, Dang, Ngai, Phillips, and Schooley received All-America distinction.
Ribeiro took over in 2023 after spending the previous 11 years as an assistant coach for the Illini, including seven seasons as the program’s associate head coach under former head coach Justin Spring. Ribeiro earned CGA National Assistant Coach of the Year and Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year honors in 2012 after helping lead the Illini to their first national championship since 1989 and fourth-consecutive Big Ten Championship.
In the 12 seasons combined as an assistant and associate head coach, Ribeiro helped oversee a program that has produced seven national champions, 78 All-Americans, 19 Big Ten Champions, three Big Ten Freshmen of the Year, two Big Ten Gymnasts of the Year, two Big Ten Specialists of the Year, two CGA Rookies of the Year, and a Nissen-Emery award winner.
As a member of the Fighting Illini men’s gymnastics team from 2008-2011, Ribeiro won two NCAA titles on pommel horse (2009, 2011) and was a three-time captain, starting his sophomore year. The Chestnut Ridge, N.Y., native is also a three-time Big Ten pommel horse champion, taking the conference crown in his freshman (2008), junior (2010) and senior (2011) seasons while earning first-team All-Big Ten accolades in each of those years as well.
Ribeiro’s success was not limited to the collegiate stage, however, as the former All-American captured pommel horse gold at the 2010 U.S. Visa Championships between his junior and senior seasons. Ribeiro also garnered academic honors during his time at Illinois, earning a spot on the Academic All-Big Ten list in 2010 and 2011 and achieving College Gymnastics Association All-America Scholar-Athlete status in 2010.
