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PROVO — BYU's national search for its next women's gymnastics coach didn't take the Cougars far.
The Cougars promoted associate head coach Natalie Broekman to be the next women's gymnastics coach after former coach Guard Young's contract was not renewed, athletic director Brian Santiago announced Monday.
Broekman has been with BYU since 2015, including the past five years as associate head coach where she's helped build eight of the top-10 scoring teams in program history. She was the primary balance beam coach under Young, helping Elease Rollins earn All-American status and sending Brynlee Andersen-Broekman to the 2025 NCAA national championships as an individual competitor on beam.
In all, the Cougars produced four All-Americans and three national qualifiers under Broekman.
"We are excited to name Natalie Broekman the head coach of BYU gymnastics and look forward to the program taking the next step forward under her leadership," Santiago said in a statement. "Natalie brings continuity and the ability to uniquely lift, build and empower her student-athletes. She is all in on BYU and what we're about here. The future is very bright for BYU gymnastics."
that's our coach🤙 pic.twitter.com/OpRGqmCpW5
— BYU Gymnastics (@BYU_Gymnastics) May 4, 2026
The former WCGA North Central regional assistant coach of the year and MRGC assistant coach of the year in 2021 was a member of the BYU gymnastics squad from 1996-99, when she earned All-American honors on balance beam and was a team captain as a senior when she broke the school's all-around record with a score of 39.475.
Prior to BYU, Broekman coached at Gold Medal Gymnastics in Chandler, Arizona and spent nine years with Arizona Olympian Gymnastics before making the jump to college coaching at her alma mater.
The BYU graduate comes from a line of Cougar athletics alums, including father Joe Emig (lacrosse) and mother Lori Christensen Emig (track and field). Broekman's sister Lindsay was also a BYU gymnast from 2001-02.
After earning Big 12 coach of the year and leading BYU to the NCAA's Tempe regional, Young was relieved of his position when BYU announced last month that it would not renew his contract for next season.
At the time, the Cougars launched a "national search" for a new head coach to replace the former six-time All-American with the now-defunct BYU men's gymnastics squad.
Broekman was one of Young's assistants since he as hired in May 2015, replacing longtime co-head coaches Brad and Dawn Cattermole and Shauna Mertz following the couple's storied 28-year career.
