Aine Reade’s Immediate Impact Has Terps Ready For NCAA Regionals

The Terps are ready to head to Lexington, Kentucky, to start their NCAA Tournament run this weekend. Amid Maryland’s success in 2026 has been a rising star in Aine Reade, a transfer student whose impact on and off the mat has paid immense dividends for the Terps.

“We've put in so much work to get to this moment,” Reade said. “There have been so many highs this season. I couldn't be more proud of this team, and I'm so excited to see what we're going to accomplish.”

Maryland is getting ready to compete in an eighth straight NCAA Tournament, making appearances in every season since 2018 — excluding the 2020 season, which didn’t feature a tournament. Reade won’t be new to NCAA Tournament competition, and she brings postseason experience to College Park. 

To conclude her freshman season at New Hampshire, Reade competed individually on the floor at the Alabama Regional of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. When the Terps found out their 2026 tournament seeding, Reade was overjoyed to experience the excitement of the postseason with a team for the first time. 

“It’s impressive that she’s been able to come in right away and contribute so substantially to the team,” head coach Brett Nelligan said. “Credit to her. She’s learned a new system with new coaches and new teammates, and she’s really excelling. We’ve seen improvements, even in the short time we’ve been with her, which was exciting to see this year, but makes me even more excited to see what she’s going to do during her overall career here at Maryland.”

“I knew that floor was something of mine that I’m very passionate about, and I knew that I could make an immediate impact here,” Reade said. “But the other events, I really had no idea that I could make this much of an impact on everyone and on this team. I'm so grateful for the team allowing me to do that, but I really couldn't have done it without all the coaches. My gymnastics is not the same as it was before, and I have them to thank for that.”

Her draw to Maryland came from a viral video of Nelligan talking to the Terps ahead of their 2025 NCAA Tournament run as he spoke about never taking a moment for granted and expressing gratitude for every opportunity to compete.

“There was just something that he said when I was watching that made me think that I would really love to be a part of something like that,” Reade said. “After I decided to transfer, one of the first phone calls was actually with Brett, and I immediately fell in love with the program. From everything the coaches had to say, I just knew that it was something that I wanted to be a part of.”

She became the perfect recruit for Nelligan’s program, both for her ability on the mat and her team-first mentality in all aspects of her life. He saw not only a student-athlete, but a future leader who could make a lasting impact in College Park.

“We have a saying in recruiting here at Maryland that we’re looking for good gymnasts, but great people,” Nelligan said. “Fortunately for us, Anie excels in both categories. That’s why she fit so well and why she was our number-one target in the portal last year. She’s the total package.”

She’s as integrated with the team as one could imagine. Her crowning moment and favorite memory of the season was Maryland’s program-record 49.575 team score on the floor against Penn State. Reade earned a career-high 9.975, tying the fourth-highest score in program history.

“That was just an incredible day,” Reade said. “We’ve talked all season about flipping the switch, and that was one of the moments where we really did that. Same with Senior Night. In all of those moments, you just feel so connected and you know your team is behind you.”

Connection is key to any good team, especially in gymnastics. It’s a sport built on trust and bonds. In her debut season in the Big Ten, she’s taken every opportunity to get closer to her team, connect with everyone on a personal level, and create lifelong bonds.

“I love to spend time with my teammates and my roommates,” Reade said. “We're always doing some sort of adventure or hanging out in our living room talking. There's never a time where we're not together. We call ourselves a living-room family. We're always doing things together, which I feel helps us in the gym. It's not just about being with each other in the gym, it's what you do out of the gym that really makes us bonded.”

The bonds of gymnastics make it a unique sport, especially when competing for a score rather than directly against an opponent. In Reade’s first meet as a Terp, she dazzled on the floor with a 9.775 mark in the Terrapin Quad against George Washington, Long Island, and her former squad, the New Hampshire Wildcats. As Reade competed on the floor, everyone — even her former teammates — gathered to watch and root her on.

“The connection of a team is something that will never disappear,” Reade said. “You spend so much time with them. You have hard practices together. You go through those early mornings together, and you're just so bonded in other ways that nothing can break. I know that I have that with this team, and I have that with New Hampshire. It's just so amazing that in a sport like gymnastics, you always have people supporting you and cheering you on, even if they're not on your team.”

Her incredible season has her and her Terps ready to face the best of the best in the NCAA Tournament. A promising season still has a crescendo to hit, and Nelligan has full confidence in Reade to meet the moment, but he’s already thinking about the role she could fill as a leader in future seasons.

“Her ability to handle this next level has been so impressive,” Nelligan said. “For her to come into this next level and elevate her gymnastics while navigating the weekly tough competition. During this NCAA Tournament run, I’m excited to see her peak at the right time, but moving forward, as she steps into a leadership role, I can’t wait to see the kind of long-term impact she can make on our program.”

“I've definitely grown and matured a lot,” Reade said. “There have been a lot of situations where we've been in tough positions, but we’ve dealt with them. It's given me a whole new sense of calmness knowing that I've done the training, and my team trusts me enough to go into any position, go out there, and compete with a lot of confidence.”

If confidence and connection are king in gymnastics, Maryland may have found its all-around queen for years to come — both on and off the mat in College Park.