OSU gymnastics: Former OSU gymnast takes on a bigger role

Kaytianna Kell has been hired as an assistant coach at OSU. Her hiring is one part of a series of moves which will reshape the program’s coaching staff. Kell is filling a position left open by the departure of Bryan Raschilla, who had been with the team for the past three seasons.

In addition, volunteer coach Lacy Dagen is leaving OSU after accepting an offer to become an assistant coach at Arizona State.

Kell (formerly McMillan) was an All-American at Oregon State and was named the 2017 Pac-12 gymnast of the year.

“We’re very excited about having Kaytianna join the program full time. She’s an amazing coach, she has an incredible connection with the athletes. She has a passion for Oregon State like no other,” coach Tanya Chaplin said.

Kell did not move directly into coaching after wrapping up her competitive career. She wanted to take time to explore other options before continuing in the sport.

“When I graduated from college I felt like I had to take a little break from gymnastics because it’s all I’ve known my whole life. Just to make sure it’s what I really wanted,” Kell said.

She earned a master’s degree in education and worked as an academic advisor for the football program at Northern Arizona University. Kell enjoyed the work and could have made it a career, but felt the pull to gymnastics.

“It was always gymnastics,” Kell said.

She returned to Corvallis in 2019 and served as the volunteer coach for the gymnastics program. That led to an offer to be an assistant coach at Seattle Pacific University.

She learned a lot working at a program which was operating at a different level than Oregon State. There was less funding and fewer staff members and the gymnasts needed more help building collegiate-level routines.

“You learned so much about what it takes,” Kell said.

Her work with the team earned immediate recognition as Kell was named the NCAA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year.

Unfortunately, Seattle Pacific chose to eliminate its gymnastics program and Kell moved on to coach at UC Davis. That was also a learning experience, particularly in recruiting. The UC Davis gymnastics program offers only in-state scholarships and the school has rigorous academic standards.

That makes finding the right recruits for the program a challenge. It was also great preparation for her return to Oregon State. Kell rejoined the program for the 2022-23 season as a special assistant to the head coach.

Much of her work last year was behind the scenes and this year she will take on an even bigger role. What has not yet been decided is which events each coach will focus on. In addition to head coach Tanya Chaplin, associate head coach Michael Chaplin and Kell, the program will hire an additional assistant coach some time after July 1.

The NCAA added a fourth paid position for gymnastics and eliminated the volunteer position.

“It’s definitely a step in the right direction,” Tanya Chaplin said.

Once that coach is hired it will be easier to make final decisions on specific coaching assignments for the upcoming season.

But in broad terms, Kell knows exactly what she is here to do.

“As a coach, you have to be able to coach gymnastics and the technical side of it and all of that, but the bigger side of it is being that positive light and influence for them and encouraging them and sometimes being the outside confidence they need,” Kell said. “They need to feel like you have their back 100 percent.”

As a younger coach, Kell is also able to rely upon her experience as a gymnast.

“I was a college athlete, I was a gymnast and I was a gymnast here. I’ve been there. I’ve done it. I put in the work, I get what it takes,” Kell said.

This will be a very interesting year for Oregon State gymnastics. Rising junior Jade Carey will be part of the program as she trains to earn a place on the national team and a spot at the Paris Olympics in 2024.

While Carey will be in the training center with her teammates, it has not yet been determined to what extent she will be able to compete alongside them. Those details are still being worked out.

The team will also have to fill in the spots left open by the graduation of Madi Dagen, Jenna Domingo, Kayla Bird and Kristina Peterson.

Kell is confident there are gymnasts ready to step up.

“Now that those freshman and sophomores have a year or two under their belt of ‘This is what it’s like, this is what we do, this is what’s expected of me,’ we’re definitely expecting them to step up and shine,” Kell said. “Arianna Young was an alternate on three events last year. She’s really taken off this summer. She’s ready. She’s ready to go.”

That is also what Tanya Chaplin thinks of Kell’s prospects as an assistant coach.

“She’s one of our up-and-coming leaders for the future of our sport,” Chaplin said. “And so we’re excited that she’s going to join our program here at Oregon State.”