University of Denver Athletics

Mary Rice will enter her second season at Denver as an assistant coach in 2026-27. She is the team's lead floor coach and co-lead vault coach.

2025-26

• Helped lead Cecilia Cooley to No. 1 national ranking on floor twice and a final national ranking of No. 18
• Coached Cooley to near-perfect 9.975 on floor
• Guided team to season-high 49.600 on floor on March 9, tying the fourth highest score in program history
• Led team to No. 12 final national ranking on floor, its highest on the event since 2021
• Saw Cooley, Shyla Bhatia and Maddison Reidenbach all earn All-Big 12 Conference Team honors on floor

Prior to Denver

• Optional Team Coach, Brandy Johnson's Gymnastics (2020-25)
  • Coached levels 9 and 10 full-time
  • Helped lead 45 gymnasts to USAG DP Nationals and seven to Nastia Liukin Cup (including 2023 and 2025 all-around silver medalists)
  • Choreographed all beam routines and many floor routines
• Team Director/Head Coach, Sun Country Gymnastics (2012-20)
  • Coached from the compulsory program up to the Level 10 program
  • Choreographed all beam and floor routines while also helping select floor music
• Additional Related Experience
  • USA Gymnastics Level 10 women's gymnastics judge
  • Coached a total of 15 gymnasts to NCAA Division I athletic scholarships
  • Served as USAG Florida committee member

Education

• Bachelor's degree in applied physiology and kinesiology - exercise physiology (Florida '11)
• Master's degree in exercise physiology (Florida '14)