Coach Cassie: NCAA award winner Pruitt stays connected to Auburn gymnastics

AUBURN, Ala. – Cassie Stevens Pruitt joined elite Auburn company when she won the NCAA Today’s Top 10 Award.

Auburn’s first recipient since Kasey Cooper in 2018, Pruitt became the Tigers’ sixth honoree, joining gold-medalist Rowdy Gaines, newly inducted College Football Hall of Famer Dr. Gregg Carr, Matt Busbee and Caesar Garcia.

“It’s crazy to realize and process that,” said Pruitt, the sixth Auburn student-athlete to earn this prestigious honor and the first gymnast. “It fills me with gratitude for my time here at Auburn and my time as a gymnast. It feels like the gift that keeps on giving, and I know it’s going to continue to do so, even into a career.”

The NCAA recognized Pruitt and her fellow honorees Jan. 14 at the NCAA Convention awards presentation in Nashville, Tennessee, for their exceptional athletic and academic achievements, as well as their contributions to their campuses and communities.   

“All of the other athletes there are incredible people, athletes and students,” she said. “To be grouped in on the same level with all of them was an honor. All the people at Auburn and all the support I’ve had here, I definitely could not have done it on my own.”

Pruitt earned a pair of Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association All-America honors on vault and in the all-around throughout her career and won a Southeastern Conference title on vault in 2023. 

She received several academic honors throughout her time with the program, including a pair of College Sports Communicators Academic All-America recognitions, and twice was named an SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She also received the NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women's Enhancement Graduate Scholarship. 

In the community, she has volunteered for Toys for Tots, the Ronald McDonald House and frequently interacts with students at local elementary schools.

After five stellar seasons competing for the Tigers, Pruitt now serves as a graduate assistant coach for Auburn gymnastics, supporting many student-athletes who were her teammates for several seasons.  

“I really like it,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun to be on the other side and get a whole new perspective. Everyone keeps asking me if I miss it, and I really don’t as much as I thought I would. I can come to meets and just have fun, stress-free.

“I was just teammates with them so I feel I can still relate to them, and I still have close relationship with a lot of them.”

Her competitive career having concluded, Pruitt keeps finding ways to stay connected to gymnastics, whether that’s editing floor music for former Auburn teammate Suni Lee’s Olympic routine, as well as the majority of current Auburn gymnasts, or recently passing an exam that will allow her to begin judging level 4 and 5 meets.

“I just love the sport,” she said. “Going through the nitty gritty of that and having all of that new knowledge has been really helpful. I’m really excited about it. Hopefully by next season I’ll be in the thick of it. I’m trying to do everything I can to make myself marketable.”

To that end, Pruitt plans to intern with Auburn’s Olympic sports strength and conditioning staff, the next step in a potential coaching career.

“I’m still figuring it out,” she said. “I really do think I would like to pursue NCAA coaching if the right opportunity presented itself.”

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer