Mizzou lands SEC gymnast from transfer portal

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Mizzou Gymnastics has made its second splash in the transfer portal this offseason.

Arkansas transfer Dakota Essenpries announced that she's committing to head coach Shannon Welker's program, per a post on her Instagram page.

The Missouri native is heading home, following two seasons with the Razorbacks. The Adrian High School alum was a vault specialist at Arkansas and was a consistent member of the team's lineup in that event throughout her career. Essenpries appeared in nine competitions during her freshman campaign, earning a season-best 9.875 on that apparatus. Then, the redshirt sophomore took another leap forward last season, posting her career-high (9.900) on vault and hitting the 9.850-threshold on five different routines over 13 meets.

Essenpries is the second transfer to commit to Mizzou's 2025 transfer portal class. Illinois transfer Makayla Green, who specializes on the uneven bars, signed with Coach Welker's team earlier this week.