Career Highlights
Member of two-time Big Ten Championship team and 2025 NCAA runner-up team
Three-time WCGA Scholastic All-American
2026 Academic All-Big Ten Team
Three-time SEC Winter Sports Academic Honor Roll
Best Marks
BB - 9.775, 3/14/26
FX - 9.750 (ex.), 2x, last 3/14/26
2026
Named to the Academic All-Big Ten Team … Made her UCLA competitive debut on Senior Day March 14 and contributed a career-high 9.775 on beam and a 9.750 exhibition on floor … Scored 9.825 in an exhibition beam on Jan. 17 vs. Nebraska.
2025
WCGA Scholastic All-American for the third time in her career … Exhibitioned on balance beam and floor exercise on March 9 vs. Stanford, scoring 9.675 and 9.750, respectively … Made her UCLA debut on Feb. 1 with an exhibition beam that scored 9.675.
2024 (University of Kentucky)
Earned WCGA Scholastic All-America honors … Named to the SEC Winter Sports Academic Honor Roll … Did not compete.
2023 (University of Kentucky)
Named to the SEC Winter Sports Academic Honor Roll … Did not compete.
2022 (University of Kentucky)
WCGA Scholastic All-American … Named to the SEC Winter Sports Academic Honor Roll … Competed on beam three times … Set season and career-high against Florida, scoring 9.725.
2021 (University of Kentucky)
Named to the SEC First-Year Winter Sports Academic Honor Roll … Did not compete.
Club
Trained at Mission Valley YMCA … All-around runner-up at the 2019 Level 10 State Championships … Fourth on floor, sixth on vault and ninth in the all-around at the 2019 Region 1 Championships … Runner-up on beam and eighth in the all-around at the 2018 Region 1 Championships.
Personal
Full name is Carissa Nailah Clay … Born in San Diego … Parents are Don and Gayle Clay … Has a younger brother, CJ … Favorite apparatus is beam … Lists her first-ever college routine as one of her favorite moments in her career because "I remember being so shocked and thankful that my dreams were coming true" … Has dreamed of being a UCLA graduate since she was eight years old … Hobbies and interests include country music, the beach, the color pink, breakfast food, coffee and watching football, basketball and baseball … Athletes she admires are Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Michael Jordan … Earned her Master's degree in 2025 after completing the Transformative Coaching and Leadership graduate program at the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies … Pursuing a postgraduate certificate in marketing … Career objective is to be a coach/ESPN commentator.
Member of two-time Big Ten Championship team and 2025 NCAA runner-up team
Three-time WCGA Scholastic All-American
2026 Academic All-Big Ten Team
Three-time SEC Winter Sports Academic Honor Roll
Best Marks
BB - 9.775, 3/14/26
FX - 9.750 (ex.), 2x, last 3/14/26
2026
Named to the Academic All-Big Ten Team … Made her UCLA competitive debut on Senior Day March 14 and contributed a career-high 9.775 on beam and a 9.750 exhibition on floor … Scored 9.825 in an exhibition beam on Jan. 17 vs. Nebraska.
2025
WCGA Scholastic All-American for the third time in her career … Exhibitioned on balance beam and floor exercise on March 9 vs. Stanford, scoring 9.675 and 9.750, respectively … Made her UCLA debut on Feb. 1 with an exhibition beam that scored 9.675.
2024 (University of Kentucky)
Earned WCGA Scholastic All-America honors … Named to the SEC Winter Sports Academic Honor Roll … Did not compete.
2023 (University of Kentucky)
Named to the SEC Winter Sports Academic Honor Roll … Did not compete.
2022 (University of Kentucky)
WCGA Scholastic All-American … Named to the SEC Winter Sports Academic Honor Roll … Competed on beam three times … Set season and career-high against Florida, scoring 9.725.
2021 (University of Kentucky)
Named to the SEC First-Year Winter Sports Academic Honor Roll … Did not compete.
Club
Trained at Mission Valley YMCA … All-around runner-up at the 2019 Level 10 State Championships … Fourth on floor, sixth on vault and ninth in the all-around at the 2019 Region 1 Championships … Runner-up on beam and eighth in the all-around at the 2018 Region 1 Championships.
Personal
Full name is Carissa Nailah Clay … Born in San Diego … Parents are Don and Gayle Clay … Has a younger brother, CJ … Favorite apparatus is beam … Lists her first-ever college routine as one of her favorite moments in her career because "I remember being so shocked and thankful that my dreams were coming true" … Has dreamed of being a UCLA graduate since she was eight years old … Hobbies and interests include country music, the beach, the color pink, breakfast food, coffee and watching football, basketball and baseball … Athletes she admires are Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Michael Jordan … Earned her Master's degree in 2025 after completing the Transformative Coaching and Leadership graduate program at the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies … Pursuing a postgraduate certificate in marketing … Career objective is to be a coach/ESPN commentator.