Golden Bear alumnus and former Team USA member Donothan Bailey has joined the California men’s gymnastics staff as an assistant coach. The announcement was made by head coach Bryan Del Castillo on Tuesday.
Bailey, a three-time All-American at Cal and a U.S. pommel horse champion, comes to the Bears from Kinetic Gymnastics in Colorado Springs, Colorado. There, he spent over two years coaching both boys’ and girls’ teams. During his time at Kinetic Gymnastics, Bailey’s athletes won more than 40 individual state titles, eight individual regional championships, and one national title.
“I’m incredibly excited to have Donothan on our coaching staff,” Del Castillo said. “He brings elite gymnastics experience, energy and the kind of leadership that will have a meaningful impact on our student-athletes and culture. As an alum of this program, Donothan understands and shares our values – he is ready to help guide our student-athletes toward success in both the gym and the classroom.”
From April 2024 to 2025, Bailey served as an athlete fellow with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). In this role, he created five Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs for National Governing Bodies and was selected as USOPC ambassador for the Chinese Olympic Committee’s Ninth Annual Youth Camp in Beijing. Bailey also acted as interim head coach and later assistant coach for the USA Gymnastics Resident Team from 2021-22. Under his leadership, gymnasts earned two national team berths, a national title, and a Pan American title.
Bailey competed professionally through 2021 with several international assignments for Team USA. In his first post-collegiate season, he took bronze on pommel horse at the Winter Cup before representing the United States at the FISU World University Games where he won gold on pommel horse and finished fifth all-around. He then earned silver on pommel horse at the U.S. Championships that same year. The following year saw him win silver at Winter Cup and gold at U.S. Championships on pommel horse. At the 2017 World Championships he claimed bronze on high bar for Team USA; in 2018 he finished second in parallel bars and high bar at U.S. Championships.
Bailey attended Cal from 2010-14 where he helped lead the Bears to three consecutive top-five finishes at NCAA Championships between 2010-12. He earned All-America honors in 2011 (pommel horse) and again in 2014 (all-around, pommel horse), while also taking home bronze with Team USA at the 2011 Pan American Games. He is Cal’s most recent gymnast to win an MPSF title on pommel horse (2012, 2014). As a senior in 2014 he was named a finalist for the Nissen-Emery Award given annually to college gymnastics’ top senior athlete. Before college, Bailey was part of the U.S. Junior National Team from 2007-09 and was a three-time national champion on pommel horse between 2006-08.
“I’m very excited for the opportunity to come back to Berkeley and work alongside a lifelong friend and teammate in Bryan,” Bailey said. “Bryan is someone I’ve looked up to and learned from since I was a junior gymnast, so it feels like I’ve come full circle to get to coach with and learn from him again. I think what this team is doing is special, and it is truly a privilege to be part of its story and witness its greatness. This sport gives me so much joy, and I hope to share that passion with the young men that come through this program.”
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