I have much to say about the Miss USA pageant that almost never was and will post my full commentary on Miss USA 2025 on November 3.






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THE PREDICTIONS (October 24, 2025)

The big night is tonight October 24 on the Queen Beauty Network website http://www.queenbeauty.tv/missusa or download the QBN (Queen Beauty Network) app

The hosts of Miss USA 2025 are: Olivia Jordan-Miss USA 2015 and Emmanuel Acho (a sports analyst and former professional football player).
The judges include: Miss USA 2014-Nia Sanchez, Sasha Farber of 'Dancing With the Stars', designer Kenneth Barlis, media personality Jade Roper Tolbert and model and scout Hannah Edwards. And now, here come the predictions for Miss USA 2025! I suspect we will have the top 20 ladies competing in swimsuit and then cut to top 10 competing in gown then a cut to top 5 answering the final question.
And this year is almost like a Hard Copy headline of 'When Beauty Pageants Turn Ugly' because there is much legal action going on behind the scenes. Laylah Rose was given ownership of the Miss USA/Miss Teen USA franchise for 2023 and 2024 by JKN owned by Khun Anne Jakratutatip who bought the Miss Universe pageant from IMG in 2023. The Miss USA and Teen USA pageants were formerly run by Crystle Stewart-Miss USA 2008 for 2021 and 2022 after branching away from the Miss Universe Organization but scandals led to Crystle stepping away but although Laylah's years saw a return to television with the 2023 and 2024 Miss USA pageants as well as the 2024 Miss Teen USA pageants were broadcast on the CW network. Laylah's ownership ended in turmoil with the resignations of the original 2023 winners, Noelia Voigt and UmaSofia Srivastava claiming a toxic work environment leading to Thom Brodeur of the Queen Beauty Network to take ownership of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA as of 2025 with Laylah left in the dark about it at first but many state directors resigned due to Laylah Rose and her controlling dates of already scheduled state pageants. Laylah was sued by Renato Basile who produced the Miss USA and Teen USA pageants for failing to pay him approximately $2 million U.S. for his work. It was looking more and more like Miss USA and Teen USA weren't going to happen this year until September when Thom Brodeur announced his takeover and the 8 states left without directors had open castings to select representatives for these states. Now, the latest is that JKN is suing Laylah for creating the toxic work environment but Laylah is countersuing and involving Thom Brodeur's company as well and even North Carolina's runner up, Preslie Ross filed a lawsuit against new director, Ariana Blaize for crowning Lourdes Madera whereas Preslie claims the judges chose her instead of Lourdes but that Ariana as director had the right to overrule the decision due to Preslie getting professional makeup done so beauty pageants are getting ugly and a return to television looks unlikely with the increased popularity of streaming and the need for new avenues of getting revenue so stay tuned to see what drama unfolds following these pageants.
Many of you have asked the question, "Where's Alma Cooper?" Well, the reigning Miss USA has decided to opt out of participating in the 2025 Miss USA and Teen USA pageants as it appears she still isn't getting any prizes whereas the new Miss USA will win a car among other prizes so only the reigning Miss Teen USA, Addie Carver appears to have returned to fulfill duties similarly to last year when no Miss Teen USA successor was named after UmaSofia Srivastava resigned and Noelia's runner up, Hawaii's Savannah Gankiewicz assumed the roles and duties of Miss USA 2023 but now the tables have turned and Noelia Voigt returned as the host of the preliminaries and with that amazing voice, Noelia did a phenomenal job but Alma Cooper appears to have gone quietly after a reign with little to no assistance and she had to use her army connections to make appearances as Miss USA but sadly, a sombre reign has resulted in Alma not appearing at Miss USA 2025. Past titleholders have also never returned like Amanda Jones-Miss USA 1973 who crowned her successor in 1974 only to never return to another pageant ever again.

Now, it is time to reveal my highly anticipated predictions for Miss USA 2025! It has been a long time coming but if you read my first round prethoughts, particularly the article titled, "Me And My Shadow," you will know that there are several contestants competing for the 2025 Miss USA crown that also competed together in a state pageant before some contestants hopped to win another state or were cast through the open call castings for the 8 directorless states of: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming and you will notice many of these contestants made my list which just goes to show that contestants sometimes have to keep trying and there have been multiple winners of big pageants that have experienced losses at smaller pageants prior to their big win. It looks like the shadows (the delegates that didn't originally win their state titles) are overshadowing the actual winners of those state titles! You'll notice that I have ranked Nevada, Louisiana and Wyoming ahead of the winner of Miss Texas USA 2025 after preliminaries and I have also ranked Idaho over California and Idaho was 1st runner-up to the 2025 California winner!
After reviewing preliminaries, bios, videos and pictures, I have now come up with my final predictions for Miss USA 2025 and they are as follows!



TOM S FINAL PREDICTIONS FOR MISS USA 2025

Winner=Nevada-Mary Sickler

Mary was featured in People magazine as she is the first contestant to compete despite having alopecia (complete hair loss) but Mary has never left the top of my list despite placing very high in the highly competitive state of Texas being 1st runner up at Miss Texas USA 2025 and 2nd runner up at Miss Texas USA 2024 and 1st runner up at Miss Texas USA 2023 before the hop to Nevada for work to take the Silver state crown and become the hometown girl and a huge favorite with her glamazon body and she even dared to wear a jewelled headpiece to cover her bald head during the evening gown competition and I believe this gown is very similar to the one R'Bonney Gabriel wore when she won Miss Texas USA 2022 in the lead up to her win as Miss Universe. Mary was so many times denied and now, I predict she will be supplied with the Miss USA crown for her persistence and determination. Her bravery is to be admired in addition to her amazing on-par-with-Venezuelan-contestant body and beauty. This gown is also something you would see in a Miss Venezuela pageant. 1995 was the last time the hometown girl won with Chelsi Smith winning Miss USA in her state of Texas so it's only fitting that 30 years later that this happen again. Nevada has claimed the crown only once with Nia Sanchez who is a judge and also experienced losses in California prior to the win in Nevada so I think Mary is far and away this year's winner and there will be lots of media interest in a hairless Miss USA which will be great to generate publicity so I ask you once again, is anyone slicker and sicker than Sickler?? Go get your deserved crown, Mary!

1st Runner Up=Maine-Shelby Howell

Shelby seems to be widely lauded so this caused me to propel her up my list. I didn't realize how tall she was until I saw her standing next to Louisiana in preliminaries and she practically dwarfed her (or is it dwarved??) Anyway, Shelby won another highly publicized state pageant due to the participation of her 2nd runner up, Jordon Hudson who is dating significantly older football coach, Bill Belichick and she has been in the news for famously stating, 'We're not talking about this' when asked how the couple met... Anyway, Shelby is a star on her own and Maine has never won the Miss USA crown but Shelby has a shot so let's see how she does!

2nd Runner Up=Louisiana-Francie Millan

Francie is another shadow overshadowing the winner of her original 2025 state pageant as Francie placed as 4th runner up to Miss Texas USA 2025 and even 1st runner up to Miss Texas USA 2024 before hopping to Louisiana and clinching that state title thus making Francie the first woman of Uruguayan descent to compete at Miss USA (that I know of...) but she has the body and carries herself with that Latina flare so I fully expect her to be in the mix and do well. Louisiana has claimed 3 Miss USA crowns (1958, 1961 and 1996) and they have hosted several MUO pageants so could Francie take the crown?

3rd Runner Up=Idaho-Jenny Ting Crawford

Jenny is yet another overshadower who placed as 1st runner up originally at Miss California USA 2025 to be chosen through the open casting of 8 directorless state to represent Idaho but as a married mother competing at age 37, Jenny has a great body, gown, overall look and the moves. She also the 4th member of the top 5 of Miss California USA 2012 to compete for Miss USA succeeding California's Natalie Pack (unplaced at Miss USA 2012), Nevada's Brittany McGowan (3rd runner up at Miss USA 2015) and Florida's Brie Gabrielle (unplaced at Miss USA 2016) but Jenny is a great overall experienced (in life and in pageantry) candidate so I say she does well.

4th Runner Up=Illinois-Nikolina Vujcic

Nikolina is of Serbian descent and this young lady really showed up in preliminaries so I think she is a strong overall contender with a great body, gown and overall look so could she get Illinois' 5th Miss USA crown??

FINALISTS:

Florida-Lou Schieffelin

I remember Lou being extremely accomplished when she competed and placed in the top ten at Miss Teen USA 2018 so I know she will excel in interview and she also had a strong overall performance in preliminaries so I fully expect Lou to do well. Florida has never won the crown surprisingly despite hosting multiple MUO pageants but they did inherit the crown in 1967 when Alabama's Sylvia Hitchcock won Miss Universe but the 1st runner up declined the title so 2nd runner up, Cheryl Ann Patton-Vasky who represented Florida claimed the sunshine state's only Miss USA crown so far so let's see if Lou can do it.

Georgia-Savannah Miles

We've got another Florida-Georgia Line happening here as Savannah also placed in the top 10 of Miss Teen USA 2018 like Florida's delegate, Lou and Savannah's a favorite all-around so it would be a surprise if she didn't place as she has a great body and overall look and her gown while quite sexy is still elegant with the way she removed the cape so I'm looking for a strong showing from Savannah. The peach state has yet to win the crown but they have placed as a runner-up several times with the highest placement being former Miss Teen All-American, Erin Nance placing 1st runner up in 1993.

Missouri-Shae Smith

Yet another very accomplished and achieved former Teen who mysteriously didn't place at Miss Teen USA 2022 even though she was among my top 5 for that pageant and she was even Miss Missouri’s Outstanding Teen 2019 and placed 5th at Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2020 so Shae has thorough experience and so I say she gets the nod this time. Missouri just won the Miss Teen USA title and no state has won both titles for the same year (Connecticut was close though winning Miss Teen USA 2012 and then Miss USA 2013) so we'll Shae can make a little history this year!

Nebraska-Audrey Eckert

This section of my list is being dominated by former Teens! Audrey is yet another former Teen who did well placing as 3rd runner up at Miss Teen USA 2020 and she just won the fitness/swimsuit award for Miss USA 2025 so this is a clear sign that Audrey is among the favorites so she will definitely place. The cornhusker state claimed its only crown in 2018 with Sarah Rose Summers who was also a former Teen so let's see if Audrey pulls off the win!

Tennessee-Madison Kunst

Madison is another strong overall candidate from Tennessee which normally sends exceptional candidates as she has fared well in previous state pageants prior to her win so Madison is one to watch. Tennessee has claimed the Miss USA crown twice thanks to two phenomenal ladies, Lynnette Cole in 2000 and Rachel Smith in 2007.

SEMIFINALISTS:

Maryland-Lexia Gillette

I think Lexia's gorgeous and just has a fantastic overall look so I'm surprised that I'm not seeing a lot of support for her but I'm keeping her in my list as she has extensive experience in pageantry and even placed as 3rd runner up to Miss Florida USA 2025 before the hop to Maryland so let's see how Lexia does.

Kansas-Asia Cymone Smith

Asia's just so likeable and I think she will be charming in interview given that she works as a sports reporter and she also has a great women's empowerment platform so I say she's one to watch. Kansas has only won once back in 1991 with Kelli McCarty so let's see how Asia does.

New York-Christiana DiNardo

Christiana seems to have won favor after preliminaries. Her eyes are compelling and she has extensive experience in pageantry having competed for years in other states like Florida and Maryland before winning the competitive New York title so Christiana is among my picks.

Oklahoma-Zoe Ferraro

Another former Teen, Zoe competed for Miss Teen USA 2018 going unplaced but she's very polished and well-rounded and has a good team behind her so I say she gets the nod this time around. Oklahoma's only Miss USA, Olivia Jordan who won in 2015 is hosting this year so let's see if she'll announce a win for her state.

New Jersey-Ivy Harrington

I immediately noticed how remarkably fit Ivy is when I saw her in the preliminary swimsuit competition so it just made me feel like she will get noticed so I put her in my list and she has fairly strong pageant experience having placed as a runner-up twice in her state pageant before winning it. New Jersey has never won the crown but they have placed as 1st runner up twice thanks to Charlotte Ray in 1991 and Chhavi Verg in 2017.

California-Kylie Chang

Kylie's performance was a little over-the-top and eccentric so we'll see if she can retain her status as a favorite and make the cut. I'm sure she interviews well as she won a competitive state title on her first try at the tender age of 20 so we'll see if Kylie can break the tension and if she's... the one.

Texas-Taylor Lauren Davis

This gown was somewhat of a let down. She looks like a gingerbread woman but I guess it's a strategy to make the judges hunger for her?? Taylor is still a strong contender overall and the judges may be fascinated by her football fanaticism but it looks like she will get overshadowed by the likes of her runners-up at Miss Texas USA, Nevada's Mary Sickler who I predict to win and Louisiana's Francie Millan so let's see if Taylor can keep up Texas' tradition of faring well at Miss USA boasting 10 crowns with 2 of those Texan Miss USAs going on to win Miss Universe.

Wyoming-Eilish Young

The photogenic Eilish is another one who competed at Miss Texas USA 2025 winning the Photogenic award there and she competed strongly in preliminaries and has a great platform encouraging women to be financially independent and she even runs a 100-horse facility and trains equestrian riders and with that experience in the competitive state of Texas, let's see if Eilish can get a third placement for Wyoming for which she was selected through the open casting of a directorless state.

Oregon-Chantea McIntyre

Sashay, Chantea! At 43, Chantea is the second oldest delegate ever to compete at Miss USA behind Delaware's Tetra Shockley competing at 44 but Chantea runs a blog and is accomplished as an attorney and wife and mother of 4 but maintaining an impressive body and a unique gown presentation with the boa so her maturity and natural spunk and charm just might attract the judges enough so I'm putting her in my list. She was selected through open casting for a directorless state and previously placed as 1st runner up at Miss California USA 2024. Despite winning 3 Miss Teen USA crowns, Oregon has never won Miss USA so let's see if Chantea can do it.

New Hampshire-MonaLesa Brackett

MonaLesa is the first hijab-wearing delegate to compete ever at Miss USA and diversity and representation matter and she was also selected through the open casting for a directorless state after placing 2nd runner up at Miss New York USA 2025 so let's see if her uniqueness translates into a placement.

ALTERNATES:

Mississippi-McKenzie Cole

This was so painful to drop McKenzie to an alternate position because I'm just not seeing enough support for her when I compare other lists and I question why she didn't place at Miss Teen USA 2022 despite looking like Aishwarya Rai-Miss World 1994 but I'm assuming interview might not be a strong point and the performance in prelims could have been a bit stronger so I decided to place her as an alternate so let's see if I was right to do so.

Utah-Elle Hinojosa

Elle has great legs and glamourous hair but this is another one that I'm not seeing a lot of consensus on a placement so I'm putting her as an alternate as a result assuming it could be interview so we shall see how she does.

Kentucky-Mattie Barker

Mattie is another former Teen that was runner-up in Tennessee but went unplaced at Miss Teen USA 2020 but I think her performance in preliminaries caused her to fall off some lists so I also ended up placing her as an alternate.

Arizona-Elexes Richardson

This girl certainly has the moves and the body but I don't think she's quite right for Miss USA especially when I saw that tattoo under her breast in swimsuit so I'm putting her as an alternate.

Washington-Carisa Erickson

Carisa's distinct look with the short blonde hair makes her a standout and she was 1st runner up to Miss Washington USA 2024 so it was only logical that she win the open casting to represent Washington in 2025. My concern is that huge tattoo on her arm and she might be perceived as somewhat rough after I watched some of her Tiktok videos to get an idea of her interview skills so I'm putting her among my alternates.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

District of Columbia-Allison Laforce

Allison was also Miss Maryland’s Outstanding Teen 2016 going unplaced at nationals and also hopped from placing 3rd runner up at Miss Maryland USA 2025 to win the 2025 Miss District of Columbia USA title so I think she may have good interview skills but in prelims, she appeared way too thin and the gown didn't really seem flattering so I ended up placing her as an honorable mention.

Iowa-Hayley Buettell

I actually really like Hayley's gown so she could be up there but I'm just not absolutely positive. She's fit and owns a thrift store and was a runner-up a few times before winning her state title so we'll see how she does.

Massachusetts-Perianne Caron

Perianne seems to be getting noticed with the distinct short hair but I think she's more on the overly thin side similar to DC so I am putting her as an honorable mention.

Delaware-Tetra Shockley

At age 44, Tetra makes history as the oldest Miss USA contestant in history so let's see if that maturity and her past pageant experience winning Mrs. Delaware America gives her an edge.

Michigan-Michele Lewandoski

Someone please tell this girl not to overdo it on the facial expressions... This gown is really nice though and I like the armband capes and how she worked them so we'll see if she places.



There is my list for this year! So we'll find out how I did and who I may have missed that ends up in the mix and who will be the new Miss USA!

Tell everyone to watch Miss USA 2025 on October 24 on the Queen Beauty Network or QBN app!



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SECOND ROUND PRETHOUGHTS (October 20, 2025)



The ladies have arrived in Reno, Tahoe, Nevada!




The state costume competition is on October 20 for both the Miss USA 2025 and Miss Teen USA 2025 contestants. Preliminaries for both Miss Teen USA and Miss USA are on October 22 when we will see all 51 contestants for each pageant compete in swimsuit and gown and then the 2025 Miss Teen USA finals will happen on October 23 and then the 2025 Miss USA pageant will also air on the Queen Beauty Network website http://www.queenbeauty.tv/missusa or download the QBN (Queen Beauty Network) app on October 24 live from the Grand Sierra Hotel in Reno, Tahoe, Nevada at 5pm Pacific Standard Time. Spread the word and get people to watch Miss USA on the Queen Beauty Network or QBN app this year! A reminder that this year's events will be a paid show as there was not much income from the 2025 state pageant season due to a severe decline in the number of entrants while Miss USA and Teen USA were under the ownership of Laylah Rose. Ownership of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants have shifted from Laylah Rose Loiczly of VVV Global Ent. to Thom Brodeur of BDE MISS USA, LLC just last month in September so this year will be very rushed but we shall see the outcome this new ownership produces. In the meantime, Laylah is being sued by Khun Anne Jakrajutatip's company, JKN Universe which currently owns the Miss Universe pageant. On October 3, JKN Universe filed a complaint against Rose's company, VVV Global Ent. In the complaint, filed in New York, JKN said VVV failed to pay the $100,000 salary of Miss USA 2024 Alma Cooper, as well as the promised scholarship money to Miss Teen USA 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava and Miss Teen USA 2024 Addie Carver. The toxic work environment that led to the resignation of the 2023 Miss USA winner, Noelia Voigt, was also addressed and Laylah finds herself in more legal trouble after a lawsuit was filed by the producer of the 2024 pageants, Renato Basile claiming she failed to pay him $2 million U.S. dollars for his work and there is another lawsuit pending from Northwest Productions (NW Productions, LLC) that has long produced the state pageants for Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The NW Productions complaint said Rose canceled their pre-planned pageants across three states and reschedule them with little notice resulting in frustration and dissatisfaction from contestants, family members, supporters, and members of the public in addition to monetary damages. We shall see if the 2026 state pageant season produces many more contestants than the messy 2025 season where it was looking like this year's pageants wouldn't even happen.

This year's hosts and commentators have been announced!

The hosts of Miss USA 2025 are: Olivia Jordan-Miss USA 2015 and Emmanuel Acho (a sports analyst and former professional football player). Miss Teen USA 2025 will be hosted by Taylor Hale-Miss Michigan USA 2021 and winner of the American edition of Big Brother in 2022. Serving as a correspondent for both Miss USA and Miss Teen USA will be Dani Walker-Miss Montana USA 2018 and Noelia Voigt Hendrix-the resigned Miss USA 2023 being welcomed back in a big way! Serving as a co-host along with the reigning 2024 titleholders for state costumes and preliminaries is performer, Sean Michael Rae. Andreia Gibau-Miss New York USA 2020 will co-hosts the state costume show and Teen prelims while serving as a correspondent for Miss USA finals and reigning Miss Teen USA, Addie Carver will serve as a backstage correspondent for Miss Teen USA 2025.

This year's winner will also receive a car courtesy of Jaguar - Land Rover Central Houston, Miss USA's Official Car Partner.

I will be posting my final predictions for Miss USA 2025 on the morning of October 24 but in the meantime, I will be posting my present thoughts on each delegate.

Alabama Kennedy Whisenant Kennedy has competed in multiple pageants placing as a runner-up in the Miss and Teen division. Her most recent placement prior to her Alabama win was 3rd runner up at Miss Georgia USA 2024. My overall impression is that this delegate is more on the petite side and probably won't make enough of an impact to place so she is not among my picks currently. Alabama has won the Miss USA crown only once back in 1967 with the late Sylvia Hitchcock who would go on to win Miss Universe that year and the heart of Dixie's last placement was in 2023. Alaska Kelsey Craft A 34-year-old who was originally born in her father's state of birth, Alaska, Kelsey has statehopped quite a bit placing as 3rd runner up in Miss Tennessee USA 2025 and 3rd runner up in Miss Florida USA 2019. This track record isn't strong enough to compel me to put her among my picks so I'm not expecting this delegate to place. Alaska placed in 2017 among the top 10 which was their first time placing since 1990 but the northernmost state has never won the Miss USA crown. Arizona Elexes Richardson Arizona inherited its only Miss USA crown in 1980 after Shawn Weatherly won Mise petite side and she is comps Universe and Arizona had placed 3 years in a row from 2014 to 2016 but hasn't placed since. Elexes was a runner-up to those placing delegates in 2016 (3rd runner up) and 2015 (2nd runner up) but I find this delegate more on theting at age 30. I'm leaning towards a non-placement for this delegate. Arizona's 2012 delegate, Erika Frantzve-Kirk has recently been in the news after the assassination of her husband, Charlie Kirk but I don't think that is enough to cause Arizona to place this year... or is it? Arkansas Olivia Halsey Olivia was 2nd runner up to 2024's delegate Madeline Bohlman who did not place so I am also leaning towards non-placement status for the land of opportunity. Arkansas has won the crown once in 1982 thanks to Terri Utley and they placed among the top 20 in 2023. California Kylie Chang Kylie is absolutely a favorite. She won the very competitive Miss California USA title as a first-time entrant at the age of 20 and she is also the first East-Asian woman to win this prestigious title. Kylie studies at the University of California, Berkeley minoring in Public Policy and interns at Deloitte working in the corporate tax division. She is also a dancer and we all know how gracefully dancers move on stage and have great finely-toned bodies as Kylie so is she "the one" and should she be so lucky to win the Miss USA crown?? Kylie is currently among my top 5 as I'm expecting a dazzling performance from this delegate. California placed among the top 20 in 2024 and they have won the Miss USA crown 6 times (1959, 1966, 1975, 1983, 1992 and 2011) once in each decade excluding the 2000s when they earned 3 1st runner-up placements(2005, 2006 and 2009) so will Kylie claim California's crown for the 2020s?? Colorado Sydney Hella Sydney is 26 and was previously 3rd runner-up Miss Minnesota USA 2025 and 2nd runner-up Miss Colorado USA 2023 both to delegates that did not place so I'm not expecting this delegate to place. Colorado last placed in 2012 but they have never won the crown. Connecticut Jenna Hofmann Jenna was 2nd runner up at the 2024 Miss Connecticut USA pageant and has also previously competed in New York. I'm not sure that this delegate is particularly strong enough to place therefore she is not among my picks. The constitution state won their only Miss USA crown in 2013 thanks to Erin Brady and last placed in 2023. Delaware Tetra Shockley Delaware placed for the first time ever in 2015 thanks to Renee Bull who made the top 10 but they haven't placed since. Tetra is making history as the oldest delegate ever to compete for Miss USA at age 44 and surprisingly, she is new to the USA system but she has previously won Mrs. Delaware America 2024 and even her daughter has competed for Miss Delaware's Teen in the Miss America's Teen system so this family is thoroughly involved in pageantry. Tetra is even an attorney so this woman is quite accomplished so I have her as an alternate currently as I feel her maturity and accomplishments could impress the judges enough to earn a placement. District of Columbia Allison LaForce DC has been doing suspiciously well placing in 7 of the last 9 Miss USA pageants and even winning two of those crowns. At age 26, Allison actually has a decent pageant history placing as 3rd runner-up to Miss Maryland USA 2025, 4th runner-up to Miss Maryland USA 2024 and winning Miss Maryland’s Outstanding Teen 2016 but going unplaced at nationals that year and no relation to Allie LaForce-Miss Teen USA 2005 as far as I know. I think she has the goods to place so I do have her among my top 20 currently. The nation's capital has won the crown 4 times thanks to Kara McCullough in 2017, Deshauna Barber in 2016, Shauntay Hinton in 2002 and Bobbi Johnson in 1964. Florida Lou Schieffelin Lou is 25 years old and I remember being extremely impressed with her accomplishments when she competed for Miss Teen USA 2018 placing among the top 10 that year. She was also 2nd runner up at Miss Florida USA 2024 and although she has modelled for 16 years, she aspires to be a pilot! Lou is absolutely one to watch as I know she will impress in interview so she is among my top 10 currently. Florida placed among the top 20 in 2023 but surprisingly, the Sunshine state has yet to outright win Miss USA. Their 1967 titleholder, Cheryl Ann Patton was originally 2nd runner up that year but accepted the crown after Sylvia Hitchcock won Miss Universe 1967 and the 1st runner up from California did not accept the title. Georgia Savannah Miles Savannah is another top tenner from the 2018 Miss Teen USA class competing for the crown and I expect her to repeat the same feat at Miss USA so she is among my top 10 currently due to her strong overall look. Savannah is currently studying interior design at the Savannah College of Art and Design with aspirations to host a lifestyle show about restoring Victorian homes to their original style. The peach state has surprisingly never won the crown but they have placed as a runner-up many times with the highest being Erin Nance placing 1st runner up in 1993 and they have placed as 2nd runner up a whopping six times (1986, 1988, 2001, 2006, 2014 and 2016) but recent years haven't been as kind to Georgia as they haven't placed since 2020 but I'm fully expecting Savannah to make a huge comeback. Hawaii Issha Rose Mata Issha has previously placed as a semifinalist twice at Miss California USA (2022 and 2023) with another semifinalist placement at Miss Hawaii USA 2020 before taking the Aloha state crown this year. She has also represented Hawaii at the Miss Filipina International pageant as well so she has experience but I'm just not feeling this delegate so I feel like she will not place. Hawaii has won the Miss USA crown 4 times (1962, 1972, 1978 and 1997 with that winner, Brook Lee going on to win Miss Universe) and Hawaii inherited the crown 1 time (2023). Idaho Jenny Ting Crawford I'm kind of conflicted on this one just because she is the 4th member of the top 5 of Miss California USA 2012 to compete at Miss USA following Natalie Pack who went unplaced representing California in 2012, Brittany McGowan placed as 3rd runner up representing Nevada in 2015 and Brie Gabrielle who went unplaced representing Florida in 2016. Jenny was selected to represent Idaho which was one of the 8 directorless states and she recently placed as 1st runner up at Miss California USA 2025 so she and Kylie Chang will compete again together on the Miss USA stage with Jenny competing as a 37-year-old married woman so I'm currently on the fence with her and have her as an alternate but she probably will move into my top 20 after preliminaries. Idaho inherited its only Miss USA crown in 1997 when Brandi Sherwood inherited it after Brook Lee won Miss Universe 1997 and they had another 1st runner up placement in 2020 which was their most recent placement. Illinois Nikolina Vujcic Nikolina is 23 years of age and of Serbian descent and attended Loyola University Chicago where she earned her Bachelor of Sciences degree in Nursing. She previously placed as a semifinalist in her state in 2022 and again in the Teen division in 2021 so I'm thinking she may not have a strong enough interview but she's a possibility so I have her as an alternate for the time being. Illinois currently has a 5 year streak in the semifinals with two of those placements being in the top 5 and they have captured the crown 4 times thanks to Myrna Hansen (1953), Marite Ozers (1963), Amanda Jones (1973) and Karen Morrison (1974). Indiana Sydney Shrewsbury There's possibilities here. Sydney is one of my honorable mentions at the moment. She came through with the win this year in Indiana after placing as a semifinalist in 2024. She is a graduate of Western Kentucky University where she received her Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Sales, and Applied Data Analytics. She is in Business Development at Salesforce with a passion for helping students develop soft skills and experiences not taught in the classroom. Indiana has never won the crown but they were 1st runner up in 1981 thanks to Holli Dennis and they last placed in 2020. Iowa Hayley Buettell Hayley was a runner-up in the four years prior to her win mostly to delegates that did not place with the exception of their 2024 delegate who got in based on winning the online vote. Hayley is 27 and studied art at the University of Iowa. She manages and teaches fitness at Pure Barre. She also owns an online thrift store, Forget Me Not, where she promotes sustainability and personal style through unique vintage finds and she enjoys volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters. I have her as an honorable mention at the moment but I'm not sure of the interview skills. Carol Morris in 1956 won Iowa's only Miss USA crown and later also won Miss Universe that year. Kansas Asia Cymone Smith Look at that sweet face! How can you not love this girl?? Asia may have been a non-finalist at Miss California Teen USA 2018 and a semifinalist for 2017 but I find her very charming and I think the judges won't be able to resist her. Originally from Torrance, California. Sydney is 25 years of age and currently lives in Wichita serving as a sports anchor and reporter at KSN-TV. Asia also founded a platform called Girls Talk Game which is a platform dedicated to advocating for women in sports broadcasting. Asia is currently among my top 10. The place where the folks like to believe there's no place like home last won the Miss USA crown once back in 1991 thanks to Kelli McCarty who was the host delegate that year and Kansas placed in 4 of the last 6 Miss USA pageants. Kentucky Mattie Barker The bluegrass state is sending another strong delegate this year. Mattie is 22 and works as a substitute teacher and plans to use her platform to advocate for children's mental health. She also has a very strong pageant history placing as 1st runner up at Miss Tennessee USA 2025 and also winning Miss Kentucky Teen USA 2020 but going unplaced at Miss Teen USA that year but I feel strongly that she is a contender and have her in my top 10 currently. Kentucky won the crown twice in 2006 and in 2021 and they finished as 1st runner up last year so could Mattie claim another crown for the land of fried chicken? Louisiana Francie Millan Francie is a really strong contestant who I have in my top 5. She has a strong pageant history placing as 4th runner-up at Miss Texas USA 2025 and 1st runner-up at Miss Texas USA 2024 which are clear indications that this girl's a contender. She is of Uruguayan descent and is 23 years of age. Louisiana has won the crown 3 times (1958, 1961, 1996) but they haven't placed since 2021 so will Francie bring Louisiana back in a big way? Maine Shelby Howell Shelby had a highly publicized runner-up at Miss Maine USA with Jordon Hudson who was 1st runner up in Maine for 2024 and is currently the head football coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels, Bill Belichick's chick who is making news for appearing to control many of Bill's media appearances and being noticeably younger than him... Anyway, Shelby is one of my alternates currently as she has an interesting story of being raised by a single mother but is the first in her family to attend college studying business administration and management and Shelby's upbringing inspired her to launch the Single Parent Housing Foundation dedicated to helping single parents gain access to housing resources, financial literacy and a pathway to homeownership. Maine has never won the crown but they did have a 3 year streak placing from 2010 to 2012 and they last placed in 2018. Maryland Lexia Gillette Lexia is quite the stunner! She has a long pageant history going unplaced at Miss Massachusetts USA 2016 and 2020, unplaced at Miss Vermont USA 2018, 2020 and 2021 but making the semifinals for 2017, then rising to 2nd runner up for 2022 and 3rd runner up for 2024 but going unplaced for 2023 then 3rd runner up for Miss Florida USA 2025 before the quick hop to Maryland to triumph there! Surely, this extensive experience should pay off but I wonder about interview if there were so many non placements in the beginning but Lexia must have refined her skills over time at age 29 and I think she just has a great look so I have her among my top 10 currently. Maryland won the crown in 1957 but that winner, Leona Gage, was dethroned shortly after her win when it was discovered that she was a twice-married mother of two boys who also lied about her age which are all rules eliminated in 2023. Maryland also inherited the crown in 2012 thanks to Nana Meriwether who was runner-up to Olivia Culpo who would go on to win the USA's 8th Miss Universe crown in 2012. Maryland last placed in 2023. Massachusetts Perianne Caron Perianne is an investment marketing specialist, graduate student, and former professional dancer. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in finance at the Carroll School of Management at Boston College but I'm just not feeling this delegate so as of right now, she's not among my picks. Massachusetts has won the crown twice in 1998 and 2003 and last placed in 2024 with Melissa Sapini who countryhopped and is now representing Haiti at Miss Universe 2025. Michigan Michele Lewandoski Michigan won the crown 4 times (1990, 1993, 2010 and last year, 2024) and back to back titles have been won many times before in Miss USA history so its not inconceivable that Michele could pull off the often elusive successive win. Michele is studying behavior analysis in grad school and loves working with kids and has a good history in Miss Michigan USA placing as 2nd runner up in 2024 to last year's winner, Alma Cooper and 4th runner up in 2023 so I think Michele is fun as she likes rom-coms so I say she is one to watch but I'm not entirely convinced at this stage so I have her as an honorable mention at the moment. Minnesota Megan Rivera Megan has a bachelor's degree in Fashion Merchandising from Marist College in New York and was 3rd runner-up in Minnesota last year prior to her state win this year but this delegate is not among my picks. Minnesota won its only crown in 1976 and they last placed in 2022. Mississippi McKenzie Cole Another former teen delegate, McKenzie competed for Miss Teen USA 2022 and I was impressed with her during preliminaries in that pageant as this girl has the moves and that Aishwarya Rai-ish mesmerism and she's a Monster Energy girl so even though she didn't get the nod at Teen, I hope she makes a comeback at Miss. She is among my top 20 presently and I think she will impress in preliminaries. Mississippi just won its first Miss USA crown with Asya Branch in 2020 and they last placed in 2024. Missouri Shae Smith I was really surprised that Shae didn't place at Miss Teen USA 2022 as she is quite accomplished. She was Miss Missouri’s Outstanding Teen 2019 and 4th runner up at Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2020. She is currently a junior at the University of Missouri, majoring in Health Sciences with a minor in Business Administration, and a third year Mizzou Golden Girl Dancer. I have Shae among my top 20 and hope she gets some better stage time this time around! Missouri won its only Miss USA crown in 2004 with Shandi "Perfection" Finnessey and they last placed in 2022. Montana Juliana Wilson At 36, Juliana was selected as Miss Montana USA 2025 through the Miss USA Open Casting Call and this was actually a fitting pick since she was 1st runner up at Miss Montana USA 2024 just after placing as a semifinalist at Miss Tennessee USA 2024 as Juliana is actually from Nashville. Juliana has appeared three times on the show, "American Ninja Warrior" where she met her husband, Ben Wilson, who also competed in "American Ninja Warrior". Montana has not placed since way back in 1958 and I don't think that will change this year. Nebraska Audrey Eckert Of course, we remember Audrey placing as 3rd runner up at Miss Teen USA 2020 so her charm should appeal to the judges and so I have her in my top 20 presently. Nebraska won their first crown in 2018 thanks to Sarah Rose Summers and they placed as 2nd runner up last year in 2022. Nevada Mary Sickler Mary is the host delegate even though she was also 1st runner up to Miss Texas USA 2025. As asked earlier, is anyone slicker and sicker than Slicker? I think not! Mary is still my winner and her feature in People magazine after being diagnosed with alopecia and going completely bald only makes this woman more compelling. Combine that with a great body and overall look and a strong story to bring media attention, I think the host delegate can take the crown for the first time since 1995. Nevada won their only Miss USA crown in 2014 and last placed in 2024. New Hampshire MonaLesa Brackett New Hampshire pulled off a top 12 placement in 2022 and although they have never won the crown, they did pull off a 1st runner up placement in 2000. MonaLesa is breaking barriers wearing a hijab since she is a black American Muslim who was the founder of The Real Estate Fairy which helps previously homeless individuals secure apartments and she is active is spearheading youth financial literacy programs and park restoration projects in Brooklyn. She was one of the delegates chosen through the open call casting and was 2nd runner up at Miss New York USA 2025 so I think that her uniqueness will make MonaLesa smile and she is among my top 20. New Jersey Ivy Harrington Ivy had to work her way to the New Jersey crown placing as 2nd runner-up in 2024, 4th runner-up in 2022 and a semifinalist in 2020. She graduated from Morgan State University in Baltimore in 2017 with a degree in journalism and works as a Communications Specialist within the education management industry. New Jersey has never won the crown and they last placed in 2023. I have this delegate as an honorable mention currently. New Mexico Dominique Ehrl Lugo The land of enchantment did pull off a win in 1984 and they did place as 1st runner up in 2019 and they had a top 20 placement in 2023. This year's delegate is not expected to place. New York Christiana DiNardo Christiana has hopped a lot to secure a state title going back to her teen years as a runner-up many times in New York, Maryland and Florida until she finally clinched the coveted Miss New York USA crown and having a great track record and winning a competitive state speaks volumes so I have her in my top 20. New York has won 3 Miss USA crowns (1952, 1979, and 1999) and inherited one crown in 1995 and they last placed in 2024. North Carolina Lourdes Madera 31-year-old Lourdes has hopped as a non-finalist in New Jersey and Florida and suddenly winning North Carolina under new directorship of Ariana Blaize who took over from Paula Miles of RPM Productions who probably would have had very different results so this delegate is not among my picks. There was even a lawsuit from the runner-up Preslie Ross which involved former Miss Montana USA, Heather Lee O'Brien who tried to sue claiming the judges chose Preslie but that Ariana's team overrid the judges' decision since Preslie paid to have her make-up done professionally so there's trouble around here which normally leads to a non-placement. North Carolina has done very well in recent years with their current 4 year streak in the semifinals which I think will be broken this year and even inheriting the crown for 2022 in addition to winning three other Miss USA crowns in 2005, 2009 and 2019. North Dakota Olivia Redding North Dakota last placed in 2021 and that contestant, Caitlyn Vogel placed as 1st runner up at Miss USA 2021 but this year's delegate is not expected to place. Ohio Hannah Klein Ohio has won the Miss USA crown twice (1965 and 1981) and has a very famous 1st runner up with Oscar winning actress Halle Berry and Ohio last placed in 2022. Hannah is 33 years old and was runner-up last year to Ohio's 2024 representative, Macy Hudson who placed as 4th runner up at Miss USA 2024 so maybe this means something for Hannah but as of right now, she is not among my picks. Oklahoma Zoe Ferraro Oklahoma placed as 2nd runner up last year and they won their first Miss USA crown in 2015 thanks to Olivia Jordan who is hosting this year. Mysteriously, Zoe did not place when she represented Oklahoma at Miss Teen USA 2018 but she has come back strong as a favorite so she is among my top 20 currently. Oregon Chantea McIntyre Sashay, Chantea! Chantea was chosen through the open call casting with Oregon being one of the directorless states and she previously placed in the top 16 of Miss California USA 2025. At age 43, Chantea is the second oldest delegate to ever compete at Miss USA narrowly defeated by Delaware's Tetra Shockley who is competing at age 44. I think Chantea has a certain charm but at the moment, I have her as an alternate. Oregon last placed in 2018 and has never won the Miss USA crown but they have won Miss Teen USA three times. Pennsylvania Rica Clements At age 29, Rica holds a degree from Central Florida University and a Doctorate of Education from Liberty University. I don't think this delegate quite has the body for this competition so she's not among my picks currently. Pennsylvania won the crown once back in 1971 thanks to the late, Michele McDonald and Pennsylvania last placed among the top 5 in 2023. Rhode Island Brianna Vega Of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent, Brianna is a registered nurse. This delegate is currently not among my picks. Rhode Island captured its first Miss USA crown in 2012 and of course that winner, Olivia Culpo, went on to win Miss Universe and the smallest state in the union also placed as 2nd runner up in 2015. South Carolina Gallienne Nabila At age 27, Gallienne actually lives in Los Angeles and is dating boxer Floyd Mayweather. She was also selected under South Carolina's new directorship under Ariana Blaize but even she was a runner up in Maryland years ago, her style probably won't appeal to pageant judges so I don't have this delegate among my picks. South Carolina last placed in 2024 and they won the Miss USA crown three times (in 1954, 1980 and 1994) and two of those winners won Miss Universe and their 1990 winner won Miss World so South Carolina's universal pageant track record is one to be revered. South Dakota Megan Hiykel South Dakota has pulled off rare placements recently making the top 5 in 2018 and the top 10 in 2016 and they had only placed twice before in 1958 and 1974. This delegate is not expected to place. Tennessee Madison Kunst Madison has been inching her way up to get the coveted Tennessee crown as she was Tennessee's 1st runner up last year and 3rd runner up in 2023 so Madison is deemed a top contender and I have her in my top 5 currently. She works in sales and marketing but is passionate about music so we might just see her in more spotlights in the future. Tennessee has won the crown twice thanks to two phenomenal beauties, Lynnette Cole in 2000 and Rachel Smith in 2007 and they last placed in 2024 among the top 5 and I'm thinking this will happen again! Texas Taylor Lauren Davis Taylor is the 4th black Miss Texas USA and the first two black Miss Texas USAs went on to win Miss USA and last year's Texan delegate, Aarieanna Ware made the top 10 so this is the first time that Texas is sending successive black contestants. Taylor is a charming favorite and brings a unique aspect to the table as she is a major football fan and presently works for the National Football League as a social media analyst tracking and analyzing data. She is also a graduate of Howard University. Texas is easily the most successful state at Miss USA winning the crown 10 times including one just recently in 2022 with R'Bonney Gabriel who went on to win Miss Universe. Texas has also has an unmatched five-year streak of Miss USA wins from 1985 to 1989. Utah Elle Hinojosa Elle is originally from Texas of Latina descent but this girl brings the glamour so I think she is worthy of a top 20 placement so she is among my picks at the moment. She also notably is the founder of Mention Medical, a fashion-forward medical ID brand that transforms necessity into empowerment, inspired by her own health journey. Utah's Miss USA history is interesting as they inherited the crown in 1957 when the winner from Maryland was dethroned and Utah won the crown in 1960 and that winner, Linda Bement while Utah's 2023 Miss USA winner, Noelia Voigt was the first to resign so some very unusual wins for Utah! Vermont Victoria Chuah Victoria previously won the Miss Virginia 2022 and competed for Miss America 2023 going unplaced so I'm expecting the same thing to happen at Miss USA. Placements for Vermont are rare but Vermont managed to place in 2022 after having not placed since 1982 but they did win the crown back in 1955. Virginia Erin Houston Erin has experience in celebrity and influencer management, social media, and creating campaigns for Fortune 500 companies and has established herself in the marketing industry. I'm not convinced that this delegate will place so she is not among my picks. Virginia won the crown twice back in 1969 and 1970 and last placed in 2024. Washington Carisa Erickson Carisa was a natural pick for Washington as she was selected through the open call casting for one of the directorless states and she was runner-up to her state title last year (just like Montana's rep this year) but Carisa's spunky style with her unique short blonde hairdo is turning heads and grabbing attention so even though she is in her late 30s, Carisa has won much universal favor and also is among my top 20. She has maturity, distinction and life experience being married to her husband, a tribal leader with their family on the Colville Indian Reservation so she brings the representation. She is also a trained crisis counselor, and a model, actress and writer. Washington won the crown in 1968 and placed in 2023 after not having placed since 2004. West Virginia Erin Wellman Erin is currently working as an Emergency Department Medical Scribe and applying to medical school with the goal of becoming an emergency medicine physician. I need to see more of this delegate so I have her as an honorable mention currently but I'll determine where I place her after preliminaries. West Virginia last placed in 2022 and has never won the crown. Wisconsin Aneisha Cox The hair is certainly distinctive but I don't think this delegate quite has the body for this competition so she's not among my picks at the moment. Wisconsin has never won but they did place as 2nd runner up in 2023 matching their previous highest placement in 1974. Wyoming Eilish Young This girl's so gorgeous. What a stunning visage! It should be no surprise that she won the Photogenic award at Miss Texas USA 2025. Eilish was selected as one of the open call contestants and she placed among the top 20 at Miss Texas USA 2025. Placements for Wyoming are extremely rare as they have only placed twice (1986 and 2010) but I think Eilish has the goods to place so she is among my top 20 currently!

Again, the preliminaries are on October 22. I will post my final predictions for Miss USA 2025 on the morning of October 24 and then later that night is the finals airing on the Queen Beauty Network website http://www.queenbeauty.tv/missusa or QBN app at 5pm (Pacific Standard Time)/8pm (Eastern Standard Time) so we shall see who will be queen for 2025!



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FIRST ROUND PRETHOUGHTS (October 9, 2025)


Who will succeed Miss USA 2024, Alma Cooper of Michigan and be crowned Miss USA 2025??


All competitions take place at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada. Note that there was originally a three-year deal signed for the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno to host from 2022 to 2024 signed when Crystle Stewart-Miss USA 2008 was the national director and CEO of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA for 2021 and 2022 but after some scandals, directorship of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA shifted to Laylah Rose Loiczly for 2023 and 2024. Instead of Reno hosting in 2024, Laylah arranged for the pageants to be held in the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California during the last week of July 2024 but the return to Reno for 2025 will complete the original three year deal. Alma Cooper will have one of the longest reigns as Miss USA lasting for 14 months and 20 days (August 4, 2024 to October 24, 2025) but the longest Miss USA reign belongs to the late Cheslie Kryst-Miss USA 2019 who had her reign extended during the Covid era over 18 months (557 days) from May 2, 2019 to November 9, 2020
As for the event schedule, all 102 of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA delegates will have a candidate welcome reception at Reno's Grand Sierra Resort on Saturday, October 18.
State Costume Presentations for both Miss USA and Miss Teen USA are on Monday, October 20.
Wednesday, October 22 is preliminary competition day. Miss Teen USA preliminaries are at 2 p.m. and Miss USA preliminaries are at 6 p.m. Pacific Time
Miss Teen USA FINAL Competition is on October 23 at 5 p.m.
Miss USA FINAL Competition is on October 24 at 5 p.m. Pacific Time.
Watch Miss USA 2025 on the Queen Beauty Network website http://www.queenbeauty.tv/missusa or download the QBN (Queen Beauty Network) app on October 24 at 5 p.m.(Pacific Standard Time)/8 p.m.(Eastern Standard Time)!


For now, here are my highly anticipated First Round Prethoughts!



Every Rose Has Its Thom



This headline naturally borrows from Poison's hit song "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" (Poison's lead singer Bret Michaels hosted the 2010 Miss Universe pageant as you will recall) but since "r" and "n" run together look like a "m" so the "Rose" in this article is of course, Laylah Rose and the "Thorn" is "Thom" Brodeur who pierced the plans of Laylah Rose and took over as CEO and national director of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA as of 2025.
The lead up to the 2025 Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageant have been messy to say the least. Sure, Laylah (who got us on our knees) managed to get both pageants back on network television on a smaller channel (the CW) with the 2023 Miss USA pageant airing on the CW but the 2023 Miss Teen USA pageant was only available via streaming on the CW's website. Both the 2024 Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants aired on the CW marking the first time that Miss Teen USA had not been relegated to a webcast since 2007 when it last aired on NBC. Although it was reported the CW signed a three year deal to air Miss USA and Miss Teen USA for 2024, 2025 and 2026, it looks like that deal was tied to Laylah Rose and the 2025 pageants will only be available to view as a paid webcast on the Queen Beauty Network located at http://www.queenbeauty.tv/missusa or download the Queen Beauty Network QBN app as announced on October 5 on social media. Despite these good get-me-on-TV connections, there was much behind-the-scenes turmoil. When Crystle Stewart stepped down after directing the 2021 and 2022 Miss USA and Teen USA pageant following scandals including Crystle's husband, Max Sebrechts allegedly making advances and sending inappropriate videos to some of the contestants and one of those contestants included Michigan's Taylor Hale who went unplaced at Miss USA 2021 but went on to win the 24th season of the U.S. edition of the hit reality show, "Big Brother" in 2022. Apart from this, some of the other contestants claimed that there was favoritism shown to the Texan delegate at Miss USA 2022, R'Bonney Gabriel who won the 2022 Miss USA title but much of the protests were silenced when R'Bonney went on to win the 2022 Miss Universe title as well which validated her Miss USA win in the eyes of many but some still had their doubts. Crystle Stewart stepped down and the directorship of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA temporarily went back to the Miss Universe organization newly purchased by JKN which is a company owned by wealthy Thai transwoman, Jakkaphong (Anne) Jakrajutatip seeking a new director. At the time, Thom Brodeur had bid to be that new director as he had started other pageants like the Queen Beauty USA with his ex-partner, Tavit Kazanjian but Laylah Rose won the bid and was assigned directorship of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA as of 2023. Noelia Voigt (who statehopped after placing 1st runner up at Miss Alabama USA 2023 and 2022 to go on to win Miss Utah USA 2023) won Miss USA 2023 but her reign as Miss USA wasn't anywhere what previous titleholders experienced. Very few appearances were coordinated for her after her win and she had little support when competing for the 2023 Miss Universe title in El Salvador but she still managed to make the top 20. We reached a turning point on May 9, 2023 when Noelia decided to resign as Miss USA 2023 in a famous instagram post in which the first few sentences started with letters that spelled out "I AM SILENCED" which was a reference to the non-disclosure agreements that contestants had to sign in order to even compete for Miss USA so Noelia was limited in what she could say to the media about what was happening behind the scenes and her experiences which appeared to include being subject to unwanted advances by her car driver at a Christmas parade in Sarasota, Florida in December 2023. Soon after Noelia's resignation on May 6, 2023, Miss Teen USA 2023-UmaSofia Srivastava followed Noelia's lead and also resigned as Miss Teen USA posting on instagram on May 9, 2023 citing her personal values no longer fully align with the direction of the organization. Claudia Michelle Engelhardt, former social media director for Miss USA and a friend of Noelia Voigt also resigned from her position on May 4, 2023 (two days before Noelia resigned) and Claudia went on to compete (representing New York) at the 2026 Miss Volunteer America pageant (started by triple crown winner, Allison Alderson-Demarcus who was Miss Tennessee Teen USA 1994 and top 6 at Miss Teen USA 1994, Miss Tennessee 1999 and Miss Tennessee USA 2002). Noelia was replaced by her runner-up, Hawaii's Savannah Gankiewicz who accepted the title and was officially crowned on May 15, 2023 by Hawaii's governor, Josh Green in the presence of Laylah Rose and Savannah completed the remaining three months as Miss USA 2023 without issue. However, New York's Stephanie Skinner as 1st runner up of Miss Teen USA 2023 declined to accept the title after UmaSofia Srivastava resigned so Miss Teen USA 2023 was not replaced and no successor was named and Stephanie cited she refused because character comes before a crown. The 2024 Miss USA pageant went on as planned but prior to it, multiple Miss USA state directors resigned or announced their upcoming resignations but most of those that resigned were replaced. Some examples include Paula Miles of RPM Productions who has been directing Miss USA stage pageants since 1979 and even directed the pageant that crowned Shawn Weatherly as South Carolina's Miss USA representative and Shawn would go on to win Miss Universe 1980 and they have seen multiple winners over the last few decades. Paula announced through a farewell video during the Miss South Carolina USA pageant on June 15 that she would leave the current Miss USA organization claiming abusive mismanagement, strong-armed leadership and a toxic work environment. Paula then went on to revive the Miss Teen All-American pageant which was started by the late Frank Sweeney in 1977 and crowned its first winner in 1979. Many notable pageant contestants had won that pageant including: Halle Berry who won for 1985 and went on to become an Academy Award winning actress, Lynnette Cole who was Miss Teen All-American 1997 but also Miss Tennessee Teen USA 1995 (4th place at Miss Teen USA 1995), Miss USA 2000 and 5th place at Miss Universe 2000 making Lynnette one of only two women to make top 5 at Miss Teen USA, Miss USA and Miss Universe (Tara Conner is the other woman who made top 5 at all three noted MUO pageants), Erin Nance in 1991 [also Miss Georgia USA 1993 (1st runner up to Miss USA 1993), 2nd runner up to Miss Oktoberfest 1993, Miss Georgia Teen USA 1988], Shanna Moakler in 1992 [also Miss USA 1995, Miss New York USA 1995, Miss Rhode Island Teen USA 1992 (semifinalist at Miss Teen USA 1992)], Bridgett Jordan in 1996 [also Miss Tennessee Teen USA 1998 (1st runner up to Miss Teen USA 1998), Miss Oktoberfest 1999], Alita Dawson in 1998 [also Miss Connecticut USA 2002 (4th runner up to Miss USA 2002), Miss Connecticut Teen USA 1997] and Jenna Edwards in 1999 [also Miss Florida America 2004, Miss Florida USA 2007, Miss Oktoberfest 2000]. The last Miss Teen All-American pageant was held in 2010 until its revival in 2025 when Paula Miles added a Miss division and Junior division to the All-American system. What was interesting about this pageant is that it featured as ambassadors, the original winners of Miss USA 2023, Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA 2023, UmaSofia Srivastava (who both notably resigned from their titles as a rage against the regime of current owner of Miss USA, Laylah Rose who made the contestants sign non-disclosure agreements and not giving the titleholders a good reign resulting in several state directors jumping ship). Noelia and UmaSofia gave farewell speeches as if they were the reigning titleholders and crowned the new winners. Paula and Ryan Miles decided to add a Junior and Miss division to the All American trio of titleholders. The winner of Miss Teen All American 2025 is Greenville's Noelia Velazquez (coincidentally having the same first name as Noelia Voigt) but the rightful and deserving winner. The winner of Miss Junior All American 2025 is August McDowell of Foothills and the winner of Miss All American 2025 is East Tennessee's McKinley Farese (a win I predicted as I remember McKinley placing as 4th runner up at Miss Teen USA 2022 representing Tennessee). Judges included Miss Teen USA 1998-Vanessa Minnillo-Lachey, Miss USA 1998-Shawnae Jebbia and Miss USA 2020-Asya Branch. State directors kept dropping left and right that had been directing for decades such as Kim Payne Greenwood-Miss Tennessee USA 1989 who directed Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi. Even the Miss Universe organization has received backlash from national directors for demanding more money from them which seems to be sucking the fun and profitability from pageants. Several state pageants this year suffered disturbingly low numbers of entrants this year. It looks like Laylah Rose was likely short of money as she was sued in September 2024 by the producer of the 2023 and 2024 Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants, Renato Basile for over $2 million U.S. unpaid for his executive producing of the 2024 pageants for television. There haven't been any updates as to what is happening but it was quite evident in the lack of social media content that Miss USA 2024, Alma Cooper and Miss Teen USA 2024, Addie Carver were pretty much left to their own devices to make the most of their reign so Alma Cooper posted a lot of her appearances at Army events and a lot of videos of her running... It's no wonder that Alma Cooper didn't place at Miss Universe 2024 as she had little to no support from her director. Addie Carver also managed to coordinate her own appearances as Miss Teen USA and posted on social media but these ladies definitely had less-than-ideal reigns compared to many of their predecessors. Some speculate that Laylah was ashamed to ask for help and it seriously looked like the 2025 Miss USA/Teen USA pageants weren't going to happen at all until we got some surprising news on September 4. It was then that the Thorn Thom who poked away the Rose, Laylah's plans (or lack thereof as there was much debate if the 2025 pageants would even happen this year while under Laylah's control which could have been the first time that Miss USA didn't happen since its inception in 1952). Thom posted on social media on September 4 that he had acquired the rights for Miss USA and Miss Teen USA for 2025 with a 10-year exclusive license and a new team of employees including Miss USA 1989-Gretchen Polhemus Jensen who is in charge of Strategic Partnerships and Co-National Directors of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, Elise Banks-Lovely and Laura Clark. The next day, Laylah Rose posted claiming she still had the rights but the news would become official through a press release on September 15 from the Miss Universe Organization so Laylah has gone quietly and Thom and his team have taken over which also requires a transfer of ownership of the website and social media so getting passwords can be a tricky thing in this situation which is why we are seeing temporary variations from the original "missusa.com" like "thenextmissusa.com" and "themissusa.com" and so forth so we shall see what this last-minute scramble will produce but Thom has been well-known amongst pageant heavyweights for decades so naturally, we are expecting big things in the future! However, I don't expect the 2025 pageants to be super stellar given how rushed this year was so we'll see how everything goes.
8 states were left directorless after the onslaught of former state director resignations so a last minute open casting was held for these remaining states and with less than one month to go (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming) and since this was an open casting, many of the representatives of these states actually live in other states but statehopping is nothing new in pageantry. It has been going on for decades and we will discuss a few of these instances later...





Five Aces

This year, the lonestar state of Texas has the highest number of contestants competing for Miss USA. These five aces are the delegates representing the states of: Texas (of course), Louisiana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. I refer to them as the "Five Aces" because I'm reminded of an era back when pageants were in their heyday and not an afterthought in the 1980s when Texas did the unimaginable and won the Miss USA crown FIVE years in a row and these five winners were all referred to as the Five Aces during the 1990 Miss Texas USA pageant. These remarkable women were: Laura Martinez Herring (also known as actress-Laura Harring)-Miss USA 1985, Christy Fichtner-Miss USA 1986, Michelle Royer-Miss USA 1987, Courtney Gibbs-Miss USA 1988 and Gretchen Polhemus-Miss USA 1989. These ladies all won when Miss Texas USA was a grand spectacle staged, produced and directed the late, great GuyRex duo consisting of partners, Richard Guy and Rex Holt. GuyRex started producing state pageants in the 1970s and claimed Miss USA 1977-Kim Tomes (Texas' first Miss USA winner) as their own while also producing the Miss California USA pageant in the early 80s which saw Julie Hayek claim the Miss USA crown in 1983 under GuyRex's tutelage during the glory years of pageantry.
I should mention here that the delegates representing Texas, Nevada, Louisiana and Wyoming all competed for the 2025 Miss Texas USA title and all of them made the semifinals with Texas, Nevada and Louisiana all making the top 5! We have some hardcore Texan competitors battling it out for the 2025 Miss USA crown!
This year's Texan representative is Taylor Lauren Davis who is 26 years of age and hails from Dallas. Taylor is the fourth black Miss Texas USA succeeding the dearly departed, Chelsi Smith who was not only Miss Texas USA 1995 but went on to win Miss USA 1995 and then Miss Universe 1995, then Crystle Stewart captured the Texan crown after multiple attempts but ended up winning Miss USA 2008 and finally, last year, Aarieanna Ware made the top 10 for Miss USA 2024 but this is the first time in history that successive woman of color won the crown of Miss Texas USA with Taylor winning the right to represent Texas for 2025. Like Crystle, Taylor had to make several attempts to win a state title to get to the Miss USA stage. She was previously a semifinalist at Miss Texas USA 2024, 3rd runner up at Miss Texas USA 2023 and 1st runner up at Miss Maryland USA 2021. Taylor's platform is her initiative called called REIGNITE as she works in sports marketing, and targets youth girls' sports teams teaching them all about goal setting and the importance of dreaming big in a workshop called "Hail Mary" encouraging young girls to be courageous and relentless in the pursuit of their dreams and even though she started this program as Miss Dallas USA, she wants to take it to the national level as Miss USA. As a football fanatic, Taylor works for the National Football League as a Social Media Analyst tracking and analyzing data across a variety of social media platforms learning about user behavior and changes. She also leads reporting for influencer and creator content. Taylor is also a graduate of Howard University where she was a campus queen (Miss Howard University 2020-2021). Texas easily has the most Miss USA winners claiming the crown 10 times (1977, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1995, 2001, 2008 and 2022) with the 1995 and 2002 winners, Chelsi Smith and R'Bonney Gabriel both going on to win Miss Universe in their respective years of competition. Will Taylor claim the 11th Miss USA crown for the lonestar state?
The bayou state of Louisiana is being represented by another notable Texan, Francie Millan who did a quick statehop after placing 4th runner up at Miss Texas USA 2025 to win Miss Louisiana USA 2025! Francie was also 1st runner up at Miss Texas USA 2024 but she went unplaced in her attempts to win Miss Texas Teen USA 2018, 2020 and 2021 so this is a real comeback queen with the experience to go far in this competition. Francie is of Uruguayan descent and prides herself in being one of the few Latina women to represent Louisiana at Miss USA. She also describes herself as an author, television host, columnist and real estate developer. Her competitors better watch out too as this lady is also a boxer! Boxing has quickly become one of her favorite workouts saying it challenges her body, clears her mind, and leaves her feeling stronger every single time. It's more than just punches and sweat; it's discipline, focus, and an empowering way to release stress. Louisiana has claimed the Miss USA crown thanks to Eurlyne Howell in 1958, Sharon Brown in 1961 and Ali Landry in 1996 and they have had sporadic successes since while also having hosting multiple Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants as well as the Miss Universe pageant for 2022. Will fancy Francie capture the crown for Louisiana???
Utah sends us a newbie in Elle Hinojosa (the sister of Victoria Hinojosa-Miss Texas USA 2021 and top 8 finalist at Miss USA 2021) who originally hails from McAllen, Texas but relocated to Salt Lake City is a proud Mexican-American who has been modelling since the age of 17 and her own health experience including once having a life-threatening illness with symptoms like seizures and vision loss inspired her to create Mention Medical which is a medical identification brand that aims to empower individuals by making identifying medical issues fashionable and a source of confidence. She is also a trained workshop facilitator with the One Love Foundation, educating young women on identifying and denying unhealthy relationships and become stronger women. Like Mississippi's delegate, McKenzie Cole, Elle also promotes Monster Energy drinks. Utah's winners have all had unique and interesting paths in the Miss USA pageant as their 1957 titleholder, the late Charlotte Sheffield as 1st runner-up inherited the crown after the winner, Maryland's Leona Gage was dethroned shortly after winning when it was discovered she was a twice-married mother of two young boys who lied about her age saying she was 21 when she was only 18 and with today's rules, all of this would have been allowed so Leona wouldn't have been shamed in the way she was. Utah would claim the Miss USA crown again in 1960 with Linda Bement (who passed away in 2018) but Linda would go on to win the 1960 Miss Universe crown as well only a few days after winning Miss USA! It would be a long wait but Utah would claim another crown in 2023 with Noelia Voigt as we previously discussed who would become the first Miss USA to voluntary resign citing mental health issues. So as you can see, Utah clearly has a very unique relationship with the Miss USA crown so will Elle give some buzz to the beehive state??
Wyoming is being represented by the very stunning, Eilish Young who not only made top 20 at Miss Texas USA 2025 but also won the Photogenic award not surprisingly! Eilish was even 2nd runner-up at Miss West Virginia USA 2025 so I think this may be the first instance of a triple state-hop in one year! A native of Houston, Eilish was one of the eight open casting delegates to represent a currently directorless state and Eilish said her submission left off the last number of her phone number but her faith in God to fulfill her dreams and she was contacted by Elise Banks-Lovely via Instagram to notify her that she was the new Miss Wyoming USA! Walking the Miss USA stage has been a dream of hers since she was a little girl and today she walks in faith, knowing that God’s timing is perfect and His plans are always good. With her title, Eilish plans to use her voice to empower women across the U.S. through her initiative called Her Future Her Freedom which assists young women build confidence, create financial stability, and design the futures they deserve. Wyoming has only placed two times at Miss USA which were the years of 1986 thanks to Beth King who was also awarded the Miss Photogenic title that year and in 2010 when Claire Schreiner made the top 15. With a name reminding us of popular pop star, Billie Eilish, could Eilish Anne Young use her fresh looks, confidence and advocacy to not only get a third placement for the Equality State but get Wyoming their very first Miss USA crown???
Could we have these "five aces" of Texas, Nevada, Louisiana, Utah and Wyoming make up the top 5 of Miss USA 2025??? It is very possible!!!
The final Texan delegate (Nevada) will be discussed in the next article.





Is Anyone Slicker And Sicker Than Sickler?


Mary Sickler represents the state of Nevada this year after a quick statehop from placing as 1st runner up at Miss Texas USA 2025. Mary is one of those ladies that made multiple attempts to get to the Miss USA stage. She placed previously as 2nd runner up at Miss Texas USA 2024, 1st runner up at Miss Texas USA 2023, semifinalist at Miss Nebraska USA 2022, 2nd runner up at Miss Nebraska Teen USA 2019, 3rd runner up at Miss Texas Teen USA 2019 and a semifinalist at Miss Texas Teen USA 2018. Mary's pageant experience just goes to show you that persistence pays off. Despite this strong pageant history, Mary has the worst kept secret among this year's candidates. She has revealed that she was diagnosed with alopecia in December 2024 and that her complete hair loss had resulted in a loss of many things including her job, her passion for pageantry and her self-confidence. She decided that she would not be defeated and gave another go at pursuing her dream of making it to the Miss USA stage. Mary came very close to winning the coveted lonestar state crown of Miss Texas USA but when she finished as 1st runner up, she did not let that deter her. At age 22, Mary did the quick state hop from Texas and moved to Las Vegas in the silver state of Nevada and won the 2025 Miss Nevada USA title and will be this year's host delegate and she wore a wig during both pageants and did not disclose her situation when competing so that is a testament to the strength of this candidate.
On the 8th of September, Mary revealed her alopecia diagnosis making her the first Miss USA candidate in history to publicly do so and exposed the truth underneath the wig, the make-up and the glamour. It started happening with alopecia areata which is where certain patches of hair usually in a circular pattern start to fall off the head. Medical treatment did not help as she tried steroid shots. The doctor said they tried everything they could but the condition only got worse and turned into alopecia universalis resulting in almost full body hair loss even experience loss of parts of her eyelashes and eyebrows and she eventually had to microblade her eyebrows and put on false eyelashes. I can relate to this story as I once also was getting alopecia areata in 2009 but I went to a doctor in India in 2009 and he prescribed vitamins B and E and to rub some salicylic acid on the bald patches and luckily for me, that was the cure. The hair grew back and I've been taking vitamins B and E ever since. As for Mary, her hair just kept falling out with every brush of the hair and every shower to the point that she was left with a few patches of hair and after the alopecia diagnosis, Mary's mother encouraged her to shave it all off. This may have led to temporary loss of modelling jobs but Mary is still a gorgeous woman without her hair as we can see and we have seen other pageant contestants sport the bald look like Persis Khambatta-Miss India 1965 who starred in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)" playing the role of the bald Deltan navigator, Lieutenant Ilia and we will also recall Tanzania's Flaviana Matata who was an easy favorite but finished in 6th place at Miss Universe 2007 also looking stunning sporting the hairless look.
Mary's modelling contract was revoked as a result of her not having any professional activity for several months as she experienced depression and a lack of confidence thinking that she wouldn't get modelling jobs after having just patches of hair left and she kept the secret from her workplace and friends and only her family knew what was happening but after experiencing this deep depression, Mary happened upon a sermon online in which the priest that balding isn't a person's fault. Those words brought about a change within Mary and she realized she is beautiful without hair. It has often been said in pageants that beauty starts from within but she kept her secret while competing in the Texas and Nevada state pageants learning how to glue in fake eyelashes without the glue seeping into her eye and learning about lace-360 wigs that can be glued on any part of the head. Mary also believes that God was saving her for this moment and that she experienced losses prior to the Miss Nevada USA win as this moment and her experiences will inspire millions of men and women and that is why she decided to share her story and she revealed on social media on September 8th about her alopecia and she feels that it has given her purpose and has given her more confidence and bravery to share her truth. Will we see a dramatic ruveal where she snatches off her wig to reveal her hairless head or perhaps another wig underneath similar to the style of RuPaul's Drag Race winner, Brooke Lynn Hytes?? I think it would be awesome but I don't think it will happen but I've been wrong before!
Nevada has claimed the Miss USA crown once back in 2014 when Nia Sanchez who also hopped after faring well at Miss California USA in the years prior to the lead-up to her eventual win so will Mary claim yet another Miss USA win for Nevada as the host state delegate??? The last time the host delegate won the crown was when Chelsi Smith won Miss USA 1995 representing Texas while the pageant was held in South Padre Island that year so 30 years later after that momentous win, is it time again for the host delegate to claim the crown?? It's very possible!!!





California Love

Texas isn't the only state with multiple state titleholders who competed in the same state this year. As usual, California Gurls are undeniable! Fine, fresh, fierce. They got it on lock! Six contestants that previously competed in California in either the Miss or Teen division will be discussed here which are the delegates representing: California (of course), Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Oregon and South Carolina!
Hailing from Cupertino, California's Kylie Lynn Chang is surprisingly a first time competitor and winner of one of the most competitive state titles in the nation which is a very impressive feat! Kylie is experienced in other pageants though as she previously held the title of Miss Asian Global 2023. Winning the Miss California USA title at the tender age of 20, Kylie is also the first woman of East-Asian descent to win the Miss California USA title! Kylie is fluent in both Chinese and English and studies at the Haas School of Business of the University of California, Berkeley with a minor in Public Policy with an aim of working in the corporate tax field at Deloitte where she interns. She has ambitions to attend law school and ultimately become a partner, she hopes to channel international law into global advocacy as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, working to expand youth education worldwide. Kylie also has a prominent modelling career appearing at New York Fashion Week with Miss Universe designer Giannina Azar and starring in Los Angeles Fashion Week's Adidas Originals campaign. Kylie is also a former competitive dancer turned model who knows how to move gracefully on stage and she is quite flexible so she is passionate about the arts and representation of her culture. California has claimed six Miss USA crowns thanks to Terry Lynn Huntingdon in 1959, Maria Remenyi in 1966, Summer Bartholomew in 1975, Julie Hayek in 1983, Shannon Marketic in 1992 and Alyssa Campanella in 2011 which California one Miss USA winner in each decade since Miss USA's inception excluding the 2000s so there's still time for Californian win in the 2020s so is Kylie the one??? Love her. Love her. Love her. Baby, break the tension! You all got those Minogue references, right?? There have been past Miss USA's with Asian heritage including Hawaii's Macel Wilson in 1962, New Mexico's Mai Shanley in 1984, Hawaii's Brook Lee in 1997 and Kimberly Pressler in 1999 but none of these ladies are fully Asian but have some Caucasian mixed in their DNA so could Kylie also be the first fully Asian-American Miss USA??
The representive of Idaho is Jenny Ting Crawford who was selected as one of the directorless states during an open casting. Jenny and Kylie Chang who represents California will meet again on the Miss USA stage as these two ladies were the top 2 of Miss California USA 2025! There will be more discussion of this in the next article but Jenny and Kylie are both of Asian descent but Jenny is one of the barrier-breaking delegates as she is currently 37 years of age and is also one of the married contestants this year competing under the new rules removing age and marriage restrictions initiated in 2023. Jenny was born in Taipei, Taiwan but lives in Los Angeles, California and works in maternal care and mental health. No stranger to the pageant world, Jenny competed way back in 2012 placing as 2nd runner up that year in a top five that contained three other Miss USA contestants: Natalie Pack-Miss California USA 2012 (unplaced at Miss USA 2012), Brittany McGowan-Miss Nevada USA 2015 (3rd runner up at Miss USA 2015; 4th runner up at Miss California USA 2012) and Brie Gabrielle-Miss Florida USA 2016 (unplaced at Miss USA 2016; 1st runner up at Miss California USA 2012). The missing delegate from that top 5 of Miss California USA 2012 was 3rd runner up-Aqueela Zoll but there is no word if she plans to compete again. Jenny also tried again for the 2015 Miss California USA title but just made the top 20 that time. Will Jenny's experience and maturity pay off this time around? Idaho inherited its only Miss USA crown in 1997 when Hawaii's Brook Lee won Miss Universe 1997 with allowed 1st runner-up Idaho's Brandi Sherwood to assume the 1997 Miss USA title which made Brandi the first and only woman so far to hold the titles of both Miss Teen USA (1989) and Miss USA (1997) although California's Shauna Gambill came close winning Miss Teen USA in 1994 and finishing as 1st runner up at Miss USA 1998 to Massachusetts' Shawnae Jebbia who finished 4th at Miss Universe 1998 but Shauna was appointed as the USA's Miss World representive making the top 10 at Miss World 1998. Let's see if Jenny is able to claim the crown for the Gem state.
Hawaii's Issha Rose Mata also previously competed at Miss California USA making the semifinals for both 2023 and 2022 and she was also previously a semifinalist at Miss Hawaii USA 2020 and even represented Hawaii at the Miss Filipina International 2023 competition so Issha is quite experienced in pageantry and finally pulled the win of Miss Hawaii USA for 2025. She is 30 years of age and attended the University of Hawaii, Hilo. Initially, she pursued biology with dreams of becoming a doctor but the pull of the performing arts was too strong and had always been part of her life with a father being a local singer and Issha also danced hula and performed in theatrical projects in high school. Hawaii has held the title of Miss USA title five times with Macel Wilson winning in 1962, Tanya Wilson winning in 1972, Judi Andersen winning in 1978, Brook Antoinette Mahealani Lee winning in 1997 and going on to win Miss Universe 1997 and Savannah Gankiewicz inherited the 2023 Miss USA crown when original winner, Utah's Noelia Voigt resigned. Will Issha's experience on many stages have an impact on her performance at Miss USA?
Kansas' Asia Cymone Smith is a vibrant one. Asia is currently employed as an award-winning sports anchor and reporter at KSN-TV but she grew up in Torrance, California and previously competed in the California Teen division as she had been a non-finalist at at Miss California Teen USA 2018 but placed among the semifinalists at Miss California Teen USA 2017. As a former NCAA Division I All-American heptathlete, Asia earned two college degrees on full-ride track and field scholarships. She is a graduate of San Diego State University, where she received her bachelor's degree in Communication in 2021 and would go on to obtain her master's degree in Mass Communication from the University of Florida. Asia founded a platform called 'Girls Talk Game' after seeing the underrepresentation of women in leadership roles. She utilizes this platform to host workshops, speaking engagements, and social media initiatives that promote a more inclusive future for women in the industry. All the delegates that competed in California we have discussed so far have Asian roots and Asia is also one of them! She is a third-generation Korean immigrant and the daughter of a retired Navy Commander. Her mother has vitiligo and this inspired Asia to become an author of a children's book entitled 'There's No One Like Me!' which features a confident young girl with vitiligo and she hopes to promote self-love while challenging traditional beauty standards with this book. Kansas has claimed the Miss USA crown once with the hometown girl, Kelli McCarty in 1991 with some prominent runners-up including: Danielle Boatwright in 1996 who went on to win an edition of the reality show 'Survivor,' Lindsay Douglas who was a favorite in 2002 and Tavia Shackles settled for a 2nd runner up placement in 1993 but would marry Clark Hunt, owner of the Kansas City Chiefs football team and their daughter, Gracie Hunt would place among the semifinalists for Miss USA 2021. Will Asia get another Miss USA crown for the place where the folks still live to believe there's no place like home??
Oregon is being represented another California Gurl who is a native of Fresno, Chantea McIntyre and she was selected during one of the directorless state open castings. This woman is competing for Miss USA at 43 years of age and of course, I have one thing to say, 'Sashay, Chantea!' Chantea becomes the second oldest woman to ever compete for the Miss USA title alongside the oldest woman ever to compete Miss USA, Delaware's Tetra Shockley competing this year at age 44 who will also be discussed later. Despite her age, Chantea's pageant history is actually very recent. She was the 1st runner up at Miss California USA 2024 and this year made the top 15 for Miss California USA 2025 before doing the open casting and being selected to represent Oregon at Miss USA 2025! Chantea's husband Michael who was initially not really a supporter of pageants has grown to learn to love them and is fully supporting his wife and says she will prove that she is built for the game of pageantry and of course, her four children are supporting her as well. She has three biological daughters and one adopted son who was in foster care at the time whom the couple adopted when he was 11 months old. Chantea blogs daily at chanteamcintyre.com so this woman definitely has a lot of life experience and a lot to say and Miss USA needs to be a talker so Chantea's charm just might win over the judges. The Beaver state has never capture the Miss USA crown but Oregon's best placement was in 1976 when Gail Atchison placed as 2nd runner up. Will the judges be saying, 'Chantea, you stay' and tell the others to sashay away???
South Carolina is one of the states that was long directed by Paula Miles with her husband Ryan under RPM productions but after their resignations after decades of directing Miss South Carolina USA, the new director is Ariana Blaize who competed for Miss Georgia USA placing as a semifinalist in 2024 but 3rd runner up for 2023 and 4th runner up at Miss Georgia Teen USA 2016 but used her Guyanese heritage and represented Guyana at Miss Universe 2024. This year's Palmetto state representative is Gallienne Nabila who is apparently dating boxer, Floyd Mayweather and has a prominent social media presence. She did compete in Miss California USA 2025 going unplaced before the hop to South Carolina and winning the 2025 state title. She also previously competed in Maryland under the last name of Gilmer rather than Nabila earning placements as 3rd runner-up at Miss Maryland USA 2018, 2nd runner-up at Miss Maryland USA 2017, a semifinalist at Miss Maryland Teen USA 2016 and 4th runner-up at Miss Maryland Teen USA 2015. It is going to be interesting watching Gallienne compete as this seems to be the type of candidate that pageant judges may not particularly be receptive of but we shall see if her influencing ways have any impact. South Carolina has claimed the Miss USA crown three times thanks to Miriam Stevenson in 1954 and Shawn Weatherly in 1980 both of whom went on to win Miss Universe and Lu Parker won in 1994 finishing 4th at Miss Universe 1994.
Will these California Gurls be denied or supplied? Let's see how each of these six ladies do! Tone, tan, fit and ready. Turn it up 'cause it's getting heavy!





Me And My Shadow

So, in the above two articles we discussed ladies that competed in the same state pageant this year who will all meet again on the 2025 Miss USA stage. We have the state winners and what I will call the 'shadow' delegates which were the delegates that placed below them that either hopped and won other state titles or were cast for states without directors. We already discussed: Texas vs. Nevada vs. Louisiana vs. Wyoming who all competed for Miss Texas USA 2025 and we also discussed: California vs. Idaho vs. Oregon who all competed for Miss California USA 2025. We have some other states with this same scenario! (Tennessee, New York and Maryland)
Miss Tennessee USA 2025 was won by Madison Kunst who was 1st runner up to Miss Tennessee USA 2024, 3rd runner up to Miss Tennessee USA 2023 and a semifinalist at Miss Tennessee USA 2022. Madison's 1st runner up at Miss Tennessee USA 2025 was Mattie Barker who hopped over to Kentucky and won Miss Kentucky USA 2025! Mattie was also previously Miss Kentucky Teen USA 2020 but unplaced at Miss Teen USA 2020 so I actually think it's more fitting to have won the Kentucky title! Also among the semifinalists at Miss Tennessee USA 2025 was Kelsey Craft who has hopped quite a bit actually but Kelsey managed to win Miss Alaska USA 2025! Not only was Kelsey a semifinalist at Miss Tennessee USA 2025, but she was also 3rd runner up at Miss Florida USA 2019 and a semifinalist at Miss Idaho USA 2015 and 2014.
Tennessee's delegate Madison Kunst interestingly enough grew up as the youngest of four children in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, yet she is representing the Volunteer State. Tons of hoppin' goin' on this year! She is very family oriented with a large family and even having 20 first cousins who remain close. Madison attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania before making a bold move to Nashville, Tennessee in 2021 to pursue her dream of a music career. Today, Madison balances a full-time role in marketing and sales while continuing to perform music on the side. Her favorite songs to sing are Disney classics—she even won a cruise ship karaoke contest performing 'Part of Your World' from 'The Little Mermaid' and a lifelong dream of hers is to do voiceover work for Disney. Her passion for the arts began early. She started modeling and acting at a young age, taking years of classes and signing with her first agency at the tender age of 13. In high school, she starred as the female lead in the school musical all four years and continued performing throughout college. Beyond the stage, Madison is an active individual who enjoys outdoor activities and she is also a devoted Christian who has been on five mission trips and she has a heart deeply rooted in service. She works for a nonprofit called The Aloe Family, where she leads a weekly food ministry providing groceries to around 75 families. Madison looks to be a great role model and the Volunteer state has claimed the crown twice thanks to two outstanding titleholders, Lynnette Cole in 2000 and Rachel Smith in 2007.
Tennessee's first shadow delegate is her runner-up, Kentucky's Mattie Barker and as a former Teen USA delegate, Mattie certainly has significant experience. Mattie is 22 and is originally from Louisville, Kentucky and attended Belmont University obtaining a Fine Arts degree. She also works as a substitute teacher and is actively using her platform to advocate for children’s mental health having experienced it herself and she wants people to know that it's okay to take a breath. The land of fried chicken has captured the Miss USA crown twice thanks to Tara Conner in 2006 and Elle Smith in 2021 and with a 1st runner up placement last year with Connor Perry who has just won a local title to compete in the Miss America system, Kentucky may be on a dinner roll.... Sorry, I love KFC... and maybe Mattie will bring another crown home for Kentucky!
Tennessee's second shadow delegate is Alaska's Kelsey Craft who made top 15 at Miss Tennessee USA 2025 even winning the Photogenic award before the hop to the state where North to the Future is their motto. Kelsey is 34 years of age and she was actually born in Alaska so this win is actually fitting and Alaska is where her father lived in the small town of Bethel and after multiple statehops, she has settled in Anchorage working as a certified physician's assistant and a model. Alaska has never won the crown but their best placement was as 2nd runner up in 1964 thanks to Patricia Marlin but more of us will remember Karin Mayer in 1990 making the top 6 that year.
Now, we have Tennessee and her shadow delegates, Kentucky and Alaska meeting again to compete with each other yet again on the Miss USA stage.
The next instance of a shadow delegate is that Miss New York USA 2025 is Christiana DiNardo and she will meet again with her 2nd runner up, MonaLesa Brackett who is representing one of the open casting directorless states, New Hampshire.
New York just claimed the Miss America crown for the 8th time last month with Cassie Donegan so that puts the pressure on New York's Miss USA delegate, Christiana DiNardo who has certainly done her fair share of statehopping to get to the Miss USA stage. Check out this pageant history. Christiana was previously a semifinalist at Miss Florida USA 2024, 4th runner up at Miss Florida USA 2023, 4th runner up at Miss New York USA 2023, top 10 at Miss New York USA 2022, 3rd runner up to Miss Maryland USA 2021, 4th runner up to Miss Maryland USA 2019, a semmifinalist for Miss New York Teen USA 2016, 3rd runner up for Miss New York Teen USA 2015 and 4th runner up at Miss New York Teen USA 2014. Christiana has waited an incredibly long time and made multiple attempts and is finally getting to the Miss USA stage so she certainly hopes her experience will pay off BIG, like Big Apple BIG! She works as a model and fashion editor for PhotoBook magazine and also serves as a mentor with the non-profit organization, Dress For Success. She studied at St. John Fisher College majoring in Media Management and enjoys an active and healthy lifestyle being an avid tennis player, runner and also does yoga. New York has four Miss USA crowns thanks to the very first Miss USA, the late Jackie Loughery in 1952, Mary Therese Friel in 1979, Kimberly Pressler in 1999 and Shanna Moakler inherited the 1995 Miss USA crown as the runner-up of the late Chelsi Smith who went on to win Miss Universe 1995. Is it time again for the Empire state?
Christiana's 2nd runner-up at New York USA was MonaLesa Brackett who is another of the open call delegates for the directorless state of New Hampshire. MonaLesa is one of the more intriguing delegates competing this year as she is literally was the first woman wearing a hijab to make the top 5 of a Miss USA state pageant. Halima Aden previously famously sported a hijab but she made top 15 at Miss Minnesota USA 2016 but not top 5. MonaLesa will proudly wear her hijab while competing at the 2025 Miss USA pageant and it will certainly be eye-catching and she is making history for representation, faith, and inclusivity. She graduated from Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland and at age 36, she will be displaying her Muslim faith for the world to see and she has said multiple times that she is eternally beautiful that this door has been opened for her to promote diversity. New Hampshire has never won the Miss USA crown but the closest they came was when Bridget Jane Vezina placed 1st runner up in the year 2000. All eyes will be on MonaLesa during the preliminaries so will we see MonaLesa smile and will she go all the way and be the first hijabi to wear the Miss USA crown???
The final instance of shadowing is Maryland's Lexia Gillette meeting on the Miss USA stage again competing with her shadow, 3rd runner up, Allison Laforce who hopped from Maryland to representing the District of Columbia.
Maryland's Lexia Gillette has also hopped quite a bit to get to the Miss USA stage. Her previous state pageant placements include being 3rd runner up at Miss Florida USA 2025, 3rd runner up at Miss Vermont USA 2024, nonfinalist at Miss Vermont USA 2023, 2nd runner up at Miss Vermont USA 2022, nonfinalist at Miss Vermont USA 2021, nonfinalist at Miss Massachusetts USA 2020, nonfinalist at Miss Vermont USA 2020, nonfinalist at Miss Vermont USA 2018, semifinalist at Miss Vermont USA 2017, nonfinalist at Miss Massachusetts USA 2016, and nonfinalist at Miss Massachusetts Teen USA 2014. Whew! That's quite the pageant resume! Lexia is originally from Pittsfield, Gillette then moved to Bennington, Vermont then to Barre, Vermont, to Weeki Wachee, Florida and to Chevy Chase, Maryland. She visited Mexico in 2022, Italy in 2024 and France in 2025. After graduating from Taconic High School in Pittsfield, she attended Southern Vermont College in Bennington. Certainly one of the most photogenic contestants this year, Lexia is determined to take this Miss USA crown. Maryland also has an interesting history with the Miss USA crown as their only winner was Leona Gage in 1957 who was soon after dethroned when it was discovered that she was a twice-married mother of two young boys who lied about her age. Then, in 2012, Nana Meriwether who represented Maryland that year inherited the 2012 Miss USA crown as runner-up to Rhode Island's Olivia Culpo who went on to win Miss Universe 2012. Will gorgeous Lexia give a full-term reign to the Free state of Maryland?
District of Columbia's Allison Laforce has a familiar name but this is not the same woman as Allie Laforce who won Miss Teen USA 2005. Allison Laforce has a strong pageant history placing as 3rd runner up at Miss Maryland USA 2025 before the hop to DC and 4th runner up at Miss Maryland USA 2024 and she also previously held the title of Miss Maryland's Outstanding Teen 2016 but going unplaced at Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2017. Allison is a model and dog mom who graduated from the University of Miami in 2021 and serves as a legislative ambassador for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. The nation's capital has claimed the Miss USA crown four times thanks to Bobbi Johnson in 1964, Shauntay Hinton in 2002, Deshauna Barber in 2016 and Kara McCullough in 2017. Will Allison use "La Force" and capture another Miss USA crown for DC?
Will these ladies overtake their shadows on the Miss USA stage or will the shadows overcome them?? Pageants can have very different results depending on the judges, time of day, venue and a number of other factors so you really never know what will happen and we have seen multiple instances in pageantry where a delegate that doesn't do well in one pageant does extremely well in another pageant and vice versa.
Pageant girls and their shadow... they're closer than pages that stick in a book...



Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number

Throwin' down ain't nothin' but a thing. With various former restrictions being removed allowing more contestants to compete for Miss USA and Miss Universe such as having been married or having children or being transgendered but the big one is the age limit as for many years, delegates had to be aged 18 to 26 and the age limit slowly increased to 27 in 2013 and 28 in 2018 but in 2023, all women over the age of 18 are eligible to compete in their state and national pageants for the Miss USA and Universe system. However, this hasn't really changed the average age of the contestants significantly. For 2025, the average age of the contestants this year is 27.39 years but this is the oldest group to compete since the pageant began in 1952. Delaware's Tetra Shockley is this year's oldest contestant at 44 and Mississippi's McKenzie Cole is the youngest at 19. Delaware's Tetra Shaylice Shockley now holds the record as the oldest contestant to ever compete at Miss USA defeating a record previously held by Arizona's Kristina (K) Johnson who at age 41 competed for the 2024 Miss USA title but went unplaced. K? K. Delaware's Tetra is quite the accomplished woman though. Apart from being a wife and mother of two children. She is also an attorney, entrepreneur, public speaker, fitness enthusiast, author and a licensed minister who proudly professes her Christian faith. Tetra boldly declared upon being crowned the first Miss Delaware USA to be married, having children and over the age of 30, "For every woman who thought she aged out of her dream, this crown is for you... There’s no deadline on purpose." No stranger to pageantry, Tetra previously earned the Mrs. Delaware America title in the years of 2016, 2021 and 2024 so this is one seasoned pageant veteran. She lives with her husband of 20 years, Jerome Shockley, and the couple has two children, a 17-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son. Tetra also founded 'You Are the Crown' which is a nonprofit organization that helps women and girls embrace their identities and live their lives with purpose. Tetra loves that her win breaks stereotypes about age, race and gender and wants to spread the message that her win proves that no one is too old, too different or too late but right on time and that any dream in your heart can come to pass. If you can believe it, Delaware has placed only once in the 74-year history of Miss USA! That one woman was the 2015 Delaware delegate, Renee Bull who made the top 10 that year. Tetra just might be incredibly impressive enough that the judges may reward her richly and grant her a spot in the semifinals and possibly even the crown!
This year's youngest contestant is 19-year-old McKenzie Cole of Mississippi and she should be a familiar face as she was also Miss Mississippi Teen USA 2022 but mysteriously went unplaced at Miss Teen USA 2022 but she was among my top 6 in my predictions for that year so I definitely saw something special in her. She chose to go last in the preliminaries in 2022 (a year when delegates that raised enough funds got to choose where they appeared in the line-up instead of alphabetical order) which was very bold and at the age of only 16, I felt she gave an eye-catching performance and was quite stunning and absolutely one to watch. I was getting a bit of an Aishwarya Rai (Miss World 1994 from India and now world-famous actress and often declared most beautiful woman in the world) vibe when watching her in gown during the 2022 Teen USA preliminaries. McKenzie is also a model and actress and promotes Monster energy drinks. Mississippi last won its only Miss USA crown back in 2020 thanks to Asya Branch and McKenzie certainly she will outshine the competition and be the next one from the Magnolia state to capture the Miss USA crown!
Apart from Delaware's delegate, our other married contestants that will compete this year are representing Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. All of whom have children with the exception of Washington's delegate.





The "Elle" Word


Well, here's a little unexpected news. Our very own Elle Smith-Miss USA 2021 who represented Kentucky and is also a journalist appears to have inadvertently recently come out of the closet and appears to be in a relationship with Leah Williamson, the captain of the England women's national football team. Their relationship was seemingly confirmed through a series of social media posts, including an Instagram carousel from Leah Williamson at the 2025 Ballon d'Or awards and a heartfelt birthday message from Elle Smith to Leah Williamson. The two were also seen at a WNBA game on the big screen with other people noticing them being affectionate with one another like holding hands but some speculate if this seems to be more of an ambiguous relationship. The Union of European Football Associations has allowed players to wear Pride rainbow armbands and Leah Williamson has been seen wearing one and while this normally just represents support for the LGBTQ+ community and doesn't necessarily mean that the person wearing it is a member of the LGBTQ+ community. However, as the tournament Leah played in went on, and even after Smith appeared in the stands wearing a "Live, Laugh, Leah" T-shirt, their relationship was not officially confirmed according to UK newspaper Metro in an article dated July 27. After that however, social media posts seem to indicate this relationship is a thing. There's the photo of a post-match clinch in Elle Smith’s "July favorites" post; those public appearances in NYC; the "personal life" sections of their Wikipedia pages and Elle Smith commenting “Yuuuuupppppppppp” with a melting face emoji on a pic of Leah Williamson in her Calvin Klein's. While they have not technically made a public declaration to the media that they are LGBTQ+, they seem to be included on lists as out since they have shown imagery of them that seems to reflect that. If Elle truly has come out then she would be the first Miss USA to openly be a member of the LGBTQ+ community. We shall see if this story evolves in to something more but in the meantime, it is nice to Leah and Elle to have this special relationship and to have the bravery to do so in public since they are both well-known figures in society.





Miss Universe Babies
We Make Our Dreams Come True


Two of our former Miss Universes have given birth in 2025! And it seems these two Miss Universe have more than just a sisterhood connection. One of the former Miss Universes who gave birth was Miss Universe 2017-South Africa's Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters (now Demi-Leigh Tebow) who married to football player, Tim Tebow who is a Caucasian male but was born in the Philippines due to his parents being missionaries so this would likely explain his love of pageant girls as we know how the Filipinos are pageant fanatics so Demi thanked Tim during her farewell walk as Miss Universe in 2018 when she crowned the Philippines' Catriona Gray as Miss Universe 2018. Tim Tebow proposed to Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters on Wednesday, January 9, 2019, at his family's farm in Jacksonville, Florida, and announced the engagement the following day, Thursday, January 10, 2019. The former Miss Universe said 'yes' after Tebow got down on one knee beside a custom-made arch near a small lake on the farm. He got her a very expensive 7.25-carat solitaire ring and as a nice surprise, Tim Tebow flew Demi-Leigh's family and friends from South Africa to Florida to surprise her and also had a serenade performed by South African singer Matthew Mole who performed "The Wedding Song" for the couple after the proposal. The NFL star met Demi-Leigh in 2018 through his annual charity event, Night to Shine looking for someone with a good heart as he was ready to settle down and start a family. Demi-Leigh Tebow and Tim Tebow wed in January 2020 and had a prolonged honeymoon due to the Covid pandemic that year but in the couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Daphne Reign Tebow, on July 6, 2025. The proud parents announced the birth on social media, calling their newborn daughter a "blessing and gift". Daphne's first name, Daphne, holds special meaning as it is named after Demi-Leigh's grandmother-like great-aunt.
Also giving birth this year was Miss Universe 2012-USA's Olivia Culpo who represented Rhode Island and who previously dated Tim Tebow in 2015 so this was an interesting common thread here that Tim ended up having a child with a different Miss Universe. Olivia Culpo gave birth to her baby daughter, Colette Annalise McCaffrey, on July 13, 2025 (just one week after Demi-Leigh's child was born!). She and her husband, Christian McCaffrey, announced the birth of their first child on their respective Instagram accounts on that date. Olivia Culpo and Tim Tebow dated for a brief period in 2015, with reports indicating their relationship ended because of Tebow's refusal to have sex before marriage due to his religious beliefs. While E! News confirmed they were dating, some sources also claimed they had only met through church and social events and never actually had a formal, one-on-one relationship. Olivia Culpo married Christian McCaffrey (who is 4 years younger than Olivia and is also an NFL player like Tim Tebow) on June 29, 2024 in a ceremony at a chapel in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. The couple began dating in 2019 and Olivia Culpo wore a custom Dolce & Gabbana gown with a 16-foot lace veil and the wedding was a classic, traditional, and intimate event, with Christian McCaffrey's wish to marry in a church being a top priority.
Will these precious young baby girls grow up to be Miss Universe winners just like their beautiful Mommies???? I guess we will have to wait approximately 20 years to see!!!





So as of October 9, Tom's tentative top 5 for Miss USA 2025 are:
1. Nevada
2. Texas
3. California
4. Louisiana
5. Maryland

Will my top 5 change over the coming weeks or will they stay the same?
On October 20, I will post a second round of prethoughts with comments on each of the 51 delegates competing for Miss USA 2025 and then after observing the preliminaries on October 22, I will post my final predictions in the morning of October 24 and then later that night is when the new Miss USA is selected. Who will be the chosen one?


Watch Miss USA 2025 on the Queen Beauty Network website http://www.queenbeauty.tv/missusa or download the QBN (Queen Beauty Network) app on October 24 at 5 p.m.(Pacific Standard Time)/8 p.m.(Eastern Standard Time)!