Meet USF’s viral cheerleaders Ashlyn Pinner and Brandon Gray
Ashlyn Pinner and Brandon Gray are not only national champions — they’re also the newest social media sensations.
The two USF cheerleaders have taken the internet by storm after the duo shared a video of their routine on Instagram.
Life has been a “whirlwind” since the video of their routine started being shared — but Gray said he wasn’t expecting it to go viral.
In the video, the duo performs at the Sunshine Sun Battle, a local competition held on March 28.
The duo had already won the competition last year, but Gray said winning this year felt different.
“We just posted it like any other video we had, and all of a sudden it just blew up,” Gray said.
The video of them showing off their incredible routine has gotten over 50 million views and was even reposted by ESPN on TikTok.
Pinner, a senior public health major, is originally from Tallahassee and has been cheering for around 10 years.
USF has been part of Pinner’s journey for the last four years.
Last year, while on the U.S. national team, Pinner won the ICU World Championship.
Gray, a senior from Kentucky, has been cheering since high school.
He said his math teacher, who was also the school’s cheerleading coach, invited him to an open gym — where he “fell in love” with cheer.
Gray said one of his favorite parts about cheer is its family aspect.
“There’s nothing like a cheerleading team, especially here at USF. We’re all so close, everyone gets along and it’s just so much fun,” Gray said.
USF has grown into one of the premier cheer schools with three straight co-ed national championships from 2021 to 2023 and winning the 2025 co-ed gameday national championship in January.
But Pinner said training for a national championship takes a lot of energy and effort.
“We’re in the corral two times every day so that we can prepare ourselves for the national level,” Pinner said.
Training for championships starts early, and Pinner is already getting ready for the 2026 season.
But cheerleaders don’t get to enjoy many breaks.
“We practice all the way through Christmas break, so we don’t get to go home for more than three days for Christmas,” Pinner said. “It takes a lot of hard work and dedication.”
It’s rewarding to have a video of their hard work go viral, and Pinner said her family and friends are all starstruck.
“My family has a group chat, and they call it Ashlyn’s fan club,” Pinner said.
Gray said he is getting recognized “everywhere,” including at the bank on his grandmother’s phone.
“It’s just been absolutely everywhere,” he said. “You would never believe the stuff that’s going on right now, it’s just absolutely amazing.”
Credits:
Anchor: Carter Timmons
Producer: Abigail Saxe
Assistant Producer: Sam Poulin
Camera: Gracie Campbell
Audio: Karli Kibbee
Tech Director: Tatyana Purifoy
Teleprompter: Clara Rokita Garcia
Web Editor: Clara Rokita Garcia
Editor: Paula Sanchez Ruiz and Luana Martins
Graduate Assistant: Grace Ficara
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Stephanie Anderson