Just twelve months ago, O’Mariah Gordon was directing plays as Florida State’s point guard during their NCAA Tournament run.
Today, the 5-foot-5 graduate student has completely switched gears, trading basketball courts for football fields at Warner University in Florida. Gordon has swapped shooting baskets for intercepting passes and covering receivers, opening up an unexpected pathway that could lead her to Germany this summer as part of the 2026 Team USA flag football squad for world championships. The ultimate goal? Making the Olympic team when flag football debuts at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Gordon isn’t alone in this athletic transformation. Loryn Goodwin, who was selected by the Dallas Wings in the second round of the WNBA draft, has also shifted her focus from the hardwood to the gridiron.
Because flag football remains such a developing sport, USA Football is actively recruiting talent from various athletic backgrounds. Both Gordon and Goodwin received invitations to training camps scheduled for this spring in Chula Vista, California. Their career changes may signal the beginning of a broader movement, with athletes transitioning from basketball courts, soccer fields, volleyball courts, and track venues to flag football.
“Friends that I have played basketball with are asking me, ‘How did you get into this? How did you start?’” Goodwin explained. The multi-school veteran who competed at North Texas, Butler, UTSA and Oklahoma State, where she received All-Big 12 recognition, added: “Anybody can play. To be elite, you’ve just got to put the time in.”
The transition from basketball to flag football makes sense given the overlapping skills. Rebounding translates well to timing passes, while defensive awareness and hand-eye coordination remain crucial in both sports. Additionally, both games feature 5-on-5 action with quick directional changes.
These transferable abilities have served Team USA receiver and defensive back Isabella “Izzy” Geraci well, as she’s become one of the world’s premier players after her basketball stint at Cleveland State and USC Upstate. She anticipates athletes of various sizes eventually joining flag football ranks.
“With the pace the sport’s going, there may be a lot of women who are interested in joining the game,” Geraci said, referencing her final 2022-23 season at USC Upstate where she started every game. “Some of those women may be 6-5, 6-6 — your freak athletes.”
Gordon concluded her Florida State career having accumulated over 1,000 points and earning All-ACC recognition. She believed her competitive sports days were behind her until a chance encounter at a Tampa sneaker convention last summer with Warner coach Tim Mimbs. Though she had some flag football experience in high school, it wasn’t recent.
“He’s like, ‘Want to give flag football a try again?’” Gordon recalled. “I took a chance on myself and here we are.”
Currently excelling as both a receiver with six touchdown catches and a safety with seven interceptions (two returned for scores), Gordon is simultaneously pursuing her master’s in business administration.
Gordon impressed at last week’s U.S. national team trials, earning her training camp invitation alongside Goodwin for April and May sessions. The men’s side saw Heisman winner and former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III make the cut, while 66-year-old Hall of Famer Darrell Green’s comeback attempt fell short.
Following the dual training camps, selected participants will advance to a third camp in June. USA Football will then announce both the 2026 alternate players and the final 12-person rosters for men’s and women’s teams, continuing the talent identification process leading up to the Summer Olympics.
An Instagram video showcases Goodwin’s natural pass-catching ability during a backyard family game several years ago. Despite tight coverage from her college quarterback brother TJ, she broke free and secured a spectacular one-handed catch while tumbling to the ground.
Football runs in Goodwin’s family. Her brother Jayden played defensive back at Air Force, while cousin Marquise competed as an NFL receiver.
Though she played flag football as a child, Goodwin gravitated toward basketball and moved between colleges multiple times – “before transferring was cool,” she joked – due to coaching changes, family circumstances, and staff turnover. She found her ideal situation at Oklahoma State, averaging 20.6 points during the 2017-18 season when the Cowboys reached the NCAA Tournament’s second round.
Dallas selected Goodwin 18th overall, and she spent time with both the Wings and Los Angeles Sparks. Her professional basketball career included European play, which ended when she suffered a foot fracture.
That’s when flag football entered the picture.
A friend connected the 32-year-old Goodwin with a Florida team, though she didn’t realize it was an elite all-star squad.
“I was playing at the very highest level right off the bat with zero experience,” Goodwin reflected. “That’s wild to think about.”
That experience prepared her for this opportunity – a shot at making this year’s Team USA roster and potentially the Olympic team down the line.
“I’ve put,” Goodwin concluded, “everything into this.”
