The 2026 Special Olympics USA Games are just one day away! As athletes travel to Minneapolis, I am getting set to cover all the golf and pickleball action on behalf of the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism. This post will be introducing many of the storylines that my coverage will center around, as well as giving you a look at some of the athletes who will be competing across these two sports and the National Sports Center, where both of these events will be taking place. My coverage will primarily focus on Level Five Golf, which consists of 18-hole individual stroke play where some of the strongest adaptive golfers in the country will have the chance to compete for gold. The coverage will also focus on all three events within Special Olympics pickleball.

Scott Rohrer returns to chase fourth gold medal

Much of my previous USA Games golf coverage has focused on the battle for gold between two of the best Level Five golfers in USA Games history: Tyler Lagasse and Scott Rohrer. In 2010, 2014, and 2018, Rohrer won gold each year, with Lagasse trailing right behind for the silver.

In 2018, we followed Rohrer as his USA Games journey was sponsored by the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism. He certainly left his mark on the course, making an impressive chip-in eagle and becoming notorious for his signature “boom!” after nailing big shots. Below is a clip from my upcoming documentary about adaptive golf, Fairways & Futures, that includes a couple of Rohrer’s best shots from 2018:

Tyler Lagasse snapped Rohrer’s gold medal skid in 2022, when Rohrer was not in attendance. This year, Scott Rohrer returns to reclaim his crown at the top of Level Five golf.

Rohrer has competed on national and international stages since his last USA Games appearance. He won a bronze medal at the 2019 World Games in Abu Dhabi before winning a gold medal at the 2024 Special Olympics North America (SONA) Golf Championship.

Since Massachusetts is not sending any Level Five golfers this year, Lagasse will not be back to challenge Rohrer for that spot, making Rohrer’s path to gold easier. We’ll take a look at some of Rohrer’s other competition as this article continues.

STARS Golfers back to contribute in many ways

Many of the Flutie Foundation’s current STARS of the Spectrum golfers met each other and competed in Level Five golf at the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games, including Tyler Lagasse, Matthew Glumac, Peter Condon, Vince Egan, and Ian Kelley. STARS Golf is the Flutie Foundation’s own golf tour. Founded in the years since the 2022 USA Games, it provides a platform for golfers across the country to compete multiple times each year and build camaraderie. While none of those five will be competing in Level Five this time around, STARS Golf will maintain an active presence at these USA Games nonetheless.

STARS Golfer Daniel Steele competed in USA Games golf back in 2022, but he played in the 9-stroke Level Four competition. After spending the last two years as a member of the STARS of the Spectrum Golf Tour, through which he competed against many former Level Five golfers and played many 18-hole rounds, Steele will get his own chance at Level Five on the USA Games stage. Steele additionally documents his golf journey through his Instagram page (@autism_through_my_eyes), which has over 100,000 followers.

While Steele is the only current STARS golfer that will be competing for gold, Vince Egan has also been selected to make the trip to Minneapolis, where he will be serving as a golf rules official. This is a new role for Egan at the USA Games, but he is very excited to begin this new journey.

Pickleball Debuts with Eight States Represented

After appearing as a demo sport in Orlando back in 2022, pickleball is debuting as an official sport at the 2026 USA Games! As a longtime tennis player and current pickleball player, I have decided to include pickleball as a significant part of my 2026 USA Games coverage.

Eight states have sent Special Olympics athletes to compete in pickleball, and that number should only increase in upcoming years. This year, pickleball athletes will be traveling to Minneapolis from:

• Arkansas
• Florida
• Iowa
• Missouri
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia

All USA Games pickleball events are doubles events. There are two unified doubles events (male/mixed and female), in which athletes will be paired with unified partners. In addition, there is a third doubles event in which Special Olympics athletes will partner up with each other.

The Venue: National Sports Center

While some USA Games sports will take place on the University of Minnesota campus, many Special Olympics sports, including golf and pickleball, will take place at a complex in Blaine, MN known as the National Sports Center. Special Olympics bowling, flag football, soccer, and softball will also be hosted there.

Read below for more on the individual venues within the National Sports Center that will host the pickleball and golf competition:

Pickleball: NSC Sports Hall

Four indoor pickleball courts will be set up inside the multi-purpose NSC Sports Hall. According to the National Sports Center website, Sports Hall is equipped for many sports, “including soccer, baseball, softball, lacrosse, football, rugby and ultimate.” The small size of the pickleball courts inside a rather large venue will leave plenty of room for spectators to catch all the action.

Golf: Victory Links Golf Course

Victory Links is the National Sports Center’s on-site 18-hole golf course. The course serves as the host of the PGA Tour’s 3M Open Qualifier Event, which gives amateur golfers a chance to compete in the 3M Open itself at the nearby TPC Twin Cities golf course.

The course has a fairly open layout, more similar to the courses at Orange County in Orlando than Willows Run in Seattle. Trees are a significant obstacle on Hole 2, but do not effect much of the rest of the course. One key difference from Orlando, however, is the lack of water hazards. Only one hole at Victory Links (Hole 10) has a water hazard that affects the tee shot.

Many of the most significant obstacles on the course are mental, as the course is filled with optical illusions that keep golfers on their toes.

Meet the Athletes: Special Olympics Level Five Golf

Familiar Faces

As we mentioned above, 3-time gold medalist Scott Rohrer and STARS golfer Daniel Steele are amongst the Special Olympics athletes competing for gold in Level Five Golf. There are also a handful of other golfers who have returned after competing at the USA Games in 2018 or 2022.

As athletes are divided into divisions, multiple gold medals will awarded within Level Five. Rohrer and Lagasse have combined for the last four golds in Division 1. However, some of the golfers below not only have competed before, but also came away with gold medals of their own.

Brett Geiger, New York	We first saw Brett Geiger at the 2022 USA Games down in Orlando, where his scores of 89 and 83 placed him in the third division of Level Five for the final two days of competition. In this division, STARS golfer Ian Kelley beat Geiger out for the gold, but Geiger came away with the silver. This year, he’ll look to one-up himself and win a gold of his own.
Garrett Stortz, Alaska	Hailing all the way from Alaska, Garrett Stortz did not compete in Level Five down in Orlando, but his experience in this event dates all the way back to 2014, when he won the silver medal in the second division. After another silver at the 2015 World Games, he came home from the 2018 USA Games in Seattle with the second division’s gold medal after shooting an 84, 91, and 87 over the course of the three-day tournament.
Miles Stroud, Texas	Miles Stroud has been a part of Special Olympics for a long time, but like Stortz, we first saw him in action at the Seattle USA Games in 2018, where he won the third division’s silver medal with scores of 92, 101, and 89. He made his debut as a Special Olympics athlete in 2008, and he has one gold medal under his belt already, which he won at the 2012 Special Olympics National Golf Invitational. Can he add another to his resume this year?

The Rest of the Level Five Golfers

Outside of Scott Rohrer, Daniel Steele, Brett Geiger, Garrett Stortz, and Miles Stroud, there are seven other golfers competing in Level Five at the 2026 USA Games. Read below to learn a bit more about each of them:

• Zachary Duncan, North Carolina
  • Competes in Adaptive Golf tournaments multiple times each year
  • Shot a 69 and a 74 for a net 1 under par at the 2024 I GOT This Championship, an adaptive golf event presented by Grant Thornton
• Peyton Mattingly, Texas
  • Joins Miles Stroud to make Texas one of just two states with multiple Level Five golfers
  • See more on Mattingly through this post made by his college about his USA Games journey
• Jeremiah Doane, Tennessee
  • Featured by Special Olympics Tennessee in 2022 when he qualified as a golfer for the Tennessee State Games
  • Shot a 93 in his regional qualifiying round that year
• John “Wake” Mullins, Kentucky
  • Competed in Level Three Golf at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, in which he competed with his stepdad and unified partner Dennis Gaines
  • Together they shot an 87, 86, 83, and 90 over the course of four rounds
  • This year is his first time competing in Level Five and golfing 18 holes individually at the USA Games
• Zachary Lewis, Colorado
  • With Egan officiating, Lewis is Colorado’s only Level Five golfer this year
  • Competed in varsity golf for Chatfield High School in Colorado during his senior year in 2021
• Tyler Tolleson, Kansas
  • One of two Kansas golfers competing in Level Five
  • Selected to compete at SONA Golf Tournament two years in a row
  • Has also competed in six other Special Olympic sports over a 13-year span
• Caleb DeMaio, Kansas
  • The other Kansas golfer competing in Level Five
  • Like Daniel Steele, DeMaio competed in Level Four at the 2022 USA Games ain Orlando (finished with a 237 across 36 holes) and will take on a new challenge by playing full 18-hole rounds this year in Minneapolis

Golf Tee Groups

The tee groups are officially set for the first two days of Level Five golf action. Results from these first two days will determine the official divisions for the medal rounds on Wednesday and Thursday.

• Group #1: Scott Rohrer, Brett Geiger, Jeremiah Doane
• Group #2: Miles Stroud, Wake Mullins, Caleb DeMaio
• Group #3: Zachary Duncan, Zachary Lewis, Tyler Tolleson
• Group #4: Daniel Steele, Garrett Stortz, Peyton Mattingly

Special Olympics Pickleball: A look at the schedule and the athletes competing

Stay tuned for more details on Special Olympics Pickleball later today (June 19th), when the schedule for the first two days and more information about the athletes will be publicized!

I look forward to covering the USA Games throughout the course of this next week. You can check out all my coverage, including daily recaps, through my 2026 USA Games page.