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Alexa Guarachi Bruner started playing tennis at age 5–both of her parents are teaching pros and were her coaches growing up. Alexa has an older brother named Stefan with Down syndrome who is her inspiration. She played collegiate tennis at the University of Alabama, where she graduated with a degree in Public Relations in 2013 and earned multiple All-America and All-SEC honors. Alexa says that her best tennis memory so far was playing mixed doubles against Serena Williams and Andy Murray on Centre Court at 2019 Wimbledon. She holds dual citizenship in the US and Chile, and she competed in the Pan American Games, was a French Open finalist, and was a US Open semifinalist. Currently, Alexa serves as the Director of Tennis & Pickleball at Watersound Club in Florida.

Mel Reid is a professional golfer from England who has played on both the Ladies European Tour and the LPGA. Mel is an Olympian, has seven professional wins, and is a four-time member of the Solheim Cup for Team Europe. She recently launched a podcast, Quiet Please! With Mel and Kira and is now serving as an analyst for NBCUniversal’s Olympic Coverage and works with Golf Channel.

Tom Grossi is an American YouTube content creator and comedian, that is most well known for being the creator and primary host of Packast. The former high school teacher has been making content since 2015 and has nearly 1M subscribers on YouTube. He has raised over $2,000,000 for various charities and even won 2024 NFL Fan of the Year.

Bank of America’s $5 million grant fuels athlete leadership and inclusivity ahead of the 2026 USA Games

Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers, who attended UNC Wilmington, was the Twins’ second-round draft pick (59th overall) in 2018. Jeffers made his Major League debut on August 20, 2020, and was named the Charles O. Johnson Award winner as the Most Improved Twin in 2023. In 2024, he set career highs in numerous offensive categories including home runs, RBI, runs, hits, and doubles while being named the 2024 Mike Augustin “Media Good Guy” Award, voted on by the Twin Cities chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Beyond his on-field achievements, Jeffers is an active participant in the Minnesota Twins Community Fund, which focuses on empowering youth, fostering belonging, and nurturing the planet, demonstrating his commitment to making a positive impact across Twins Territory.

Boston Scientific will serve as the Official Softball Sponsor of the Games

Gabriela (Gaby) Dabrowski, a professional doubles tennis player from Canada, has ranked as high as World No. 4 (2022) on the WTA and is a 3x mixed doubles Grand Slam champion (2017 Roland Garros and 2019 Australian Open and 2023 U.S. Open). She holds 17 WTA doubles titles, and has competed in three different Olympics Game, including a Bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

In 2026, the Special Olympics USA Games is uniting over 100,000 athletes, coaches, volunteers and fans in Minnesota.

Joe Mauer, the Minnesota native and Minnesota Twins legend, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024 on the first ballot. Joe played 15 years in the Majors for the Twins highlighted by three batting titles (a feat no catcher has ever achieved), an American League MVP, three Gold Gloves, six Silver Slugger Awards, and six All-Star appearances. Joe is the only catcher in history with at least 2,000 hits, a .300+ batting average and a .380+ on-base percentage.