66 to Head to Minneapolis as Part of New Look Team Kentucky
In a video that included college coaches, high school coaches, world champions, professional athletes and even the Governor of Kentucky, Special Olympics Kentucky announced the 66 athletes, Unified partners, coaches, mentors and caddies who will represent the state at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minneapolis. The team includes 37 athletes, eight Unified partners, 18 coaches, two caddies and one adult mentor. Kentucky athletes will compete in artistic gymnastics, bocce, bowling, flag football, golf, swimming, track and field and – for the second consecutive USA Games – Unified basketball.
Team Kentucky will include representatives of 20 different counties, including the first-ever Team Kentucky members from Garrard County in Unified bocce pair Megan Dineen and her partner and mom Lesley Dineen from Paint Lick, from Spencer County with swimmer Carson Chaney, from Muhlenberg County in Hunter Gamble and Katie Williams who will compete as part of the Team Kentucky flag football team and from Washington County as Springfield’s Amos Luckett will compete with the Unified basketball team. Other delegation members come from Bowling Green, Lexington, Louisville, Murray, Northern Kentucky and Owensboro as well as Bourbon County, Bullitt County, Franklin County, Hancock County, Madison County, Ohio County, Oldham County, Scott County and Woodford County.
In addition to the sports events, Team Kentucky will include a trio participating in the Youth Leadership Experience for the third time. This year’s group is from two-time National Banner Award recipient Bullitt East High School. Olivia Pruitt is the athlete representative; Mya Hetler is the Unified Partner and Bullitt East Assistant Principal Ondrea Smallwood will be their adult mentor. It is the first trip to the USA Games for all three of them.
The experience level on Team Kentucky will range from Russellville gymnast Lee Dockins – who will be competing at her fifth USA Games – to the 24 athletes who will be experiencing their first USA Games. Among the eight Team Kentucky Unified partners going to the Games, only bocce partner Jeff Thompson of Rockport has been to a USA Games in the past. He and his son Brett claimed a fourth-place finish at the 2018 Games in Seattle. The pair will be competing together again in Minneapolis. Gymnast Aliya White from Paris, golfer Wake Mullins from Lexington, swimmer Justin Hale, and basketball players Walt Drake and Jennifer Hamilton will each be competing in their third USA Games. For the first time since the first USA Games in 2006, the Team Kentucky track contingent won’t have any athletes who have competed at the USA Games before. Of the 18 Team Kentucky coaches, 12 have previous USA Games experience, including Assistant Head of Delegation Kim Satterwhite, gymnastics coach Mary Fehrenbach and AS Coach (Media) Mark Buerger who have been to every previous USA Games. Six are first timers.
Several members of the delegation are making return trips to the USA Games, but in much different roles. Golf Unified partner James Cheely is competing at the Games for the first time, but he was at the 2022 Games in Orlando cheering on his sons Bryan and Unified partner Kevin who won a silver medal at those Games. He also travelled to the 2018 Games to support Barren County bowler Daniel Williams. Dennis Gaines has competed at the USA Games twice before as a Unified partner with golfer and stepson Wake Mullins. The pair won a bronze medal in 2018 and a silver in 2022. But this time Wake is competing as an individual athlete and Dennis will be his caddie. AS Coach (Family Services) Michaele Roy will be part of the official Team Kentucky delegation for the first time, but she went to the 2018 and 2022 USA Games to cheer on her daughter Caitlin who medaled at both Games.
In addition to announcing the team, the video unveiled a complete rebranding of Team Kentucky with all new colors and a new logo. The colors change from maroon and gray to green and blue. The original Team Kentucky colors were a nod to Eastern Kentucky University, which hosts the program’s State Summer Games every year. The new colors are intended to be representative of the entire state with the green mimicking Kentucky bluegrass, and the blue is the shade of blue from the Kentucky State flag. The new Team Kentucky logo includes a horse and horseshoe as a nod to the state’s signature business.
Visit the Team Kentucky Spirit Shop
After the 2022 Games were held primarily at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World, the 2026 Games return to their roots on a college campus. Most of the venues for the Games will be on the University of Minnesota campus. Other events will be held at the National Sports Center in nearby Blaine, Minn. Previous USA Games were held at Iowa State University; the University of Nebraska; the College of New Jersey, Princeton and Rider Universities; and the University of Washington.
“We’re so excited to have the opportunity to send such an outstanding group to the USA Games,” said Special Olympics Kentucky CEO Angie Cruse-Tinch. “The USA Games gives our athletes a unique opportunity to show their abilities on a national stage as well as to make friends from across the country. I’m personally excited to experience the USA Games for the first time and cheer on this great group. We’re also looking forward to the new look for Team Kentucky and seeing these athletes take the field in uniforms that truly represent our entire state.”
Kentucky athletes have a history of success at the USA Games. Since the Games began in 2006, Team Kentucky athletes have captured almost 200 USA Games medals, including 32 in the 2022 Games. In 2006 Taylor Mill athlete Matt Minning was presented the first gold medal in USA Games history after winning his division of the 10,000 meter run on the first day of the Games.
The total cost of sending Team Kentucky to the 2026 USA Games is expected to approach $100,000. For information about how you can help sponsor the team or to make a donation, contact Angie Cruse-Tinch at 502-695-8222 or atinch@soky.org.
The 2026 USA Games are the sixth such games in Special Olympics history. Past USA Games were held in 2006 in Ames, Iowa; 2010 in Lincoln, Neb.; in 2014 in New Jersey; in 2018 in Seattle; and in 2022 in Orlando.
The 2026 Special Olympics USA Games will take place from June 20-26, 2026. They will include more than 3,000 athletes and 1,500 coaches representing all 50 states. The event will be supported by a dedicated team of 10,000 volunteers.
Meet Team Kentucky
Team Kentucky Unified Basketball
Team Kentucky Youth Leadership Experience