Story and Photography by Shanice Hernandez

WOMEN’S SPORTS IS HAVING A MOMENT, AND EL PASO LOCAL, LANEAH BRYAN IS DETERMINED TO MAKE HISTORY.

If you haven’t heard yet, flag football is officially headed to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. El Paso’s own Laneah Bryan is already fighting for a spot in history. Now in her third year with USA Flag Football, Bryan’s focus is clear: make the Olympic roster and help define a brand-new era for women in the sport.

“It’s surreal honestly. I have always had such an admiration for the Olympics so now knowing I have an opportunity to make that Olympic roster, it’s a dream come true. The Olympics is the pinnacle of sports and I’m so excited that flag football will be a part of it. Now this next generation of girls are going to see what’s possible.”

Momentum is moving fast. In January flag football was added to the NCAA’s Emerging Sports for Women Program. There were 40 NCAA schools with women’s flag football teams as of 2025 and that number is projected to grow to 60 competing this spring. The University of Nebraska announced the first new sport program added since beach volleyball in 2013 is women’s flag football aimed to start in Spring of 2028.

Women and girls are driving the fastest growth in flag football right now. Do you feel that momentum when you step on the field?

“Yes. Everyone is so excited about flag football and it’s amazing to see and feel. People watch us play and they are in awe. People hear about flag [football], but when they get to see us step on that field they get a different appreciation for what we do.”

Before flag football, Laneah Bryan played a decorated high school and college basketball career. Bryan averaged 20.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.5 steals during her senior season at Franklin High School, which earned Bryan a scholarship at the University of New Mexico where she played in 121 career games.

When asked whether her move into flag football felt like a reinvention or continuation she confidently states, “A continuation.”

What from basketball still shows up in your game today?

“If we are talking physical abilities, I’d say change of direction, hand eye coordination and defense in basketball is pretty similar to defense in flag football.

But more importantly, Bryan adds, is how basketball helped her mentally for flag football.

“I learned how to mentally prepare myself and I learned what I need to do to put myself in the best mental state to perform. I still have my battles, but I’ve learned how to prepare myself for that part of the game, which is so important.”

College was a period of growth, not only physical growth, but also psychological. “Lessons from sports translate to everyday life,” she says. “What I learned in college basketball has been instrumental to my success in flag football.”

The first moment Bryan realized that USA football was not just something she was trying out, but instead going to be great at, was during her first year at USA trials.

“Being in that atmosphere of the best players in the country is a different feeling. Something I hadn’t experienced before and in that moment I knew I wanted to be the best. I knew I was going to give this game my all.”

Laneah Bryan made her international debut in 2023 at the International Federation of American Football Americas Continental Flag Football Championship in Charlotte, NC and helped the USA team win gold over Mexico. The following year in 2024, Bryan won her second gold at the IFAF World Championship against Mexico.

After the IFAF World Championship game, you were quoted saying, “It was the most fun game [I’ve] ever played in.” Why was that?

“That game was just so intense. What’s so beautiful about sports is that you get tested time and time again. We had to overcome adversity in that game and we were able to come out on top.”

In addition to representing the USA on the national flag team and training for the 2028 Olympics, Bryan is co-owner of MountainStar Solar and G.O.A.T. Roofing and Construction in El Paso.

Is that ambition or is that just how you’re wired?

“I think it’s just how I’m wired. I can’t help it. I love pushing myself and trying to be the best versions of myself in whatever I do.”

And when you watch her play, that part is obvious.

“You’d immediately see my passion,” she says. “You’d see that this sport means the world to me and I am going to give it all I have.”

Do you think you’re more motivated by proving something or building something?

“Building something for sure. I never feel like I have to prove anything to anyone. I’d rather spend my time and energy building something because that’s something no one can take from you. Especially through the USA process. It’s brutal, but it’s made me really proud of myself and who I have become and that’s something no one can take from me.”

Bryan is one of three women in the USA to be the first to have a sponsorship from Under Armour for women’s flag football, and another humble brag is having her own wikipedia page, she laughs.

When young girls tell her they want to play football because of her, everything stops.

“Those are the moments that mean the most to me. That’s my “why” and that’s what we do it for. The medals and all that is great, but what’s more meaningful is having a positive impact on the next generation. Especially in football. I’m so happy they have women to look up to now and they have that representation.”

Her path to the Olympics means beating a 0.0000017% chance of becoming an Olympic athlete. But even rarer is becoming part of the first women’s flag football team in Olympic history.

When people look back at this era of women’s flag football, what do you hope your name represents?

“I hope my name represents determination, hard work and kindness. What we are doing with flag football right now is so much bigger than myself. I hope to leave a lasting legacy.