You can’t say people from Cleveland Heights don’t look out for each other.
The 2 most famous Cleveland Heights natives — NFL legends Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce — proved as much recently when they gave a hand up to fellow Cleveland Heights product U.S. Women’s Hockey superstar Laila Edwards ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
“Thanks to an outpouring of donations, including a major push from the hometown NFL brother tandem of Travis and Jason Kelce, they will be making the trip to join Edwards making her Olympic debut at the Milan Cortina Games next week,” AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow wrote on Monday. “A GoFundMe drive launched shortly after Edwards was named to the U.S. roster this month had generated more than $59,000 through Wednesday. The amount surpassed the goal of $50,000, and has the Edwardses making plans to bring up to 14 members of their immediate family, from maternal grandmother Ernestine Gray to Laila’s nephew Shiloh.”
Edwards, 22 years old, is a 6-foot-1 defender and the youngest player to win Tournament MVP at the World Championships, when she led the U.S. to a silver medal in 2024 at 20 years old. She’s also the first Black woman to play for the USA senior women’s team.
Kelce Brothers Both Fans From the Start
The Kelce Brothers first shouted out Edwards on their ultra-popular New Heights podcast in November 2023, when she first made history on the U.S. Women’s National Team.
“When I first made the national team, they shouted me out on their podcast for being the first Black woman to play on team,” Edwards told People Magazine. “I thought, ‘I’ll just message them, thanking them, they’ll never see it,’ and then Travis and I had a full conversation over DM, and that was super cool… he was a really down-to-earth, humble guy who was super supportive and had really good things to say.”
Both Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce both grew up playing hockey in Cleveland Heights before both went on to star at the University of Cincinnati then in the NFL.
While both brothers were preternaturally gifted at sports, even they can’t hold a candle to Edwards’ in terms of being a sports prodigy — she’s more along the lines of Cleveland native and NBA career scoring leader LeBron James when it comes to her sport.
Hockey Prodigy Left Home at 13 Years Old
While the Kelce Brothers famously starred in multiple sports at Cleveland Heights High School, Edwards’ talents led her to Bishop Kearney High School in Rochester, New York, at 13 years old.
She skipped her graduation ceremonies to play in the 2022 U18 World Championships and not only led Team USA to a silver medal but was named Tournament MVP. Edwards was named the National Women’s Player of the Year in 2024 and has been a 2-time All-NCAA Tournament Team pick at the University of Wisconsin.
Team USA Women’s Hockey opens Olympic play against the Czech Republic in the preliminary round (10:40 a.m. EST, USA Network) on Thursday. Medal play begins with the quarterfinals on February 13 and culminates in the gold medal game on February 19.
Team Canada is the defending Olympic champion, defeating Team USA in Olympic finals in 2022. Team USA last won the gold medal in women’s hockey in 2018.
Olympic Hockey Star Laila Edwards Got Big Lift From Kelce Brothers