Must-Read Queer YA Sports Romances

Representation: F/F

Sport(s): Track

Cross-country runners Taylor and Marianna were best friends once. They were running partners, confidants, almost sisters. But then Marianna moved away, and Taylor ghosted her. Now, Marianna is back, and they’re running on the same team, but it’s nothing like it was before. Everything is a competition and a reminder of the past, one Marianna is still running from, and one Taylor doesn’t give herself time to think about. You can only outrun the past for so long, though, and when it catches up with, them Taylor and Marianna will have to face everything they were before—and everything they still could be.

Representation: M/M; trans protagonist

Sport(s): Football

Jeremy Harkiss, cheer captain and student body president, isn’t about to let coming out as trans ruin his senior year. Nope. Instead, he’s going to challenge his ex-boyfriend, Lukas, for the title of Homecoming King. Lukas is just trying to put his life back together after the loss of his older brother and Jeremy, who broke his heart right before coming out as trans over email. Now his ex wants to steal his title, too? No way. As both boys take the rivalry a little too far, they begin to realize that they may be fighting the wrong battle. After all, Lukas doesn’t really understand why Jeremy broke up with him in the first place. Maybe it’s not too late to figure out a new kind of love.

Representation: F/F

Sport(s): Football and cheer

When the beloved high school quarterback dies in a car accident, Jack is brought in to take his place on the team. Amber and the rest of the cheer squad are a bit dubious, wondering how to keep cheering after such tragedy. But when it turns out Jack is short for Jaclyn, the entire school turns on their newest football player. Jack never wanted to make waves; she’s just trying to do her best playing the sport she loves. The cheerleaders are determined to take her down, though. As Amber and Jack grow closer, she’ll have to decide whether to side with her squad or the girl who’s winning her heart.

Representation: M/M; trans main character

Sport(s): Soccer

When bullying made life almost impossible at his old school, Spencer moved to Oakley, one of the most liberal private schools in Ohio. Here, his classmates are more accepting, and he’s actually got a shot at a starting position on the soccer team. Not only that, but one of his teammates is becoming something more than just a friend. But when a discriminatory new law forces Spencer’s coach to bench him for the “F” on his birth certificate, he has an awful choice to make: accept what’s happened and cheer on his team from the sidelines or fight back against the rule, even if it means outing himself to everyone.

Representation: F/F; trans love interest

Sport(s): Cheer

Annie and BeeBee were best friends once, but they’ve grown apart. When Annie’s told she has to join an extracurricular activity to look good on her college applications, though, they’re suddenly back in each other’s orbit. After all, Annie doesn’t want to put in any more effort than she has to, and cheerleading is obviously the easiest sport, right? Maybe not. She soon learns there’s more to cheer—and BeeBee—than she realized.

Representation: M/M

Sport(s): Soccer

Sebastian Hughes, star goalie of the Bloomington Lions, is ready for an incredible senior year. But when his estranged childhood best friend, Emir Shah, shows up for summer training, he realizes the fate of his team may rest with a guy who hates him. To save the team, Sebastian has to win back Emir’s trust. Over the course of sweaty practice sessions and weekend hangs, he begins to realize that newfound trust may be turning into something more.

Representation: F/F

Sport(s): Roller derby

Daya Wijesinghe has been chasing bruises ever since the car accident that killed her parents and left her alive. When she discovers the wild and rowdy world of roller derby, it seems like the perfect way to keep the bruises coming and the pain at bay. But roller derby also means teamwork and sportsmanship and letting people in again—all things Daya has avoided. Will the women on the team be able to show Daya there are other ways to be strong?

This book deals with intense themes around grief, trauma, and self-harm. Daya is still in high school, but is eighteen, and most of the other characters are in their early twenties, so this one skews a bit more new adult than YA in some regards.

Representation: M/M

Sport(s): Soccer

Julián only has to make it a few more months to graduation, and then he can leave Corpus Christi, Texas behind for UCLA. Soccer and dreams of California are just about the only things getting him through the wait. But when he drunkenly comes out on Twitter, he’s suddenly forced to become his full, authentic self before he was ready. His one solace is Mat, his online crush who slides into his DMs after Julián comes out. Mat almost makes the impossible feel possible. But when all of Julián’s worst fears about coming out become reality, the one person he wants support from more than anyone else is fifteen hundred miles away.

Representation: M/F; bisexual main character and bisexual love interest

Sport(s): Dance / ballet

When Aisha decides to switch to her best friend’s performing arts school, she’s hoping that the all discrimination she’s faced as a Black dancer will be a little better here. But it’s not. On top of that, there’s a growing distance between her and Neil that was never there before. They’re closer than ever, yet they’ve never been farther apart. With friend troubles, doubts about her dance career, a blossoming new romance, and mounting pressure from her family, will Aisha be able to find all the right moves to make it through her new high school without crumpling under the pressure?

Disclosure: Maya Ameyaw and I are represented by the same literary agent.

Representation: M/M

Sport(s): Soccer

Theo and Gabi may play on the same soccer team, but that doesn’t mean they’re friends. Considering Gabi has lost the team more games than Theo can count, he can’t wait to get away from the team, his parents’ Asian American café, and the entire state of Vermont for college. Gabi is only playing soccer to hide his love of dance and getting the cold shoulder for it from the only openly gay kid at school, to boot. Of course, Theo doesn’t know Gabi’s gay. He’s still hopelessly in the closet. But when a new fusion restaurant threatens both of their families’ small businesses, they realize the only way to save the restaurants—and their dreams for the future—is to team up. It turns out, off the soccer field, they actually make a pretty good pair.

Representation: F/F

Sport(s): Basketball and cheer

Scottie Zajac is having a very bad day. After losing spectacularly in a game against her ex-girlfriend, she gets in a fender bender with popular mean girl, Irene. Even worse, their moms force them to carpool together until Irene’s car can get fixed. The forced proximity isn’t exactly leading to friendship, but when Scottie sees an opportunity to get back at her ex and maybe climb a few rungs of the social ladder at the same time, she ropes Irene into her scheme. Let the fake dating hijinks and high school drama begin!

Representation: F/F

Sport(s): Baseball

A baseball pitcher and a student umpire fall for each other in this sweet YA romance from the author of Some Girls Do and Melt With You. June is a star pitcher with a big ego and an overuse injury she’s hoping to play through long enough to make it at the college level. Ivy may only be a student umpire for now, but she has plans of officiating professionally one day. So when Ivy throws June out of a game for showboating, they get off to a rocky start. But it doesn’t take long for enmity to turn to friendship and something even more. The rules prohibit players and umpires from dating, though. Is following their hearts worth risking their dreams?

Representation: M/F; bisexual love interest

Sport(s): Ice hockey

A hockey player working on her anger issues and a sweet, nerdy theatre kid make waves when they start spending more time together. Alix needs help keeping her temper in check after her coach threatens to bench her for fighting a teammate, and Ezra has a seemingly endless supply of cool. Alix and Ezra aren’t a pair anyone saw coming. Not only are they seemingly opposites, everyone—even Alix—thought Ezra was gay. But the more time they spend together, the closer they get. It turns out Alix’s growing crush might not be quite so unrequited after all.

Representation: F/F

Sport(s): Ice hockey and figure skating

When hockey star Charlie Porter misses the shot that would’ve earned her the Winthrop Cup and inadvertently starts a brawl with a rival school, her hopes of a scholarship are wrested from her grasp along with her place on the hockey team. Now, she’s stuck sharing a rink with perfectionist ice princess Alexa Goldstein. When Alexa’s ice skating partner suffers an injury, her Olympian mother offers Charlie a deal: fill in during Alexa’s practices and she’ll get Charlie her spot back on the hockey team. As Charlie learns more about ice skating and Alexa, her feelings thaw. Maybe this ice princess isn’t so cold after all.

Representation: F/F

Sport(s): Field hockey

For Evelyn, there’s nothing more serious than field hockey. She’s ready to leave it all out on the field, lead her varsity team to a national title, and follow in her mother’s footsteps at her alma mater. When a new recruit on the rival team starts to get under her skin, a series of pranks leads to some trouble for both teams. Evelyn and Rosa eventually agree to set aside their differences and help each other practice to shore up their weaknesses on the field. Rosa’s not just getting under Evelyn’s skin anymore, though she’s starting to break past all her carefully built defenses. Could falling for her biggest rival be a dream come true, or will it derail all her goals for field hockey and the future?

Representation: M/M

Sport(s): Ice hockey

This delightful webcomic turned graphic novel is truly a must-read for anyone who loves sports romance. Check, Please follows Eric Bittle, AKA Bitty, a former figure skating baker from Georgia and the newest freshman hockey player at Samwell University. His fellow teammates aren’t exactly sure what to make of him at first, but he soon wins them over with his fresh pastries and endless charm. His hockey skills, though? Those leave something to be desired. Especially where checking is concerned. Maybe some extra practice with his very handsome team captain, Jack, wouldn’t hurt. Bitty’s certainly willing to give it a try!