Harlyn Quinn Tomlin, better known as Harley Tomlin, is an American college gymnast who competes for the University of Georgia. She is the daughter of former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and fashion designer Kiya Tomlin. In 2026, she earned NCAA Second Team All-America honors on floor, won the NCAA Tempe Regional floor title, and made the All-SEC Team. Her success followed a difficult freshman season that was limited by leg surgery.
In this article, you’ll learn about Harlyn Quinn Tomlin’s family, early gymnastics training, college career, and biggest achievements. You’ll also discover how she returned from surgery, what makes floor her favorite event, and how she balances sports with college life.
Let’s begin with the Pittsburgh athlete who grew up around football but found her own path in gymnastics.
Harlyn Quinn Tomlin Quick Facts
- Full name: Harlyn Quinn Tomlin
- Known as: Harley Tomlin
- Date of birth: May 30, 2006
- Age: 20 years old (October 2026)
- Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- High school: Shady Side Academy
- University: University of Georgia
- College team: Georgia GymDogs
- Major: Advertising
- Father: Mike Tomlin
- Mother: Kiya Tomlin
- Siblings: Dino Tomlin and Mason Tomlin
- Former gymnastics club: Xquisite Gymnastics
- Major achievements: 2026 NCAA Second Team All-America on floor, NCAA Tempe Regional Floor Champion, All-SEC Team
- Academic honors: SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll and SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll
Who Is Harlyn Quinn Tomlin?
Harlyn Quinn Tomlin is a gymnast from Pittsburgh who represents the Georgia GymDogs in NCAA women’s gymnastics. Her university lists her under the name Harley Tomlin, which she uses in competition. She is studying advertising and is listed as a junior on Georgia’s 2027 roster.
Many people first recognize her because of her father, Mike Tomlin. He coached the Pittsburgh Steelers for 19 seasons and led the team to a Super Bowl victory. He stepped down in January 2026 after a long NFL career.
Her mother, Kiya Tomlin, has a background in gymnastics. She competed at William & Mary before building her career in fashion design.
Harley followed a different route from her father and brothers, who played football. She chose gymnastics at a young age and stayed with it through club training, college recruitment, and a demanding NCAA schedule. By her second year at Georgia, she had earned some of the sport’s top college honors.
Growing Up in an Athletic Pittsburgh Family
Sports were a regular part of Harley’s childhood. Her father worked in professional football, while her mother understood the training and demands of gymnastics from her own experience.
As a child, Harley explored several activities before choosing one sport. She played soccer and tennis and also tried track. Gymnastics was the activity that held her interest.
Her older brothers pursued football. Dino played at Boston College, while Mason played at Columbia University. Their different interests gave the family several sports to follow.
Kiya supported her daughter’s training without trying to take over her coaching. Harley explained in a University of Georgia interview that her mother offered advice when asked, but usually allowed her coaches to guide her progress.
Harley also recalled that her mother told her, when she was around 13 or 14, that she had already passed the level Kiya reached in college gymnastics. It was an encouraging moment between a mother and daughter who shared the same sport.
Early Gymnastics Training and Club Achievements
Before joining Georgia, Harley trained at Xquisite Gymnastics. Her youth career included strong results in regional meets and national qualifying events.
She became a two-time member of the Region 7 All-Star team and won all-around championships in 2022 and 2023. She also qualified three times for USA Gymnastics Developmental Program Nationals.
An all-around competition combines results from vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. Success requires athletes to develop skills across all four events rather than rely on one favorite routine.
Those performances helped Harley earn a four-star recruiting rating. They also placed her among the young gymnasts considered for NCAA programs.
She brought both competition experience and national-level qualifications into the college recruiting process. Georgia later highlighted these achievements when announcing her signing in November 2023.
Why Harlyn Quinn Tomlin Chose the University of Georgia
Harlyn Quinn Tomlin committed to the University of Georgia as part of a recruiting class that included Nyla Aquino and Brooke Gleichowski.
The university announced her signing in November 2023, confirming her previous training and competition achievements.
Her decision was shaped by her experience visiting the campus in Athens. She liked the pride surrounding the gymnastics program and the close team environment.
The move also meant competing in the Southeastern Conference, where Georgia regularly faces some of the strongest teams in college gymnastics.
College competition offered something she had not experienced in quite the same way during her club years. Individual routines now contributed to team results, and every lineup spot carried responsibility.
Harley later described reaching the national championships with her teammates as one of the most meaningful moments of her gymnastics career. The shared achievement meant more to her than many of the individual moments from club competition.
Her Freshman Season and Recovery From Leg Surgery
Harley’s first year at Georgia in 2025 came with an unexpected challenge. She was recovering from leg surgery and could not compete in a full range of events.
She appeared in only four meets, all on balance beam. Her college debut took place at Florida, where she scored 9.850. That remained her highest score of the season.
Her average was 9.800 across those four appearances. Although she had limited time in competition, she also earned recognition on the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll.
Returning to gymnastics involved more than regaining physical strength. Harley had to rebuild her confidence and become comfortable performing skills under meet conditions again.
In an April 2026 interview with Georgia Athletics, she spoke about the challenge of getting back into a regular competition rhythm.
She explained that competing more often helped her feel mentally prepared. The increased number of routines gave her experience she had missed during her first year.
Her freshman season was short, but it gave her a starting point for a much stronger return.
The Breakthrough Season That Changed Her College Career
Harley entered the 2026 season ready to take on a larger role for Georgia. She moved beyond beam and became a regular competitor on floor, the event that would bring her the biggest results of her college career.
She competed in all 16 of Georgia’s meets that season. She performed on floor every time and appeared on beam in 15 meets.
Her final season averages were 9.848 on floor and 9.752 on beam. She also recorded nine scores of 9.900 or higher across both events.
Her improvement became clear as the season progressed.
At Arkansas on February 6, she scored 9.925 on floor, breaking the 9.900 mark in that event for the first time in college. She matched that score against Missouri on March 6.
Two days later, she reached a new career high of 9.950 at the Elevate the Stage meet.
Harley also showed progress on beam. At Georgia’s January 30 home meet, she earned a career-best 9.900.
By the end of the season, she had contributed 157.825 points on floor, the fourth-highest total on Georgia’s team. Her results showed how much her role had grown since the previous year.
Winning the NCAA Tempe Regional Floor Championship
One of Harley’s biggest achievements came during the NCAA Tempe Regional in Arizona.
On April 2, 2026, she scored 9.950 on floor in the second round. She then matched that performance in the regional final on April 4.
Her final-round score secured the NCAA Tempe Regional floor championship, the first event title of her college career.
The meet carried added importance because Georgia was trying to qualify for the national championships in Fort Worth, Texas.
The GymDogs earned their place at nationals, and Harley’s floor performance helped support the team’s effort.
A regional championship is not the same as winning an NCAA national title. However, it remains a major achievement because it comes during the postseason, when teams are competing to advance.
For Harley, the victory added an individual honor to a season already filled with personal bests.
Her 2026 All-American and SEC Honors
Harlyn Quinn Tomlin completed her sophomore season with recognition at both the conference and national levels.
At the SEC Championships on March 21, 2026, she scored 9.900 on floor. She tied for second in her session and eighth overall in the event.
That performance helped her earn a place on the 2026 All-SEC Team.
Her season continued at the NCAA national semifinal on April 16. She scored 9.9000 on floor and finished tied for eighth in her session.
The result earned her NCAA Second Team All-America honors on floor. She also recorded 9.7875 on beam during the semifinal.
These awards came from separate competitions. Her All-SEC recognition reflected her performance at the conference championship, while her All-America honor came from the NCAA national semifinal.
Alongside her athletic awards, Georgia named her to the 2025-26 SEC Winter Academic Honor Roll.
Her results showed that she could compete at a high level while continuing her college studies.
Why Floor Exercise Became Her Strongest Event
Floor has become Harley’s favorite event because it allows her to combine athletic skills with performance.
Unlike balance beam, which demands careful movement on a narrow surface, floor gives a gymnast more space to tumble, dance, and connect with the crowd.
Harley enjoys that freedom.
Speaking with Georgia Athletics, she said floor felt natural to her and gave her room to express herself. She described beam as an event that required a more intense level of focus.
Her floor routine also has a personal connection to her family.
Her brother Mason created the music she uses during competition. His involvement gave her a chance to bring his creative work into her athletic career.
Gymnastics floor routines require strength, timing, control, and choreography. Athletes must complete difficult skills while keeping their movements connected to the music.
Harley’s 2026 performances showed how well she could bring those elements together. Her three career-best scores of 9.950 came during the final stretch of her sophomore season.
Building Confidence After a Difficult First Year
Harley’s return from surgery was supported by years of training and the experience she gained through more frequent competition.
She told Georgia Athletics that some of the skills in her beam routine were moves she had practiced since she was around 12 years old.
That long experience helped her trust what she could do when the pressure increased.
Her teammate and roommate, Nyla Aquino, also witnessed her progress.
In Georgia’s April 2026 interview, Aquino spoke about the effort Harley had put into returning after surgery. She was especially happy to see her teammate competing regularly again.
The two gymnasts often performed one after the other on floor. Their friendship added another personal connection to the college experience.
Harley credited increased competition time with helping her feel more comfortable. Instead of judging her recovery by a single score, she could see progress across a full season of meets.
The Tomlin Family’s Unusual Annual Competition
Competition does not end when the Tomlin siblings leave the football field or gymnastics arena.
Harley has shared that she and her brothers take part in an annual family contest called Tomlin of the Year.
Each year, their parents choose which of the three children had the strongest year.
The siblings enjoy the friendly rivalry and all want to receive the title.
The contest reflects a family where the children have pursued different paths. Dino and Mason played college football, while Harley built her career in gymnastics.
Despite the competition, she has described the siblings as supportive of one another.
Her parents have also followed different careers. Mike became one of the NFL’s longest-serving head coaches before leaving the Steelers in January 2026. Kiya built her fashion brand after her own years as an athlete.
Harley’s college achievements give her plenty to celebrate with them, but the family award remains a playful tradition rather than a formal sporting honor.
College Life, Advertising Studies, and Personal Interests
Away from gymnastics, Harley is an advertising major at the University of Georgia.
She also enjoys sewing and making clothes, an interest she developed through her mother.
Kiya runs Kiya Tomlin Fashion, and Harley grew up around her mother’s design work. Learning to sew gave her a creative activity that was separate from sports.
Her friendship with Nyla Aquino offers another glimpse into her daily life in Athens.
During the Georgia interview, Aquino jokingly described Harley’s enthusiasm for a homemade sandwich made with pesto, sourdough bread, and turkey, sometimes with ham.
It was a small but personal detail about their life as college roommates.
Between lectures, training sessions, travel, and competition, Harley has kept interests that have little to do with her family’s football background.
Those details show a student who enjoys creative work, close friendships, and everyday college experiences alongside a demanding athletic schedule.
What’s Next for Harley Tomlin at Georgia?
As of October 2026, Harlyn Quinn Tomlin is listed as a junior on Georgia’s 2027 gymnastics roster.
Her sophomore results have given her a strong foundation for the next stage of her college career.
Her personal bests stand at 9.950 on floor and 9.900 on beam. She has also gained experience in SEC championships, NCAA regional competition, and the national semifinal.
Georgia’s 2027 season will bring another chance to compete, but future scores and awards remain to be earned.
Her next challenge will be to build on the routines and consistency she developed in 2026.
With two college seasons behind her, she has moved from a freshman recovering from surgery to a nationally recognized athlete. What comes next will depend on her health, training, and performances during the new season.
Final Thoughts
Harlyn Quinn Tomlin grew up in a family known for professional football, but her strongest achievements have come in gymnastics.
She arrived at Georgia with an impressive club record, faced a difficult start after leg surgery, and returned to earn major honors during her sophomore season.
Her 2026 floor championship, All-SEC recognition, and NCAA Second Team All-America award are achievements she earned through her own performances.
Her story also includes the people and interests that matter outside competition. She shares a love of gymnastics with her mother, uses music created by her brother, studies advertising, and enjoys making clothes.
At 20, Harley has already experienced both setbacks and success in college sports. Her next season offers the chance to add new achievements to a career that is still developing.
For readers who first knew her as Mike Tomlin’s daughter, her results at Georgia offer another reason to know her name.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Harlyn Quinn Tomlin the same person as Harley Tomlin?
Yes. Harlyn Tomlin uses Harley Tomlin as her competition name. The University of Georgia introduced her as Harlyn “Harley” Tomlin in its November 2023 signing announcement.
How old is Harlyn Quinn Tomlin in 2026?
She is 20 years old as of October 2026. Her birthday is May 30, 2006, according to her official Georgia athletics biography.
What is Harley Tomlin’s best gymnastics score?
Her highest recorded college floor score is 9.950, achieved three times during the 2026 season. Her career-high balance beam score is 9.900.
Did Mike Tomlin’s daughter win an NCAA national championship?
No. Harley won the floor championship at the 2026 NCAA Tempe Regional and received NCAA Second Team All-America honors at the national semifinal. Those are separate achievements from an NCAA national championship.
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