Eastern Michigan announces first wave of women's flag football signees
EMU is launching flag football as a women's sport in the spring of 2027, and head coach Jesse Siordia has quickly moved to sign six players — all with some familiarity.
Eastern Michigan’s flag football program on Wednesday via Instagram announced six initial signees for the inaugural 2027 squad, featuring a number of players coming over from the reigning national champions.
In total, five of the six signees played at Siena Heights, the 2026 national champions in flag football coached by now-EMU head coach Jesse Siordia.
The other signee, Lauren Hammond, is from Howell and recently graduated from Charyl Stockwell Prep Academy. She had previously been recruited by Siordia while he was head coach at Siena Heights. Hammond is one of three signees who comes from Michigan, originally. Two are from Arizona and one is from Florida.
Here’s a quick run down on the six new signees.
Cam Cherry, DB/R, Siena Heights; Highland Park, MI (Redford Union HS)
Cherry graduated from Redford Union in 2025, where she also played power forward on the basketball team and did the shot put for the track team.
At 5-foot-9, Cherry brings decent size to the field and had a sack across her two appearances in 2026 as a true freshman for Siena Heights. She also logged two carries
Jordan Bailey, RB/C/LB, Siena Heights; Fort Lauderdale, FL (Piper HS)
A sophomore for Siena Heights this past season, Bailey appeared in 12 games and contributed on both sides of the ball, taking hand-offs and catching passes out of the backfield while also registering a smattering of tackles.
Bailey also returned a handful of punts.
Adrian Griffin, WR/DB, Siena Heights; Marana, AZ (Marana HS)
Griffin starred as a true freshman this past season, particularly on defense with a trio of interceptions in 15 games and 35 total tackles.
She also caught 86 passes for 727 yards and nine touchdowns. She’ll immediately step in as the go-to option for the EMU offense as a sophomore.
Adel Hoglund, LB, Siena Heights; Davisburg, MI (Holly HS)
Hoglund had an eye-popping trio of interceptions as a true freshman in 2025 and came back with one interception and heavily increased her tackling production, registering 13 in eight games.
She’ll be a junior and leader on the defense for EMU for the first season.
Lauren Hammond, ATH; Howell, MI (Charyl Stockwell Prep Academy)
So far the lone true freshman for 2027, Hammond was pursued by Siordia and Co. to play at Siena Heights until he took the job at Eastern Michigan (with Siena Heights shuttering as a college.)
At 5-foot-3, Hammond is likely to be a receiver or running back and likely a defensive back for the Eagles, covering ground and making plays in space.
Breana Saunders, ATH, Siena Heights; Goodyear, AZ (Millennium HS)
A wideout and linebacker per the Siena Heights roster for 2026, Saunders played plenty of quarterback, too, and likely could for the Eagles. She accounted for more than 600 all purpose yards and threw for another 1740, but did have 21 interceptions to 20 touchdowns.
Saunders also produced big-time on defense, hauling in four interceptions with 37 tackles. She’ll be a key player for the Eagles in Year 1.
