Managing Diabetes
Dexcom CGM for Athletes: Overcoming challenges, inspiring others
Published: Aug. 18, 2025
8 min read
The content in this article should not be taken as medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider regarding your individual health needs.
The last-second buzzer-beater or field goal to win a game, a full-count pitch at the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs or a penalty shoot-out on the pitch to secure the match–college athletes sign up to overcome overwhelming pressure and triumph. Then there’s the physical and mental commitment it takes just to maintain a roster spot, all while balancing academic demands and personal lives. And for college athletes who also live with diabetes, the challenges are often even greater.
Learning to properly manage diabetes is demanding for anyone diagnosed with the condition. Everyone’s body is unique, and it takes time, trial and error, communication with healthcare providers, and focus to figure out a winning formula for diabetes management. But college athletes who have diabetes don’t have the luxury of allowing their condition to become an obstacle to their success. The highest level of competition doesn’t care about glucose spikes or drops, loss of energy, dehydration, headaches, and the like.
That’s why some turn to technology like Dexcom CGM to gain better control of their condition, so they can focus on their dreams. We started the Dexcom U program to recognize and celebrate their resilience and determination.
Smart device sold separately.*
Dexcom U is the first and only NIL program for college athletes with diabetes who break boundaries on the playing field and achieve their goals, despite their diagnoses. Dexcom U athletes use their platforms to break down misconceptions about diabetes and reinforce that their condition does not prevent them from achieving their aspirations. In fact, they embrace the roles they play inspiring and mentoring others with diabetes and seek to actively share their stories.
In 2025, Dexcom U held its first nationwide open call. Our highly competitive process selected the top applicants to join the recently announced newest roster of college athletes with diabetes who are passionate about sharing their stories with others and serving as role models for the next generation.
Let’s hear from some of the newest Dexcom U members about their success with Dexcom G7 continuous glucose monitor, challenges overcome, and passion for encouraging others.
CGM impact on and off the playing field
In the 2024-2025 season, University of Oregon women’s basketball guard
Ari Long twice turned in double-digit scoring efforts and had the most
single-game steals of anyone on her squad, which she helped lead to
the second round of March Madness.
The elite 3-point shooter started using Dexcom G6 almost immediately after her Type 1 diagnosis in April 2019 and now uses Dexcom G7. She said Dexcom has “made a world of difference.”
“It’s constantly connected to my mom's phone,† and we hear all the alerts,” she said. “It's nice, especially on the basketball court, because the arrow that tells you where you're going helps us try to catch the lows or try to eliminate the highs before they happen. And it helps keep my fingers from getting beaten up from all the fingerpricks.‡”
University of Cincinnati sprinter Kya Epps runs the 100m and 200m dashes and the 4x100m and 4x400m relays. She came up from Division II in 2024 and in her first year running track at the university, she made the top 50 and was just one spot away from making nationals. An athlete with speed like hers appreciates efficiency, which is what Dexcom G7 CGM has brought to her routine.
“I can remember before using Dexcom G7 having to set all these alarms in the middle of the night, especially if I was having a rough day and just constantly pricking my fingers,‡ making sure I was OK and then texting to my mom so she knew I was OK,” she said.
“Then, during the day, having to go to a nurse randomly to check my glucose. Now, having my Dexcom CGM data on hand and on my phone has made everything more efficient. With the Share feature and Follow app,† I can share with my mom, who says she doesn’t have to spam me anymore to see if I’m OK. And my trainers can monitor me too.”
Coppin State University right-handed pitcher Jackson Montgomery made 15 relief appearances on the mound in 2024, before sitting out the 2025 season following his Type 1 diagnosis. But after he added Dexcom G7 to his management routine, he said he began to feel mentally and physically stronger and his health improved.
“Dexcom G7 has really helped me understand how my body is when my glucose is low and when it is high,” he said. “My endocrinologist is very proud of me. When I was diagnosed, I dropped to 130 pounds and was in the hospital. Now, I’m back up to 175 pounds, I spend about 80% time in range and I feel amazing. I’m just free to play baseball and live freely again.”
Dexcom G7 offers a 12-hour grace period, faster warm-up time,§ data sharing, Dexcom Clarity and more–a complete tool that helps athletes stay in the game of diabetes management. But all this technology is for naught if it isn’t comfortable to wear and can’t handle the punishment of the highest levels of college competition.
Johns Hopkins University lacrosse defender Mikey Trepeta puts his Dexcom G7 CGM through the ringer constantly, and he found the device is as tough as his sport.
“It's durable,” he said. “I play lacrosse and practices are very physical. I get checked and I get hit and Dexcom G7 held up better than [other CGMs] I tried.”
Dexcom U athletes overcome challenges
Everyone has good days and bad days, and Dexcom U athletes are no different. They also face challenges on and off the field, including struggles with diabetes management. And how they overcome their challenges with diabetes is as inspiring as their athletic exploits.
Mikey recalled struggling to play well through glucose highs and lows during summer lacrosse tournament season and learning a better diet is crucial to his success.
“You need to have good control of your glucose to be able to play at your best, and something I had to conquer was eating correctly,” he said. “I was still young and still eating different types of snacks and candy, but sometimes it's not the right thing. I had to focus on the diet, which helped me physically with diabetes and then physically with my body overall. It helped me elevate myself to a point where I probably wouldn't have been if I didn’t have diabetes–I would have just had whatever I wanted and did whatever I wanted. Diabetes kind of made me even more healthy and more successful. I guess I conquered through discipline!”
Jackson’s diabetes diagnosis knocked him out of the lineup for a full season, and he struggled to adjust to living with diabetes. He felt as if his world was “falling apart” and was “depressed and discouraged” as he wondered if he’d ever play ball again.
“I was down to 130 pounds and I needed to get my weight up because, for one, I wouldn’t be able to throw the ball as hard as I possibly could,” he said. “I overcame that by trying to really learn my body and learn which foods I could eat to gain weight and just get back stronger physically. Dexcom G7 helped me do that.”
He also faced a mental challenge.
“Probably two months in, I had diabetes burnout and I was crying like a baby to my mom, far from home,” he said. “And I feel like I overcame all of that by recognizing where I am now compared with where I was then. Now I'm stronger and healthier than I've ever been. I'm very proud of that, and I'm very happy that this summer I can get back on the field and play this fall for my college team to help them in the best way I possibly can.”
Kya overcame challenges of perception and sometimes ignorance
from others.
“People would judge me, make comments like ‘Oh, you have diabetes and you can't eat sugar,’” she said. “But it’s like, yes, I can! I just have to manage what I eat. I can basically have everything, but I just have to know how much insulin I'm taking for it. There’s a lot of diabetes ignorance, I think, with people who don't know what it is, how it works and the different types. It can be a motivator to me for sure!”
For Ari, challenges have come in the form of having to learn how to advocate for herself. Her mom was her coach from childhood through high school, but she was forced out of her comfort zone with travel ball and a new set of coaches who didn’t understand her needs.
“During some practices I’d have to sit out for a second or eat candy or something at random times,” she said. “This one coach was just having a harder time grasping the fact that I had to have a couple more accommodations than the rest of the team. And that was the first time I really found my voice and stood up for myself like, ‘I need this, and no questions asked. This is just how it is. This is what I have to do.’ That was a big step for me to find my voice. And I realized I needed to be able to advocate for myself, share what diabetes is and help her understand so if she ever coaches another player with diabetes, now she kind of knows a little bit more about how to deal with it.”
Hawai’i Pacific University acrobatics and tumbling base/top/tumbler Breanna Corral-Vargas found her initial challenge with diabetes to be one of connection, seeking community and empathy from others with diabetes. She found it at Nevada’s Camp Buck program.
“It was the best experience ever!” she said. “It was just such a great community to be surrounded by other Type 1 diabetics because in my high school or middle school, I really didn't have anybody that I could relate to. So, it was a great opportunity.”
Dexcom U athletes inspire on and off the field
Dexcom U athletes must not only demonstrate an ability to persevere over challenges, but they must also be willing to share their stories to inspire and help others through supporting and mentoring those with diabetes. And they must stand out for embodying this altruistic spirit.
Breanna turned her challenge of finding connection into an opportunity to support and mentor others with diabetes.
“Once I turned 15, I applied for the counseling training program at Camp Buck, and that was really awesome,” she said. “It helped me develop some better leadership skills and communication skills to be a little more well-spoken about the condition, and I Iearned how to learn and grow with it. After that, I knew I wanted to be a counselor, so I started going back each summer through college.”
Now, she relishes the chance to continue to inspire youngsters with diabetes.
“I think Dexcom U is such a beautiful idea, and it reminds of why I love going to Camp Buck so much–just being able to connect with the younger generation and let them know their dreams are achievable,” she said. “I didn't grow up really with that role model to look up to, especially from a cultural aspect. Not a lot of girls who looked like me were able to go to college or be an athlete. So that's really special and something I hold really close to my heart. Being able to provide that example for the next generation is so special.”
Mikey started an apparel brand and taped “T1D” on his lacrosse helmet to advocate for those who have diabetes. It drew the attention of the Jenison family, whose 12-year-old son is a football and lacrosse athlete who also has diabetes. They reached out online to Mikey, who offered his phone number and began texting the father with advice about how to best support his son as an athlete who has diabetes.
“We ended up setting up a FaceTime call with the whole family, and we talked through everything,” he said. “We had them out for a game against North Carolina and we got to meet in person. They met my parents, who were here for the games, so I'm sure they talked about parenting. I talked to Michael and I gave him my number personally, and then kind of tried to learn about his story and help him with anything.”
Like a big brother who’s already been through the ropes, Mikey helps Michael navigate a path he’s familiar with.
“He’s still young, so he's kind of still a little shy about his diabetes,” he said. “So, I try to show him it's nothing you have to be shy about and people care and want to help you. It’s pretty awesome to see that was like me when I was younger, and that was the first major role I had taken to mentor someone like that. I've chatted with a few other kids, but Michael was the one.”
It's a supportive role he embraces fully.
“A big part of my life is helping people, because I've been through the same thing and still go through it with having diabetes,” he said. “Giving back through that is a big part of what I like to do–and not just with diabetes, but in other ways it can help anyone.”
Jackson is a youth mentor back home in Gary, Indiana, and at Coppin State.
“I am a big proponent of mentorship,” he said. “I want to expand that horizon to people who are diagnosed like I am, because I didn't know anything about diabetes until I was diagnosed. And I didn't know that it was such an epidemic. I want to show other people like me that it is OK. You’ve got this!
You are a human. You are like everybody else. It's going to be OK. I want to show people that and showcase that within my city, nationwide and around the world.”
More confidence for athletes with diabetes
Whether you play sports at a collegiate level, professional level or just in your backyard, having confidence in your diabetes management will help you perform at your best. Dexcom G7 is the most accurate CGM,1 with features that help you manage your glucose levels as you focus on the joy of playing sports.
*Smart device sold separately. For a list of compatible devices, visit www.dexcom.com/compatibility. †Separate Dexcom Follow app and internet connection required. Internet connectivity required for data sharing. Users should always confirm readings on the Dexcom G7 app or receiver before making treatment decisions. Compatible smart devices sold separately. To view a list of compatible devices, visit https://www.dexcom.com/compatibility ‡If your glucose alerts and readings from Dexcom G7 do not match symptoms or expectations, use a blood glucose meter to make diabetes treatment decisions. §Compared to previous Dexcom CGM systems.
1 Dexcom data on file, 2025
BRIEF SAFETY STATEMENT: Failure to use the Dexcom Continuous Glucose Monitoring System and its components according to the instructions for use provided with your device and available at https://www.dexcom.com/safety information and to properly consider all indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions, and cautions in those instructions for use may result in you missing a severe hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) or hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) occurrence and/or making a treatment decision that may result in injury. If your glucose alerts and readings from the Dexcom CGM do not match symptoms, use a blood glucose meter to make diabetes treatment decisions. Seek medical advice and attention when appropriate, including for any medical emergency.