Grace Harbaugh played water polo at the University of Michigan. She is the daughter of NFL coach Jim Harbaugh and Miah Harbaugh. Her full name is Jessica Grace Harbaugh. Born on June 27, 2000, she is 26 as of November 2026. After four years on the Michigan team, she earned a master’s in management. In 2026, she joined the PGA TOUR in Player Relations and Special Programs.

In this article, you’ll learn about her family, her early life by the beach, her time on the Michigan team, her love of art, and her move into the sports business world.

A California Childhood in a Football Family

Grace Harbaugh was born in San Diego and grew up in Coronado, a beach town in California. She loved to swim and surf. Her dad made his name in football, but she found her own sport in the water.

Her parents are Jim Harbaugh and his first wife, Miah. Her brothers are Jay and James. Jay became a football coach. James has worked in theater and as a flight attendant. Her four younger half-siblings are Addison, Katherine, Jack and John. They are the children of Jim and his wife, Sarah Feuerborn Harbaugh.

Football was still hard to miss. Jim played quarterback at Michigan before becoming an NFL player and coach, and the family’s ties to the Wolverines stretch back to Grace’s grandfather, Jack Harbaugh. As a child, she attended football activities with her dad, even taking part in drills at his camps. Those memories later became stories she shared when talking about growing up around the sport.

But her family name did not choose her sport for her. Grace Harbaugh made her own way in the pool and reached Division I college water polo.

How Swimming and Surfing Led to Water Polo

Finding a Team Sport in Coronado

She swam and surfed long before she went to Michigan. She first tried surfing in fifth grade and went on to take part in contests. Her surf coach, Stan Searfus, helped her grow to love the sport.

Surfing gave her time on the ocean. Water polo offered a team, fast play and a chance to build new skills. She took up the game in her early teens and soon made it her main sport. Surfing stayed a way to relax.

She played for Coronado Aquatics Club and went to Coronado High School. She finished high school in 2019. As a senior, she captained the team, which placed third in CIF play. In 2017, she won the Islander Sports Foundation Award for her conduct as a teammate.

Choosing Michigan for Herself

Her family’s strong Michigan ties made the university familiar, but joining its water polo program was a choice she worked toward. A visit to a Michigan water polo camp helped her picture herself on the team. She later drew interest from the coaching staff and committed after an official campus visit.

The appeal went beyond football Saturdays. The teammates she met, the school’s academics and the chance to compete at the highest level of college water polo all mattered. When she arrived in Ann Arbor in 2019, she was stepping into an athletic program of her own.

Four Seasons in the Michigan Pool

Grace Harbaugh played for the Wolverines from 2020 through 2023, wearing No. 4 as an attacker. Her University of Michigan athlete profile lists 56 games, 12 goals, 14 assists and 26 total points across her college career. She also recorded 13 steals. Her listed height was 5 feet 7 inches.

Her freshman season was cut short when COVID-19 ended play before the conference schedule began. She made her college debut against Wagner and scored her first goal against Iona.

Grace Harbaugh played nine games in 2021 and 20 in 2022. That second year, Michigan won the CWPA title and reached the NCAA quarterfinals. She was part of the team for both events.

Her Strongest Statistical Season

In 2023, her senior season, she appeared in 21 games and produced five goals and nine assists. That gave her 14 points, the highest total of her four seasons. She also made 10 steals that year.

One of her best single-game performances came against Salem University on March 4, 2023, when she recorded four points. Her numbers show a player whose work included creating scoring chances for teammates, not just finishing them herself.

She did well in class, too. Her honors include the ACWPC All-Academic team, CWPA Scholar-Athlete status and a Michigan Academic Achievement Award. She was also named Academic All-Big Ten twice. Each award came while she had to balance classwork with practice and games.

Art History, Business School and a New Direction

A Creative Interest Beyond Athletics

The pool was only one part of her college life. Grace studied art history as an undergraduate and had enjoyed drawing and painting since childhood. In a Michigan athletics feature, she recalled that her grandmother encouraged her interest in art by giving her supplies when she was young.

Her creative interests included portraits and other two-dimensional artwork. She was also curious about how art could help people express feelings. That background later sat alongside a growing interest in media, branding and the business of sports.

Grace Harbaugh earned her bachelor’s degree in 2023, then stayed at Michigan for one more year. She went to the Ross School of Business for a Master of Management degree. The school listed her in its 2024 graduation program.

Why She Did Not Play a Fifth Season

College athletes affected by the pandemic had access to an extra season of eligibility. Grace Harbaugh chose not to use hers. In a 2026 conversation on the Hail to Her podcast, she explained that four years of water polo felt like the right ending to that part of her life.

The decision opened up time for other interests at Michigan. During her graduate year, she became involved with WOLV-TV and hosted Beyond the Game, a segment about the lives of Michigan students and athletes away from competition.

She also got to watch more Michigan football. The 2023 team went on to win the national title in January 2024, giving her family a rare shared moment on the field.

Building a Career on the Business Side of Sports

Grace Harbaugh’s early career crossed several parts of the sports industry. She worked in community relations with the Detroit Lions and later gained experience in digital sports media, including a social media role with Fangirl Sports Network.

She also worked in marketing and brand partnerships at United Talent Agency. Those roles connected her background as a college athlete with the ways teams, talent and media organizations engage with audiences.

Joining the PGA TOUR in 2026

In 2026, Grace Harbaugh joined the PGA TOUR as an associate in Player Relations and Special Programs. She shared the news herself, and her professional profile lists the role.

The job moves her from college sports to a major sports group. Her years in the pool help her understand athletes, while her work in media and business adds a new set of skills.

She discussed the new position in a June 2026 episode of Hail to Her. The conversation also covered women in sports, advice from female mentors and the challenge of finding a direction after years of structured college athletics.

The PGA TOUR job is a new side of the story for those who first knew her through Michigan football or videos with her dad.

Family Moments, Michigan Pride and Social Media

Grace still cheers for Michigan. She was with her family after the Wolverines beat Washington for the national title in January 2024. The win meant a lot to a family tied to the school for so long.

Her Instagram account, @graceharbaugh, has also shown a more playful side of the family. Videos featuring her dad attracted attention during his Michigan coaching years. In 2024, she joked about the tattoo he got to celebrate the team’s unbeaten championship season.

Those posts show a warm side of family life. Yet Grace Harbaugh has spent years at work on her own goals, on campus and beyond.

Outside the spotlight, her college years included volunteer work. She took part in student-athlete activities with patients at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and helped connect the Michigan water polo team with students at Burns Park Elementary School.

From College Athletics to Sports Business

Her path has moved from football camps to the pool, then to work in sports. She grew up near big games, but she also knows the daily work of being a college athlete.

Now, she works with a major golf group and keeps her ties to Michigan. Grace Harbaugh has a career of her own, shaped by sport, art and the people she met along the way.

You may also read: Sarah Feuerborn Harbaugh: Family, Career and Life With Jim Harbaugh