8 student-athletes are nominated for Best College Athlete, while NCAA alumni and teams appear across categories
The 2026 ESPYS nominations include eight NCAA athletes up for the Best College Athlete awards in men’s and women’s sports. But the NCAA’s presence on this year’s ballot extends well beyond those two categories.
The Best College Athlete nominees compete in basketball, football, wrestling, soccer, volleyball, lacrosse and gymnastics. Elsewhere on the nominee list are NCAA record breakers, national champions and single-game standouts, along with professional and Olympic stars who got their start in college — connecting the NCAA to several of the biggest sports stories of 2026, from the NBA Finals to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics to the Stanley Cup Final.
At a glance
- Eight athletes are nominated for Best College Athlete categories (men’s and women’s).
- Indiana football and Texas softball are nominated for the Best Team award.
- NCAA-connected nominees also appear in Best Play, Best Championship Performance, Best Record-Breaking Performance, Best Comeback Athlete and Best Athlete With a Disability.
- The 2026 ESPYS air July 15 on ABC.
Best College Athlete, Men’s Sports
Cameron Boozer (Duke): Boozer swept the sport’s major national basketball player of the year honors — the Naismith, Wooden and Associated Press awards — while leading Duke to the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament and an Elite Eight finish. The Memphis Grizzlies selected him with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NBA draft.
Fernando Mendoza (Indiana): Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy and led Indiana to its first football national championship and a 16-0 season. Mendoza is also nominated for Best Breakthrough Athlete.
Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State): Mesenbrink captured his second straight individual NCAA wrestling championship at 165 pounds while posting an undefeated 27-0 season. He also helped Penn State win three straight Division I team titles and earned the Dan Hodge Trophy, which recognizes the nation’s top collegiate wrestler.
Donavan Phillip (NC State): Phillip won the MAC Hermann Trophy, the highest individual honor in Division I men’s soccer, and led the nation in goals scored with 19 while helping NC State reach its first national championship match.
Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports
Olivia Babcock (Pittsburgh): Babcock, a two-time American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Year, set Pittsburgh’s single-season kills record with 646.
Lauren Betts (UCLA): Betts led UCLA to its first NCAA women’s basketball national championship while earning Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player honors.
Madison Taylor (Northwestern): Taylor won the Tewaaraton Award, the top honor in college lacrosse, and led Northwestern to the NCAA championship. During the 2026 season, she was second in Division I in goals (97), points (139) and goals per game (4.41).
Faith Torrez (Oklahoma): Torrez won the Honda Award for gymnastics, presented to the nation’s top collegiate female gymnast, after winning the NCAA all-around competition while helping the Sooners claim their eighth team NCAA championship.
More NCAA nominees across the ballot
Beyond the two Best College Athlete categories, several nominees earned their spots on the strength of NCAA performances this season.
Megan Grant (UCLA) — Best Record-Breaking Performance: Grant broke the NCAA Division I softball single-season home run record, finishing the year with 42. She was also a member of UCLA’s 2026 NCAA women’s basketball championship team, joining the roster as a dual-sport athlete in the fall and appearing in 14 games before shifting her focus back to softball late in the season.
Teagan Kavan (Texas) — Best Championship Performance: Kavan closed out back-to-back Women’s College World Series titles for Texas and became the first player to win the event’s Most Outstanding Player award in consecutive years.
Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) — Best Single-Game Performance: Hidalgo set an NCAA record with 16 steals in a single game in the Fighting Irish victory over Akron in November.
Tyce Armstrong (Baylor) — Best Single-Game Performance: Armstrong hit three grand slams in one game Feb. 13 against New Mexico State, tying a record set 50 years earlier by Louisville’s Jim LaFountain.
Kyndal Stowers (Texas A&M) — Best Comeback Athlete: Medically retired from Baylor after a series of concussions, Stowers sat out a year, transferred to Texas A&M and led the Aggies to winning their first NCAA volleyball national championship, earning Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
UConn buzzer-beater vs. Duke — Best Play: Freshman Braylon Mullins drilled a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lift UConn past Duke in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship — the same shot that ended the college career of Duke’s Cameron Boozer, a Best College Athlete nominee.
NCAA programs up for Best Team
Indiana football: Indiana capped a 16-0 season with a 27-21 win over Miami (Florida) in the College Football Playoff National Championship, the program’s first national title and the first 16-0 record in FBS football ever. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy winner and a nominee for Best College Athlete and Best Breakthrough Athlete, sealed the title with a fourth-quarter touchdown run.
Texas softball: Texas defeated Texas Tech in the Women’s College World Series to claim back-to-back Division I softball national championships. Pitcher Teagan Kavan, a Best Championship Performance nominee, closed out both title-clinching wins and became the first player to earn Women’s College World Series Most Outstanding Player honors twice.
The college roots of NCAA and world champions — now ESPY nominees
Many of this year’s nominees for professional and international honors launched their careers in college athletics, including the following, who have won an NCAA title, professional championship or Olympic gold medal.
Individual nominees
Jalen Brunson (Villanova) — Best Athlete, Men’s Sports: The former Villanova star helped the New York Knicks win an NBA championship, becoming part of the first trio of teammates — dubbed the Nova Knicks — to win NCAA and NBA titles together. Brunson is also a nominee for Best NBA Player and Best Championship Performance.
Hilary Knight (Wisconsin) — Best Athlete, Women’s Sports: Knight, a two-time NCAA champion at Wisconsin and one of the signature products of the Badgers’ Olympic pipeline, helped Team USA win Olympic gold and became the United States’ all-time leader in Olympic women’s hockey goals and points.
A’ja Wilson (South Carolina) — Best Athlete, Women’s Sports: Before her run of WNBA MVPs with the Las Vegas Aces, Wilson led South Carolina to its first NCAA women’s basketball national championship in 2017 and was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. Wilson is also a nominee for Best WNBA Player.
Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell) — Best Championship Performance: Hellebuyck backstopped Team USA to Olympic gold with a 41-save performance in a 2-1 overtime win against Canada, helping the U.S. men win their first Olympic hockey title since 1980. At UMass Lowell, he set the NCAA career save percentage record at .946 and led the nation in save percentage and goals-against average in both of his college seasons
Aerin Frankel (Northeastern) — Best Championship Performance: In college, Frankel led Northeastern to its first title game and won the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as the top player in NCAA Division I women’s hockey. Earlier this year, she anchored Team USA’s gold-medal run at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Paul Skenes (Air Force, LSU) — Best MLB Player: Skenes pitched at Air Force before transferring to LSU. He led the Tigers to win the 2023 Men’s College World Series and earned Most Outstanding Player honors. He went on to become the No. 1 overall MLB draft pick and now stars for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Napheesa Collier (UConn) — Best WNBA Player: Collier won a national championship at UConn, part of a college career that helped make her one of the WNBA’s premier forwards with the Minnesota Lynx.
Jake Adicoff (Bowdoin) — Best Athlete With a Disability: Adicoff, a visually impaired Para Nordic skier, competed for Bowdoin’s ski team, crediting the experience with shaping him into a Paralympic champion for Team USA. His two guides at the 2026 Games are themselves former NCAA skiers.
Team nominees
Team USA women’s hockey — Best Team: Team USA’s Olympic gold-medal run showcased the continued impact of NCAA women’s hockey, with all 23 players on the U.S. roster having competed collegiately, including seven then-current NCAA student-athletes. In the gold-medal game against Canada, every player on both rosters had NCAA ties.
Team USA men’s hockey — Best Team: Twenty players on the gold-medal-winning U.S. men’s rostercompeted collegiately before reaching the Olympic stage and earning Team USA’s first gold since the Miracle on Ice in 1980. Nearly 50 former NCAA student-athletes from 29 schools played in the men’s ice hockey tournament at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Carolina Hurricanes — Best Team: The Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes roster included former NCAA champions Mark Jankowski, of Providence, and Shayne Gostisbehere, of Union (New York), while 19 NCAA alumni appeared across the championship series.
Many of this year’s nominees for professional and international honors launched their careers in college athletics. Several also went on to win NCAA titles, professional championships, Olympic gold medals or major individual honors.
- OG Anunoby (Indiana/New York Knicks) — Best Play.
- Macklin Celebrini (Boston U./San Jose Sharks) — Best Breakthrough Athlete, Best NHL Player.
- Myles Garrett (Texas A&M/Cleveland Browns) — Best NFL Player, Best Record-Breaking Performance.
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Kentucky/Oklahoma City Thunder) — Best NBA Player.
- Allisha Gray (North Carolina and UConn/Atlanta Dream) — Best WNBA Player.
- Aaron Judge (Fresno State/New York Yankees) — Best MLB Player.
- Anthony Kim (Oklahoma/LIV Golf) — Best Comeback Athlete.
- Christian McCaffrey (Stanford/San Francisco 49ers) — Best Comeback Athlete.
- Drake Maye (North Carolina/New England Patriots) — Best Breakthrough Athlete, Best NFL Player.
- Cal Raleigh (Florida State/Seattle Mariners) — Best MLB Player.
- Scottie Scheffler (Texas/PGA Tour) — Best Golfer.
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Ohio State/Seattle Seahawks) — Best NFL Player.
- Matthew Stafford (Georgia/Los Angeles Rams) — Best Athlete, Men’s Sports; Best NFL Player.
- Alyssa Thomas (Maryland/Phoenix Mercury) — Best WNBA Player.
- Caleb Williams (Southern California/Chicago Bears) — Best Play.
How to watch the 2026 ESPYS
The 2026 ESPYS will air live at 8 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, July 15, on ABC and stream on the ESPN App.
