ESPYS 2026 Winners: See the Complete List

As athletes cross their fingers to win big, Hernandez will have a team of ESPY award winners presenting categories, including Simone Biles—who took home Best Athlete at last year's event—as well as 2025's Best Breakthrough Athlete winner Ilona Maher and 2022 winner of Best Female Action Sport Athlete Eileen Gu.

While sports stars wait to see who wins big, one of the most noticeable absences is Messi. Although he's nominated for Best Athlete and Best Soccer Player, Argentina faced off with England at the World Cup in Atlanta at the same time.

So, it's no surprise that the two-time MVP winner has been focused on keeping his head in the game, despite the evening's honors.

"I've always been competitive," he shared in a December interview with ESPN Argentina's SportsCenter in Spanish. "I like to win and I try to do it. Along the way I've had bad stretches or tough moments, but I always keep trying and I get back up, always looking for the best."

And Messi, 39, is always looking towards the future, adding, "What's coming becomes more important than what already happened and with time, you start valuing things much more."

Now, huddle up and keep reading to see all the athletes who won big at the 2026 ESPY Awards.

BEST ATHLETE, MEN'S SPORTS

• Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
• Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF
• Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

BEST ATHLETE, WOMEN'S SPORTS

• Hilary Knight, Hockey
• Nelly Korda, Golf
• Mikaela Shiffrin, Ski
• A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE

• Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks
• WINNER: Alysa Liu, Figure Skating
• Drake Maye, New England Patriots
• Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Football

BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE

• Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns – broke the NFL single-season sack record
• Megan Grant, UCLA Softball – broke the NCAA single-season softball home run record
• Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Cross-Country Skier – first athlete to win six golds at Winter Games
• Sabastian Sawe, Long-Distance Runner – first to finish a marathon in under two hours

BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE

• WINNER: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
• Aerin Frankel, USA Women’s Hockey
• Connor Hellebuyck, USA Men’s Hockey
• Teagan Kavan, Texas Longhorns Softball

BEST COMEBACK ATHLETE

• Anthony Kim, Golf
• Savy King, Angel City FC
• Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
• Kyndal Stowers, Texas A&M Volleyball

BEST PLAY

• Golden Goal for Gold! – Olympic Women’s Hockey 
• Golden Goal for Gold! – Olympic Men’s Hockey
• UConn stuns Duke with Braylon Mullins’ buzzer-beating 3 – NCAA Men’s March Madness 
• OG Anunoby’s Tip-In – NBA Finals
• Caleb Williams Game Tying TD vs. Rams – NFL

BEST TEAM

• Las Vegas Aces, WNBA
• Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB
• Indiana Hoosiers, NCAA Football
• Carolina Hurricanes, NHL
• New York Knicks, NBA
• Texas Longhorns, NCAA Softball
• Seattle Seahawks, NFL
• Team USA Men's Hockey
• Team USA Women’s Hockey

BEST SINGLE-GAME PERFORMANCE

• Tyce Armstrong, Baylor Baseball – hit three grand slams in a single game, tying a record set 50 years ago
• Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat – scored 83 points for the Miami Heat in a 150–129 win against the Washington Wizards, recording the second-highest single-game total in NBA history
• Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame Basketball – broke the NCAA record for most steals (16) in a game
• Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers – pitched six scoreless innings, struck out 10 batters and hit three home runs

BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, MEN’S SPORTS

• Cameron Boozer, Duke Basketball
• WINNER: Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Football
• Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State Wrestling
• Donavan Phillip, NC State Soccer

BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, WOMEN’S SPORTS

• Olivia Babcock, Pittsburgh Volleyball
• WINNER: Lauren Betts, UCLA Basketball
• Madison Taylor, Northwestern Lacrosse
• Faith Torrez, Oklahoma Gymnastics

BEST ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY

• Jake Adicoff, Para Nordic-Skiing
• Declan Farmer, Para Hockey
• Oksana Masters, Para Cross-Country Skiing
• Susannah Scaroni, Wheelchair Racing

BEST DRIVER

• Kimi Antonelli, F1
• Lando Norris, F1
• Alex Palou, IndyCar
• Tyler Reddick, NASCAR

BEST FIGHTER

• Terence Crawford, Boxing
• Gabriela Fundora, Boxing
• Justin Gaethje, MMA
• Claressa Shields, Boxing

BEST SOCCER PLAYER

• Temwa Chawinga, KC Current
• Ousmane Dembélé, PSG/France
• Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF
• Alexia Putellas, Spain/Barcelona

BEST GOLFER

• Nelly Korda
• Rory McIlroy
• Scottie Scheffler
• Jeeno Thitikul

BEST TENNIS PLAYER

• Carlos Alcaraz
• Elena Rybakina
• Aryna Sabalenka
• Jannik Sinner