For the 34th consecutive year, the ESPY Awards are back! The ESPYs are taking place at the David H. Koch Theater in New York City. Over the previous four years, this event took place in Los Angeles, and this is the first time the ESPY Awards have been in New York since 2021. Comedian Marcello Hernández is the host of the 2026 ESPY Awards.
Check out viewing information and more details for the 2026 ESPYs below.
When is the 2026 ESPYS?
The 2026 ESPY Awards are taking place on Wednesday, July 15.
How to Watch the 2026 ESPY Awards?
The ESPYS start at 7:00 p.m. ET with the preview show on ESPN and in the ESPN App. The ESPY Awards start at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC and in the ESPN App.
2026 ESPY Awards Nominees
| Best Athlete, Men’s Sports | Best Athlete, Women’s Sports | Best Breakthrough Athlete | Best Record-Breaking Performance | Best Championship Performance | Best Comeback Athlete | Best Play | Best Team | Best Single-Game Performance | Best Fighter | Best Soccer Player |
| Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks | Hilary Knight, Hockey | Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks | Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns – broke the NFL single-season sack record | Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks | Anthony Kim, Golf | Golden Goal for Gold! – Olympic Women’s Hockey | Las Vegas Aces, WNBA | Tyce Armstrong, Baylor Baseball – hit three grand slams in a single game, tying a record set 50 years ago | Terence Crawford, Boxing | Temwa Chawinga, KC Current |
| Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF | Nelly Korda, Golf | Alysa Liu, Figure Skating | Megan Grant, UCLA Softball – broke the NCAA single-season softball home run record | Aerin Frankel, USA Women’s Hockey | Savy King, Angel City FC | Golden Goal for Gold! – Olympic Men’s Hockey | Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB | 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 | Gabriela Fundora, Boxing | Ousmane Dembélé, PSG/France |
| Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers | Mikaela Shiffrin, Ski | Drake Maye, New England Patriots | Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Cross-Country Skier – first athlete to win six golds at Winter Games | Connor Hellebuyck, USA Men’s Hockey | Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers | UConn stuns Duke with Braylon Mullins’ buzzer-beating 3 – NCAA Men’s March Madness | Indiana Hoosiers, NCAA Football | Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame Basketball – broke the NCAA record for most steals (16) in a game | Justin Gaethje, MMA | Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF |
| Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams | A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces | Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Football | Sabastian Sawe, Long-Distance Runner – first to finish a marathon in under two hours | Teagan Kavan, Texas Longhorns Softball | Kyndal Stowers, Texas A&M Volleyball | OG Anunoby’s Tip-In – NBA Finals | Carolina Hurricanes, NHL | Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers – pitched six scoreless innings, struck out 10 batters and hit three home runs | Claressa Shields, Boxing | Alexia Putellas, Spain/Barcelona |
| Caleb Williams Game Tying TD vs. Rams – NFL | New York Knicks, NBA | |||||||||
| Texas Longhorns, NCAA Softball | ||||||||||
| Seattle Seahawks, NFL | ||||||||||
| Team USA Men’s Hockey | ||||||||||
| Team USA Men’s Hockey |
| Best College Athlete, Men’s Sports | Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports | Best Athlete with a Disability | Best NFL Player | Best MLB Player | Best NHL Player | Best NBA Player | Best WNBA Player | Best Driver | Best Golfer | Best Tennis Player |
| Cameron Boozer, Duke Basketball | Olivia Babcock, Pittsburgh Volleyball | Jake Adicoff, Para Nordic-Skiing | Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns | Aaron Judge, New York Yankees | Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks | Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks | Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx | Kimi Antonelli, F1 | Nelly Korda | Carlos Alcaraz |
| Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Football | Lauren Betts, UCLA Basketball | Declan Farmer, Para Hockey | Drake Maye, New England Patriots | Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers | Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder | Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream | Lando Norris, F1 | Rory McIlroy | Elena Rybakina |
| Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State Wrestling | Madison Taylor, Northwestern Lacrosse | Oksana Masters, Para Cross-Country Skiing | Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks | Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners | Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche | Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets | Alyssa Thomas, Phoenix Mercury | Alex Palou, IndyCar | Scottie Scheffler | Aryna Sabalenka |
| Donavan Phillip, NC State Soccer | Faith Torrez, Oklahoma Gymnastics | Susannah Scaroni, Wheelchair Racing | Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams | Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates | Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers | Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs | A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces | Tyler Reddick, NASCAR | Jeeno Thitikul | Jannik Sinner |
2026 ESPY Awards FAQ
When are the 2026 ESPY Awards?
The 2026 ESPYS are taking place on Wednesday, July 15.
Where are the 2026 ESPY Awards taking place?
This year’s ESPY Awards are being hosted at the David H. Koch Theater in New York City.
How to watch the 2026 ESPY Awards?
The 2026 ESPYS air on ABC and the ESPN App at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Who is hosting the 2026 ESPY Awards?
Comedian Marcello Hernández is hosting the 2026 ESPY Awards.
