NOMINEES ANNOUNCED FOR ‘THE 2025 ESPYS PRESENTED BY CAPITAL ONE’ AIRING WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, AT 8 P.M. ET/PT LIVE ON ABC AND STREAMING LIVE ON ESPN+

WHAT:	ESPN announced the nominees for “The 2025 ESPYS Presented by Capital One,” hosted by Shane Gillis, and fan voting is now open.
WHERE:	A list of “The 2025 ESPYS” nominees is available here, and fans can cast their vote at ESPN.com/ESPYS. More information is available in the complete 2025 ESPYS Media Kit.
WHEN:	Voting is now underway, and all categories will close at 5 p.m. ET on July 16, just prior to the start of “The 2025 ESPYS.”

“THE 2025 ESPYS” NOMINEE FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Top nominees include Simone Biles, Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley, Caitlin Clark, Coco Gauff, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Ilona Maher and Alexander Ovechkin.
• First time nominees include Josh Allen, Freddie Freeman, Tyrese Haliburton, Ilona Maher, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Paul Skenes and Gabby Thomas.
• Josh Allen is nominated for Best Athlete – Men’s Sports – if he wins, it would mark the fourth time in the last five years that a quarterback has won the title. Patrick Mahomes won in 2024 and 2023 and Tom Brady in 2021.
• Nominated for Best Athlete – Men’s Sports, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is only the fourth player in NBA history to win a Scoring Title, MVP, and NBA Championship in the same season, joining Michael Jordan, Kareem-Abdul Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal.
• Two women’s college teams will face off for the title of Best Team – North Carolina Women’s Lacrosse, who recently completed an undefeated national championship-winning season, and University of Connecticut Women’s Basketball, who recently won its 12th national championship.
• A’ja Wilson will seek her second win for Best Athlete – Women’s Sports to become the sixth athlete to win multiple times, joining Mia Hamm, Annika Sörenstam, Lindsey Vonn, Serena Williams and Ronda Rousey.
• Cooper Flagg, who led Duke to the Final Four while leading the team in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks, is nominated for Best Breakthrough Athlete and would be the first men’s college basketball player to win the category.

Hosted by Shane Gillis, “The 2025 ESPYS” will air live from The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 16, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and will stream live on ESPN+. “The ESPYS” will also be available to stream on-demand the next day on Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. The star-studded ceremony will relive the best moments of the year, honor leading athletes and performances, and bring together the sports industry’s fan favorites and biggest stars.

Top celebrities from sports and entertainment will gather to recognize nominees and honor winners in categories such as Best Athlete – Men’s Sports, Best Athlete – Women’s Sports, Best Breakthrough Athlete, Best Record Breaking Performance, Best Championship Performance and Best Comeback Athlete.

Per tradition, “The 2025 ESPYS” will also showcase the achievements of inspiring and courageous athletes who embody the spirit of “The ESPYS” through three pillar awards – the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance, and The Pat Tillman Award for Service. Honorees for each of these awards will be announced in the coming weeks. The show supports ESPN’s ongoing commitment to The V Foundation for Cancer Research, launched in 1993 by ESPN in partnership with the late Jim Valvano.

Any media interested in applying for credentials for “The 2025 ESPYS” can apply here.

2025 ESPYS NOMINATIONS

 BEST ATHLETE – MEN’S SPORTS

• Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills
• Saquon Barkley – Philadelphia Eagles
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder
• Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Dodgers

 BEST ATHLETE – WOMEN’S SPORTS

• Simone Biles – Gymnast
• Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone – Track & Field
• Gabby Thomas – Track & Field
• A’ja Wilson – Las Vegas Aces

BEST BREAKTHROUGH ATHLETE

• Cooper Flagg – Duke Men’s Basketball
• Chloe Humphrey – North Carolina Women’s Lacrosse
• Ilona Maher – Rugby
• Paul Skenes – Pittsburgh Pirates

BEST RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE

• Geno Auriemma – UConn Huskies
• Caitlin Clark – Indiana Fever
• Kevin Durant – Olympic Basketball
• Alexander Ovechkin – Washington Capitals

BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE

• Simone Biles – 2024 Olympics Women’s All-Around
• Stephen Curry – US Men’s Olympic BB team
• Freddie Freeman – LA Dodgers – World Series MVP
• Rory McIlroy – Wins first Masters title, completing career Grand Slam

BEST COMEBACK ATHLETE

• Gabe Landeskog – Colorado Avalanche
• Suni Lee – Gymnast
• Mallory Swanson – USWNT/Chicago Red Stars
• Lindsey Vonn – Skiing

BEST PLAY

• Saquon Barkley’s backwards hurdle – NFL (11/3/24)
• Tyrese Haliburton Calls Game!!! – NBA Game 1 NBA Finals (6/5/25)
• Sabrina Ionescu Logo 3 Game Winner – WNBA Finals Game 3
• Trinity Rodman with the OT Goal to send USWNT to the semi-finals – 2024 Olympics

 BEST TEAM

• Florida Panthers – NHL
• Los Angeles Dodgers – MLB
• New York Liberty – WNBA
• Ohio State Buckeyes – NCAA Football
• Oklahoma City Thunder – NBA
• Philadelphia Eagles – NFL
• North Carolina Tarheels – NCAA Women’s Lacrosse
• United States Women’s National Team – Soccer
• University of Connecticut Huskies – Women’s Basketball

BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE – MEN’S SPORTS

• Cooper Flagg – Duke Basketball
• Wyatt Hendrickson – Oklahoma State Wrestling
• Travis Hunter – Colorado Football
• CJ Kirst – Cornell Lacrosse

BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE – WOMEN’S SPORTS

• Olivia Babcock – University of Pittsburgh Volleyball
• Kate Faasse – North Carolina Soccer
• Gretchen Walsh – Virginia Swimming
• JuJu Watkins – USC Basketball

BEST ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY

• Noah Elliott – Snowboard
• Ezra Frech – Track & Field
• Tatyana McFadden – Track & Field
• Grace Norman – Paratriathlete

BEST NFL PLAYER

• Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills
• Saquon Barkley – Philadelphia Eagles
• Lamar Jackson – Baltimore Ravens
• Patrick Surtain II – Denver Broncos

BEST MLB PLAYER

• Freddie Freeman – Los Angeles Dodgers
• Aaron Judge – New York Yankees
• Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Dodgers
• Tarik Skubal – Detroit Tigers

BEST NHL PLAYER

• Leon Draisaitl – Edmonton Oilers,
• Connor Hellebuyck – Winnipeg Jets
• Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning
• Cale Makar – Colorado Avalanche

BEST NBA PLAYER

• Giannis Antetokounmpo – Milwaukee Bucks
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Oklahoma City Thunder
• Nikola Jokić – Denver Nuggets
• Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics

BEST WNBA PLAYER

• Caitlin Clark – Indiana Fever
• Napheesa Collier – Minnesota Lynx
• Breanna Stewart – New York Liberty
• A’ja Wilson – Las Vegas Aces

BEST DRIVER

• Joey Logano – NASCAR
• Álex Palou – IndyCar
• Oscar Piastri – F1
• Max Verstappen – F1

BEST UFC FIGHTER

• Dricus Du Plessis
• Merab Dvalishvili
• Kayla Harrison
• Islam Makhachev

BEST BOXER

• Naoya Inoue
• Claressa Shields
• Katie Taylor
• Oleksandr Usyk

BEST SOCCER PLAYER

• Aitana Bonmatí – FC Barcelona/Spain
• Christian Pulisic – AC Milan, US
• Alexia Putellas FC Barcelona/Spain
• Lamine Yamal – FC Barcelona/Spain

BEST GOLFER

• Nelly Korda
• Rory Mcllroy
• Scottie Scheffler
• Maja Stark

BEST TENNIS PLAYER

• Carlos Alcaraz
• Coco Gauff
• Aryna Sabalenka
• Jannik Sinner

Media Contacts:
ESPN
Garrett Cowan | garrett.cowan@espn.com
Jay Jay Nesheim | jayjay.nesheim@espn.com
Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis | ESPYS@ssmandl.com

ABC Entertainment
Lauren Milovich | lauren.milovich@abc.com