Gretchen Walsh Nominated for ESPY Award for Best College Athlete in Women’s Sports

The nominees have been announced for the 2025 ESPYS, and swimmer Gretchen Walsh received a big nod. The now-graduated Virginia Cavalier

The ESPYS are the most significant sports award show in the United States hosted by ESPN and give awards from across sports and categories. While swimmers have been nominated, and won, awards in Athlete of the Year, Olympic athlete and Athletes with a Disability categories, they have been ominously absent from the Best Collegiate Athlete Awards in recent years.

The last swimmer to win the award was Missy Franklin in 2015, and the last swimmer nominated for the award was Katie Ledecky in 2018.

Walsh had arguably the best season of any collegiate swimmer in history.

The ESPYS first added Best College Athlete for Men’s Sports and Women’s Sports in 2002. From 2018-2021, they were combined into a single gender-neutral category, and then split back out into separate categories.

While Franklin is the only swimmer to ever win the award, swimmers have received nominations 8 times – mostly in the 2000s.

No male swimmer has ever been nominated. Collegiately, she won the maximum seven NCAA event titles and led Virginia to its 5th-straight NCAA Team Championship. She also finished her career with the maximum 28 All-America titles and 25 NCAA titles – including 9 individual titles. In the middle of the season, she won five titles at the Short Course World Championships. Across international and collegiate meets during her senior season of college, she set the first 13 World Records of her career in 323 days, a shorter timespan than any swimmer in history, set multiple American and NCAA Records, and generally dominated the season from start-to-finish.

She was also named the CSCAA Women’s Swimmer of the Year and the Honda Sport Award winner for swimming & diving.

She is nominated against Pitt volleyball player Olivia Babcock, North Carolina soccer player Kate Faasse, and USC basketball player JuJu Watkins. Of that group, only Walsh and Faasse won NCAA team titles in the 2024-2025 season.

An ESPN Nomination Select Committee chooses the nominees, and a public vote “helps to determine ESPY winners.” The 2025 awards show will be air on July 16 and be hosted by comedian Shane Gillis.

• You can vote here.

All-Time Swimming Nominees, Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports:

• 2002 – Natalie Coughlin, Cal
• 2003 – Natalie Coughlin, Cal
• 2004 – Tara Kirk, Stanford
• 2007 – Kara Lynn Joyce, Georgia
• 2009 – Dana Vollmer, Cal
• 2011 – Katinka Hosszu, USC
• 2012 – Caitlin Leverenz, Cal
• 2015 – Missy Franklin, Cal (Winner)
• 2018 – Katie Ledecky, Stanford (open gender award)
• 2025 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia

All-Time Nominees By Sport, Best College Athlete in Women’s Sports

Through 2025 Nominations

All-Time Nominees By Sport, Best College Athlete in Men’s Sports

Through 2025 Nominations

All 2025 ESPY Nominees

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 Tar Heels – 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