How to watch the 2026 ESPY Awards: Who's nominated, start time, where to stream, and more

The annual ESPY Awards honor the most outstanding athletic achievements and athletes of the past year, and with such major events like this year’s Winter Olympics and the Knicks' stellar title season, there are a lot of people to celebrate. The 2026 ESPYS will be hosted by Saturday Night Live's Marcello Hernandez and will air on ABC this Wednesday, July 15, at 8 p.m. You can also catch them streaming on the ESPN app.

A full list of nominees is below, but confirmed attendees you can expect to see include NBA stars Jalen Brunson, Bam Adebayo, and Karl-Anthony Towns, Olympians Alysa Liu, Oksana Masters, Hilary Knight, and Matthew Tkachuk, and football stars like Fernando Mendoza, plus tons of other celebrities like Will Ferrell, Tracy Morgan, DJ Khaled, and more. Here's everything you need to know to tune in to the 2026 ESPYS when they air on Wednesday.

How to watch the 2026 ESPYS:

Date: Wednesday, July 15

Time: 8 p.m. ET 

Location: Lincoln Center, New York City

TV channel: ABC

Streaming: ESPN Unlimited, DirecTV, Fubo and more

When are the 2026 ESPYS?

This year's ESPYs will air on Wednesday, July 15, at 8 p.m. ET.

What channel are the ESPYS on?

You can tune in to the 2026 ESPYS on ABC. They will also stream on the ESPN app.

How to watch the 2026 ESPYS without cable:

You can tune in to ABC on live TV platforms like DirecTV, Fubo, YouTube TV and more. The broadcast will also stream on the ESPN App.

Who is hosting this year's ESPYS?

Saturday Night Live star Marcello Hernandez is the host of this year's ESPYS.

Who is expected to appear at the 2026 ESPYS?

There will be a lengthy list of celebrities and athletes at this year's awards. Expect appearances from Olympians Simone Biles, Allyson Felix, Chloe Kim and Eileen Gu, NBA star Jayson Tatum and comedians Tiffany Haddish, Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart, among many others. The night will also feature special musical performances from De La Soul, Ghostface Killah, Slick Rick, and the Savannah Bananas.

Who is nominated at this year's ESPYS?

A complete list of this year's ESPY nominees is as follows:

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

• 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

• 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

• Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Football

• Mitchell Mesenbrink, Penn State Wrestling

• Donavan Phillip, NC State Soccer

BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE, WOMEN'S SPORTS

• Olivia Babcock, Pittsburgh Volleyball

• 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 NFL PLAYER

• Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns

• Drake Maye, New England Patriots

• Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks

• Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams

BEST MLB PLAYER

• Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

• Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers

• Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners

• Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates

BEST NHL PLAYER

• Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks

• Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning

• Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche

• Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

BEST NBA PLAYER

• Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

• Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

• Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs

BEST WNBA PLAYER

• Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx

• Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream

• Alyssa Thomas, Phoenix Mercury

• A'ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

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

Who else is being honored at the 2026 ESPYS?

In addition to the awards being given at this year's ceremony, several honorary awards will also be announced. Former NBA player Jason Collins will be posthumously honored with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage; baseball player Jim Abbott will receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance; and Scott Ruskan will receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service. There will also be awards given for the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award and the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award.