The ESPY Awards went hostless in 2023, instead tapping a number of athletes and guests to hand out awards to the top athletic achievers from the previous year.
In 2024, ESPN's annual awards ceremony in bringing back a host, as tennis legend Serena Williams will host the event. She will guide viewers through a program highlighting the best athlete and team performances of the past year.
Notably, Patrick Mahomes and Shohei Ohtani are each vying to be the first players to win the "Best Athlete, Men's Sports" award twice. Caitlin Clark may also be in line to get her flowers after a whirlwind year that saw her take Iowa back to the national championship game and develop into a strong WNBA contributor.
Victor Wembanyama and C.J. Stroud are among the notable players up for "Best Breakthrough Athlete," while many Simone Biles and Paige Bueckers are the front-runners for the "Best Comeback Athlete" award.
Who will take home the most hardware at the 2024 ESPYs? The diverse group of nominees will grab the attention of many sports fans.
Here's the full list of nominees for the 2024 ESPYs:
MORE: Full list of previous ESPY winners for Best Athlete and more
ESPY Award nominees 2024
Best athlete, men's sports
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
- Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels/Dodgers
- Scottie Scheffler, Golf
- Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Best athlete, women's sports
- Caitlin Clark, Iowa Women’s Basketball
- Coco Gauff, Tennis
- Nelly Korda, Golf
- A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Best breakthrough athlete
- Haleigh Bryant, LSU Gymnastics
- C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
- Juju Watkins, USC Women’s Basketball
- Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
Best record-breaking performance
- 49ers Christian McCaffrey scores a TD for a record breaking 17 straight games
- Caitlin Clark becomes NCAA’s All Time Scoring Leader breaking Pete Maravich’s Record
- Tara VanDerveer, Stanford Women’s Basketball – gets 1,203rd win to pass Coach K for most by any coach in NCAA basketball history
- Max Verstappen wins record 10th consecutive race with victory at Italian Grand Prix
Best championship performance
- Michigan’s Blake Corum and Will Johnson, 2024 College Football National Championship MVPs
- Kayla Martello, Boston College Women’s Lacrosse
- Midge Purce, NJ/NY Gotham FC – NWSL Championship MVP
- Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
Best comeback athlete
- Simone Biles, Gymnast
- Paige Bueckers, University of Connecticut Women’s Basketball
- Joe Flacco, Cleveland Browns
- Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans
Best play
- Jayda Coleman calls GAME sending Oklahoma to their 4th Straight Championship (6/4/24)
- Anthony Edwards Dunk of the Year (3/18/24)
- Alabama scores on 4th & 31 to win Auburn (11/25/23)
- Lamar Jackson Caught His Own Pass & Ran With it (1/28/24)
Best team
- South Carolina Gamecocks, NCAA Women’s Basketball
- Kansas City Chiefs, NFL
- Michigan Wolverines, NCAA Football
- Las Vegas Aces, WNBA
- University of Connecticut Huskies, NCAA Men’s Basketball
- Oklahoma Sooners, NCAA Softball
- Boston Celtics, NBA
- Florida Panthers, NHL
- Texas Rangers, MLB
MORE: What does ESPY stand for?
Best college athlete, men's sports
- Jayden Daniels, LSU Football
- Zach Edey, Purdue Men’s Basketball
- Ousmane Sylla, Clemson Soccer
- Pat Kavanagh, Notre Dame Lacrosse
Best college athlete, women's sports
- Haleigh Bryant, LSU Gymnastics
- Caitlin Clark, Iowa Basketball
- Sarah Franklin, Wisconsin Volleyball
- Izzy Scane, Northwestern Lacrosse
Best athlete with a disability
- Jaydin Blackwell World Champion Sprinter
- Ezra Frech, World Champion High Jumper
- Brenna Huckaby Snowboarding Champion
- Oksana Masters, Cross-Country Skier/Hand Cyclist
Best NFL player
- Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns
- Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
- Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers
Best MLB player
- Ronald Acuña, Atlanta Braves
- Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
- Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
- Corey Seager, Texas Rangers
Best NHL player
- Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
- Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
- Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Best NBA player
- Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
- Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets
- Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Best WNBA player
- Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx
- Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty
- Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun
- A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Best driver
- Ryan Blaney, NASCAR
- Matt Hagan, NHRA
- Álex Palou, IndyCar
- Max Verstappen, F1
Best UFC fighter
- Islam Makhachev
- Sean O’Malley
- Alex Pereira
- Zhang Weili
Best boxer
- Terence Crawford
- Seniesa Estrada
- Naoya Inoue
- Oleksandr Usyk
Best soccer player
- Aitana Bonmatí, Spain
- Naomi Girma, USWNT
- Vinicius Junior, Brazil/Real Madrid
- Kylian Mbappé, France/Real Madrid
Best golfer
- Nelly Korda
- Xander Schauffele
- Scottie Scheffler
- Lilia Vu
Best tennis player
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Novak Djokovic
- Coco Gauff
- Iga Swiatek
The full list of presenters and attendees for the event can be found here.
