The ESPY Award for Best College Athlete, Men's Sports, known before 2021 as the Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award, is an annual award honoring the achievements of a male individual from the world of collegiate sports. It was first presented as part of the ESPY Awards in 2002, following the subsumption of the Best College Football Player and Best Male College Basketball Player ESPY Awards, each of which had been presented annually between 1993 and 2001, inclusive. The award trophy, designed by sculptor Lawrence Nowlan, is awarded to the sportsman adjudged to be the best in a given calendar year of those contesting collegiate sport in the United States through the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
From 2004 until its subsumption with the Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award to create the Best College Athlete ESPY Award for the 2018 ceremony, and again since the award was reestablished in 2021, the winner has been chosen by online voting through choices selected by the ESPN Select Nominating Committee. Before that, determination of the winners was made by an panel of experts. Through the 2001 iteration of the ESPY Awards, ceremonies were conducted in February of each year to honor achievements over the previous calendar year; awards presented thereafter are conferred in July and reflect performance from the June previous.
The inaugural winner of the Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award in 2002 was Iowa State Cyclones wrestler Cael Sanderson who ended his collegiate career that year. In that period, he surpassed numerous NCAA records, clinched four NCAA wrestling championships, and went 159–0 undefeated in his final season. Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow received the trophy in 2008, and won it again the following year, becoming the only sportsman in the history of the award to have won it more than once. American football players have been the most successful at the awards with 12 wins. The most recent winner of the award is LSU Tigers quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Beginning in 2021, the awards were again separated into men's and women's versions using the current naming scheme.
Winners + ESPY Award for Best College Athlete, Men's Sports winners and nomineesYear Image Winner University Sport Other nominees 2002 — Iowa State Cyclones Wrestling Shane Battier – Duke Blue Devils (Basketball)Eric Crouch – Nebraska Cornhuskers (Football)Juan Dixon – Maryland Terrapins (Basketball)Jay Williams – Duke Blue Devils (Basketball) 2003 Syracuse Orangemen Basketball T. J. Ford – Texas Longhorns (Basketball)Eric Larkin – Arizona State Sun Devils (Wrestling)Carson Palmer – USC Trojans (Football) 2004 Connecticut Huskies Basketball Larry Fitzgerald – Pittsburgh Panthers (Football)Jameer Nelson – Saint Joseph's Hawks (Basketball)Jason White – Oklahoma Sooners (Football) 2005 USC Trojans Football Andrew Bogut – Utah Utes (Basketball)Alex Gordon – Nebraska Cornhuskers (Baseball)Steve Mocco – Oklahoma State Cowboys (Wrestling)Marty Sertich – Colorado College Tigers (Ice hockey) 2006 USC Trojans Football Matt Leinart – USC Trojans (Football)Adam Morrison – Gonzaga Bulldogs (Basketball)J. J. Redick – Duke Blue Devils (Basketball)Vince Young – Texas Longhorns (Football) 2007 Texas Longhorns Basketball Ben Askren – Missouri Tigers (Wrestling)Greg Oden – Ohio State Buckeyes (Basketball)Troy Smith – Ohio State Buckeyes (Football) 2008 Florida Gators Football Michael Beasley – Kansas State Wildcats (Basketball)Tyler Hansbrough – North Carolina Tar Heels (Basketball) 2009 (2) Florida Gators Football Sam Bradford – Oklahoma Sooners (Football)Matt Gilroy – Boston University Terriers (Ice hockey)Blake Griffin – Oklahoma Sooners (Basketball)Stephen Strasburg – San Diego State Aztecs (Baseball) 2010 Kentucky Wildcats Basketball Blake Geoffrion – Wisconsin Badgers (Ice hockey)Mark Ingram II – Alabama Crimson Tide (Football)Evan Turner – Ohio State Buckeyes (Basketball)Garrett Wittels – FIU Panthers (Baseball) 2011 BYU Cougars Basketball Andy Miele – Miami RedHawks (Ice hockey)Cam Newton – Auburn Tigers (Football)Rob Pannell – Cornell Big Red (Lacrosse)Kemba Walker – Connecticut Huskies (Basketball) 2012 Baylor Bears Football Jack Connolly – Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs (Ice hockey)Anthony Davis – Kentucky Wildcats (Basketball)Andrew Luck – Stanford Cardinal (Football)Mike Zunino – Florida Gators (Baseball) 2013 Texas A&M Aggies Football Trey Burke – Michigan Wolverines (Basketball)Kyle Dake – Cornell Big Red (Wrestling)Drew LeBlanc – St. Cloud State Huskies (Ice hockey) 2014 Creighton Bluejays Basketball Johnny Gaudreau – Boston College Eagles (Ice hockey)David Taylor – Penn State Nittany Lions (Wrestling)Lyle Thompson – Albany Great Danes (Lacrosse)Jameis Winston – Florida State Seminoles (Football) 2015 Oregon Ducks Football Jack Eichel – Boston University Terriers (Ice hockey)Frank Kaminsky – Wisconsin Badgers (Basketball)Logan Stieber – Ohio State Buckeyes (Wrestling)Dansby Swanson – Vanderbilt Commodores (Baseball) 2016 Oklahoma Sooners Basketball Alex Dieringer – Oklahoma State Cowboys (Wrestling)Derrick Henry – Alabama Crimson Tide (Football)Jarrion Lawson – Arkansas Razorbacks (Track and field)Jordan Morris – Stanford Cardinal (Soccer) 2017 Clemson Tigers Football Ian Harkes – Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Soccer)Frank Mason III – Kansas Jayhawks (Basketball)Matt Rambo – Maryland Terrapins (Lacrosse)Zain Retherford – Penn State Nittany Lions (Wrestling) 2018–2020 —Not awarded 2021 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Gloire Amanda – Oregon State Beavers (Soccer)Luka Garza – Iowa Hawkeyes (Basketball)Trevor Lawrence – Clemson Tigers (Football) 2022 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Chet Holmgren – Gonzaga (Basketball)Dante Polvara – Georgetown (Soccer)Logan Wisnauskas – Maryland (Lacrosse) 2023 USC Trojans Football Duncan McGuire – Creighton (Soocer)Brennan O'Neill – Duke (Lacrosse)Zach Edey – Purdue (Basketball) 2024 LSU Tigers Football 2025 Duke Blue Devils Basketball 2026 Indiana Hoosiers Football
Statistics
+ Winners by college team represented Team Wins Nominations USC Trojans 3 5 Alabama Crimson Tide 2 4 Florida Gators 2 3 Duke Blue Devils 1 6 Oklahoma Sooners 1 4 Clemson Tigers 1 3 Texas Longhorns 1 3 Kentucky Wildcats 1 2 UConn Huskies 1 2 LSU Tigers 1 1 Indiana Hoosiers 1 1 Ohio State Buckeyes 0 4 Cornell Big Red 0 3 Maryland Terrapins 0 3 Oklahoma State Cowboys 0 3 Penn State Nittany Lions 0 3 Boston University Terriers 0 2 Gonzaga Bulldogs 0 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers 0 2 Purdue Boilermakers 0 2 Creighton Bluejays 0 2 NC State Wolfpack 0 1
+ Winners and nominees by sport Sport Winners Nominations Basketball 8 31 Football 13 28 Wrestling 1 11 Ice hockey 0 8 Lacrosse 0 7 Soccer 0 7 Baseball 0 5 Track and field 0 1
See also Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award Sporting News College Athlete of the Year National Collegiate Athletic Association awards All-America Today's Top 10 Award
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