# Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award

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 nominees :
| Year | Image | Winner | University | Sport | Other nominees |
| 2002 | — | Cael Sanderson | 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 | | Carmelo Anthony | Syracuse Orangemen | Basketball | T. J. Ford – Texas Longhorns (Basketball) Eric Larkin – Arizona State Sun Devils (Wrestling) Carson Palmer – USC Trojans (Football) |
| 2004 | | Emeka Okafor | Connecticut Huskies | Basketball | Larry Fitzgerald – Pittsburgh Panthers (Football) Jameer Nelson – Saint Joseph's Hawks (Basketball) Jason White – Oklahoma Sooners (Football) |
| 2005 | | Matt Leinart | 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 | | Reggie Bush | 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 | | Kevin Durant | Texas Longhorns | Basketball | Ben Askren – Missouri Tigers (Wrestling) Greg Oden – Ohio State Buckeyes (Basketball) Troy Smith – Ohio State Buckeyes (Football) |
| 2008 | | Tim Tebow | Florida Gators | Football | Michael Beasley – Kansas State Wildcats (Basketball) Tyler Hansbrough – North Carolina Tar Heels (Basketball) |
| 2009 | | Tim Tebow (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 | | John Wall | 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 | | Jimmer Fredette | 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 | | Robert Griffin III | 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 | | Johnny Manziel | 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 | | Doug McDermott | 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 | | Marcus Mariota | 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 | | Buddy Hield | 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 | | Deshaun Watson | 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 | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| 2021 | | DeVonta Smith | Alabama Crimson Tide | Football | Gloire Amanda – Oregon State Beavers (Soccer) Luka Garza – Iowa Hawkeyes (Basketball) Trevor Lawrence – Clemson Tigers (Football) |
| 2022 | | Bryce Young | Alabama Crimson Tide | Football | Chet Holmgren – Gonzaga (Basketball) Dante Polvara – Georgetown (Soccer) Logan Wisnauskas – Maryland (Lacrosse) |
| 2023 | | Caleb Williams | USC Trojans | Football | Duncan McGuire – Creighton (Soocer) Brennan O'Neill – Duke (Lacrosse) Zach Edey – Purdue (Basketball) |
| 2024 | | Jayden Daniels | LSU Tigers | Football | Zach Edey – Purdue (Basketball)Ousmane Sylla – Clemson (Soccer)Pat Kavanagh – Notre Dame (Lacrosse) |

## Statistics

Winners by college team represented :
| Team | Wins | Nominations |
| USC Trojans | 3 | 5 |
| Alabama Crimson Tide | 2 | 4 |
| Oklahoma Sooners | 1 | 4 |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | 0 | 4 |
| Duke Blue Devils | 0 | 4 |
| Florida Gators | 2 | 3 |
| Texas Longhorns | 1 | 3 |
| Clemson Tigers | 1 | 3 |
| Maryland Terrapins | 0 | 3 |
| Kentucky Wildcats | 1 | 2 |
| UConn Huskies | 1 | 2 |
| Boston University Terriers | 0 | 2 |
| Gonzaga Bulldogs | 0 | 2 |
| Nebraska Cornhuskers | 0 | 2 |
| Penn State Nittany Lions | 0 | 2 |
| Purdue Boilermakers | 0 | 2 |
| LSU Tigers | 1 | 1 |
| Creighton Bluejays | 0 | 1 |
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 0 | 1 |
Winners and nominees by sport :
| Sport | Winners | Nominations |
| Basketball | 7 | 29 |
| Football | 12 | 26 |
| Wrestling | 1 | 9 |
| Ice hockey | 0 | 8 |
| Lacrosse | 0 | 6 |
| Soccer | 0 | 6 |
| Baseball | 0 | 5 |
| Track and field | 0 | 1 |