Gretchen Walsh Earns ESPY Nomination After Historic NCAA Swim Season

After finishing her collegiate career as a 25-time NCAA Champion, with four National Titles for Virginia women's swim and dive, Gretchen Walsh has a chance at earning one more collegiate award this July at the ESPY Awards. In a press release by Virginia Athletics, Walsh was announced to be nominated for Best College Athlete - Women's Sports for the 2024-25 season alongside Kate Faase (UNC soccer), Olivia Babcock (Pittsburgh volleyball), and Juju Watkins (USC basketball). 

Walsh garnered the nomination after an outstanding final season at Virginia. She was named the CSCAA Swimmer of the Year for the second straight year after setting 11 world records, nine individual, at the 2024 World Aquatics 25m Championships. Walsh also was named the ACC Swimmer of the Year for the second straight year. 

At the 2025 NCAA Women's Swimming & Diving Championships at Weyerhaeuser King Country Aquatics Center in Federal Way, Washington, this past March, Walsh won three individual events (50 Free, 100 Free, 100 Fly), setting three American and NCAA records in the process. Walsh was also a member of all four of the Hoos championship-winning relay teams. She capped her collegiate career with nine individual titles, becoming one of just seven collegiate swimmers to reach that mark. In her fourth trip to NCAA's, she helped the Cavaliers claim their 5th straight team National Championship. 

At ACCs, Walsh won seven titles as she concluded her career in the orange and blue with 28 total titles and four ACC Team Championship titles. 

In April, Walsh received the IMP Award given to the top female Virginia athlete at the 2024-25 Hoos Choice Awards. 

Recently, in June, at the Toyota US National Championships, Walsh earned gold in the 50m Fly, setting an American record, gold in the 100m Fly, and gold in the 50m Free, tying the American record, along with a silver medal in the 100m freestyle as she qualified for World Championships in all four events.

Prior to her senior season, Walsh competed in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, where she notched two gold medals and two silver medals while also breaking the Olympic record in the 100 fly while being a part of World Records for the mixed 4x100 medley relay and the 4x100 medley relay. 

Her ESPY nomination makes her the second Cavalier to be nominated for this category, joining Morgan Brian (women's soccer) in 2014. The ESPYs award ceremony, standing for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, is an annual event created by ESPN that started in 1993. 

A part of the determination of the award is via fan voting, in which Virginia fans and others who believe Walsh is worthy of the award can cast their ballot at espn.com/espys/

The last Cavalier to win an award was in 2024 when former Virginia women's basketball player and now South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley earned the Jimmy V Award. 

The ceremony will take place on Wednesday, July 16th, at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles and will be televised at 8 pm on ABC. 

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