36 Big Ten Athlete of the Year winners

James Anthony Abbott is an American former baseball pitcher. He is known for his success at the major league level despite having been born without a right hand. Abbott played ten seasons in Major League Baseball for the California Angels, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, and Milwaukee Brewers, from 1989 to 1999.

Stephen Todd Alford is an American men's college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference (MWC). Born and raised in Indiana, he was a two-time consensus first-team All-American as a college basketball player for the Indiana Hoosiers. He led them to a national championship in 1987. After playing professionally for four years in the National Basketball Association (NBA), he has been a college head coach for almost 30 years.

Edward Joseph "Ed" Banach is an athlete who won a gold medal in wrestling in the 1984 Summer Olympics. He wrestled for the University of Iowa under coach Dan Gable from 1980 to 1983, where he was a four-time NCAA All-American, and a three-time NCAA national champion. He was named the 1983 Big Ten Athlete of the Year.

Rachel Banham is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Banham played guard for the Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team, where she set a number of team records. Banham was drafted by the Connecticut Sun with the 4th pick of the 2016 WNBA draft. Banham was traded to the Minnesota Lynx on February 25, 2020.

David Alasdair Boudia is an American diver. He won the gold medal in the 10 metre platform diving competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the bronze medal in the same event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He also won a bronze medal with Nick McCrory in the men's synchronized 10 metre platform at the 2012 Summer Olympics and a silver medal in the same event with Steele Johnson at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Christina Clemons is an American track and field athlete, who specializes in the 100 m hurdles from Landover, Maryland. Her time of 7.73 in the 60 meter hurdles is tied for the 5th fastest time in history and .05 seconds off the world record.

Ronald Dayne is a former professional American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. Dayne played college football for the University of Wisconsin and won the 1999 Heisman Trophy. He was a first round pick of the New York Giants in the 2000 NFL Draft and also played for the Denver Broncos and Houston Texans.

Amer Delić is a Bosnian former professional tennis player. He is a former captain and member of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Davis Cup team.

Luke Campbell Donald MBE is an English professional golfer who has been the World Number One. He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of the European Tour.

Kathryn Elizabeth Douglas is a retired American professional basketball player. Her primary position was shooting guard, her secondary was small forward. She was known league-wide as one of the most prominent two-way players for her long-range shooting and high scoring abilities on offense as well as her defensive abilities. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Douglas is left-handed.

Derek Drouin is a Canadian track and field athlete who competes in the high jump. He is the reigning Olympic Champion, having won gold in 2016, and was the 2015 World Champion. He also won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2015 Pan American Games, and won a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2013 World Championships.

Perdita Felicien is a Canadian retired hurdler. Felicien is the 2003 World champion in the 100 metres hurdles and 2004 World indoor champion in the 60 metres hurdles. She also won silver medals at the 2007 World Championships, the 2010 World Indoor Championships, and twice at the Pan American Games. Her best time for the 100 metres hurdles of 12.46 secs from 2004 still stands as the Canadian record.

Edward Nathan George Jr. is a former professional American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. He played college football for The Ohio State University and won the Heisman Trophy in 1995. He was drafted in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys. George was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011. Post-football, George earned an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. In 2015, he guest starred on an IFC episode of the satirical talk-show Comedy Bang Bang, titled "Eddie George Wears a Navy Suit and Half-Zip Pullover." In 2016, he appeared on Broadway in the musical Chicago as the hustling lawyer Billy Flynn.

Draymond Jamal Green Sr. is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Green, who plays primarily at the power forward position, is a three-time NBA champion and a three-time NBA All-Star. In 2017, he won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Megan Gustafson is an American basketball player for the Dallas Wings of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Gustafson was drafted in the second round by the Wings in the 2019 WNBA draft, but was released prior to the start of the season. On June 10, 2019, she was signed again by the team that had previously cut her.

Jake Herbert of Ann Arbor, Michigan is an American amateur wrestler. Herbert won the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials at 84 kg FS and competed in the 2012 Olympics.

Megan Hodge Easy is an American indoor volleyball player who won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics with the US team and played for Pennsylvania State University's volleyball team.

Desmond Kevin Howard is an American former football player. Howard was known mostly as a return specialist but also played wide receiver. He is now a college football analyst for ESPN.

MaChelle Kay Joseph is an American women's basketball coach, who served as the head coach for Georgia Tech from 2003 to 2019. Under Joseph, the Yellow Jackets compiled a record of 273–176. Joseph was fired on March 26, 2019, by AD Todd Stansbury and the Georgia Tech Athletic Administration after being accused of abusing and bullying players. She denies these accusations and filed suit against Georgia Tech Athletics, the Board of Regents, and 4 individuals on July 23, 2019. She claims her termination was a culmination of an unlawful campaign of retaliation against her for advocating for gender equity in athletics at Georgia Tech, and that for years, Georgia Tech has provided sub-standard resources to its women's basketball program including in facilities, marketing, travel, and funding, while providing significantly more and superior resources to its men's basketball program. Joseph served as the Head Women's Basketball Coach at GT for 16 years and amassed more wins than any other coach in GT WBB history.

Amanda Kessel is an American professional ice hockey player. She has been a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team and played four seasons for the Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey program. She has played professionally in the National Women's Hockey League and Professional Women's Hockey Players Association.

Lilly King is an American swimmer who specializes in breaststroke. She currently represents the Cali Condors, a team that is part of the International Swimming League. At the 2016 Summer Olympics she won the gold medal in the 100 meter breaststroke competition and also won a gold medal in the women's 4 × 100 m medley relay, in which she swam the breaststroke leg. She is the current world record holder in 100-metre and 50-metre breaststroke.

Jordan Douglas Leopold is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He was drafted in the second round, 44th overall, by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 1999, though never making an appearance with the team. In his NHL career, Leopold played for the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild.

Ryan Dean Miller is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Miller was drafted 138th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. In 2010, he won the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goaltender. On February 17, 2019, Miller became the winningest American-born goalie in NHL history.

Glen Anthony Rice Sr. is an American retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a small forward, Rice was a three-time NBA All-Star, and made 1,559 three-point field goals during his 15-year career. Rice won both an NCAA championship and NBA championship during his collegiate and professional career. In recent years, Rice has taken up MMA fight promotion as owner of G-Force Fights based in Miami, Florida.

Jennifer "Jennie" Darlene Ritter is an American, former collegiate All-American, retired softball pitcher and current sports commentator originally from Dexter, Michigan. Ritter played college softball and was a starting pitcher for the Michigan Wolverines softball from 2003 to 2006 and led them to the 2005 Women's College World Series championship. She is the career shutouts record holder for the Wolverines in the Big Ten Conference.

Glenn Alan Robinson Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed Big Dog, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1994 to 2005 for the Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, and San Antonio Spurs. Robinson attended Purdue University, was the first overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, and is the father of Glenn Robinson III, who played college basketball at the University of Michigan and plays in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings.

Kyle Frederick Snyder is an American freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler who competes at 97 kilograms. He holds the distinctions of being the youngest Olympic Gold medalist and the youngest World Champion in American wrestling history.

Logan Stieber is an American former freestyle and folkstyle wrestler, who competed internationally at 61 and 65 kilograms. In the Olympic year of 2016, he won the non-olympic World Championship at 61kg, and in 2018, he won a Pan American title.

David Morris Taylor III is an American freestyle and graduated folkstyle wrestler who currently competes at 86 kilograms. A three-time US National Champion, two-time World Cup champion, two-time Pan American champion and the '18 Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix champion, Taylor became the '18 World Champion, notably defeating '16 Olympic and returning World Champion from Iran Hassan Yazdani in the first round.

Evan Marcel Turner is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). In 10 seasons as an NBA player, Turner played the point guard, shooting guard, and small forward positions. He was drafted second overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2010 NBA draft.

Denzel Robert Valentine is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. As a senior, Valentine became the first player in Michigan State history to be recognized as the National Player of the Year by The Associated Press. He also earned other player of the year awards from the NABC, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports, and Basketball Times in addition to being named a unanimous First-Team All-American. Valentine was selected with the 14th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls. Valentine is also a rapper who released his first album in February 2021.

Peter William Vanderkaay is an American former competition swimmer who specialized in middle-distance freestyle events and is a four-time Olympic medalist. He was a member of the United States Olympic team in 2004, 2008, and 2012, and won bronze medals in the 200-meter freestyle at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 400-meter freestyle at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Tiffany Marie Weimer is an American soccer forward, who plays for FC Nordsjælland.

Stephanie Joanne White is a former professional basketball player and currently the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores women's basketball team. Before accepting the job at Vanderbilt, she was the head coach of the Indiana Fever of the WNBA for the 2015 and 2016 season. As an intercollegiate athlete, she was named the winner of the Wade Trophy in 1999, which recognizes the top female basketball player in the nation.

Charles Cameron Woodson is a former American football player. He played college football for Michigan, where he led the Wolverines to a share of the national championship in 1997. Woodson, a "two-way player" who played both offense and defense, won the Heisman Trophy in the same year. To date, he is the only primarily defensive player to win the Heisman. Woodson went on to accomplish a storied career professionally with one of the most decorated professional football resumes of all time. He is considered by many of his peers to be one of the greatest defensive players to have ever played.

Chase Young is an American football defensive end for the Washington Football Team of the National Football League (NFL). Born and raised in Maryland, he played college football for the Buckeyes at Ohio State University during the late 2010s. He broke the school's single-season sack record with 16.5 in his final season, when he was voted a unanimous All-American and won several defensive player of the year awards. He was also named the Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, a rare honor for a defensive player. He was selected by Washington second overall in the 2020 NFL Draft and was named Defensive Rookie of the Year and made the Pro Bowl after leading all rookies in several statistical categories.