This originally appeared in the New Year’s Eve edition of The A Block, Awful Announcing’s daily newsletter with the latest sports media news, commentary, and analysis. Sign up here and be the first to know everything you need to know about the sports media world.
With 2026 upon us, it’s time to look ahead at the year to come in sports media. It promises to be a huge year with an Olympics, a World Cup, and a full calendar of all of the annual sports we know and love.
While we have made our predictions for some of the big stories that we see unfolding in the new year, what about the people who will come to define the next twelve months in the industry? The Ones to Watch for 2026 may not be all of the biggest names, but they are the ones who may have the biggest year to come in many different ways.
So here are ten names that we will be keeping our eyes on in the new year.
Peter Schrager – The NFL insider, analyst, and personality hit the ground running at ESPN and is already a star across a number of platforms. If he gets the 5 p.m. ET daily show and not Scott Van Pelt, the sky could be the limit for him in Bristol.
Drew Brees – The television return of future Hall of Famer Drew Brees has gone much smoother than his debut year with NBC Sports. As a midseason replacement for Mark Sanchez, Brees has fit seamlessly alongside Adam Amin and shown much more comfort and depth than his first season as a game analyst.
Rebecca Lowe – The English Premier League host has been a fan favorite for a long time. But this year she has the unique honor of hosting both the Olympics and the World Cup on American television, which is a remarkable achievement.
Tim Legler – The longtime NBA analyst will take centerstage this summer when he joins the NBA Finals broadcast booth for the first time. How will he gel with Mike Breen and Richard Jefferson and will he make us forget all about ESPN’s revolving door in recent years?
Shae Cornette – Replacing Molly Qerim after a decade as the host of ESPN’s most popular morning show is no small task. So far, it’s been a seamless transition and hopefully that continues in 2026.
Pablo Torre – It feels a bit lazy to put the reigning Sports Media Person of the Year on this list. But is there anyone else who fits the definition of “one to watch” more than Pablo Torre? Each podcast release holds something special and now expectations are high that he can match or surpass his Jordon Hudson and Kawhi Leonard scoops from 2025.
Christine Williamson – With Elle Duncan moving to Netflix, the SportsCenter anchor got the call to anchor both the 6 p.m. ET SportsCenter and the women’s basketball studio coverage. Can she duplicate Duncan’s chemistry with Andraya Carter and Chiney Ogwumike in what was widely acclaimed coverage?
Josh Pate – Nobody had a more meteoric rise in 2025 than the college football podcaster. Now an ESPN contributor, will we see more of him on national television as a leading college football voice in 2026?
Michael Grady – Speaking of rising stars, Timberwolves announcer Michael Grady now works for both NBC and Amazon in national coverage. It’s not out of the question to see him potentially calling the NBA Finals one day.
Travis Kelce – If the Chiefs tight end, podcaster, and fiancé of Taylor Swift does decide to retire, every network, streamer, and media company in the country will be at his door to recruit him to their platform. The odds of seeing a KelceCast in 2026 have to at least be even money, right?
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