ESPN snubs Penn State wrestling for 2024’s Best Team award

Cael Sanderson has turned Penn State wrestling into the definition of success over the last 15 years, winning 11 of the last 13 National Championships. This year, the Nittany Lions put together one of the most dominant seasons in sports history en route to a record-breaking NCAA Championships performance. However, the Blue and White won’t be in the running for 2024’s Best Team at this year’s ESPYs, with ESPN surprisingly leaving Penn State off the ballot on Wednesday.

The Nittany Lions are fresh off perhaps the greatest season in college wrestling history, scoring an unprecedented 172.5 points to break the NCAA team points record this past March. Penn State also broke the margin of victory record with a 100-point gap with second place Cornell.

In fact, Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions had the NCAA Championship wrapped up before the final round even started. Penn State had a wrestler in six of the ten final matches, with four taking home titles.

Sanderson also had Tyler Kasak and Bernie Truax finish in third and fifth, respectively, at their weights.

Penn State wrestling nowhere to be found

Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Despite all the success on the mat, ESPN still couldn’t find a spot for Penn State wrestling on the 2024 ESPYs Best Team nominees list, which features five professional teams and four college teams.

The Kansas City Chiefs, Boston Celtics, Florida Panthers, and Texas Rangers won titles in the four major sports, so their inclusion isn’t an atrocity. Even Michigan football and UConn men’s basketball make sense purely because of the popularity of those sports.

The three debatable nominees are South Carolina women’s basketball, Oklahoma softball, and the Las Vegas Aces.

South Carolina’s dominant undefeated season culminated in a National Championship over superstar Caitlin Clark, so it makes sense to include the Gamecocks. Women’s college basketball has also grown tremendously recently, making the choice wise.

However, Penn State wrestling has a strong argument over the Aces and this year’s Sooners softball team.

Neither team showed wire-to-wire dominance like the Nittany Lions, who were never in danger of sacrificing the No. 1 ranking in the country. While Oklahoma has undoubtedly had quite a championship run, the Sooners have fielded much more dominant seasons than we saw in 2024. This is, after all, a one-year award.

Yet, Cael Sanderson and Penn State wrestling didn’t get the nod over either for this year’s ESPYs.

NCAA wrestling gets disrespected once again

It’s no secret that college wrestling is a regional sport, with most major programs coming from the Northeast and Midwest.

However, the sport is growing every year, and its ratings reflect that. Even Pat McAfee praised Penn State wrestling after this year’s finals on his show on ESPN, making sure to include how exciting the sport was as a whole.

It appears that the rest of the network didn’t feel the same way. Cael Sanderson moved on to 2025 long ago; perhaps 2025 will be the year that ESPN gives the Nittany Lions a chance to go toe-to-toe with the nation’s best teams.

Thank you for reading Basic Blues Nation! Please follow us on all of our social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube) and subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news and insights on your favorite Penn State athletics. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email us at basicbluesnation@gmail.com or direct message us on our social media.