With the new year upon us, let’s reminisce on the highlights of the diverse world of sports from 2025. 

Live sports can create memorable moments for fans that last a lifetime: your team winning the playoffs, making it to the finals and many more. 

“[When] Ohio State won the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship, [it] was exciting,” Jake Scharff, ‘27, said. 

After a long day, watching your favorite sport can be a much needed escape.

“[It is] exciting to watch the best athletes and teams at their craft,” Axel Kindel, ‘26, said. “[It] makes for good television.” 

The thing that makes sports special is the unique blend of athletes. So, let’s see who WHHS students think were the greatest athletes of 2025.

“[The greatest athlete of 2025 was] Max Verstappen from team Red Bull F1,” Scharff said.

In 2025, Verstappen finished with 421 points in total after all races, placing him at the No. 2 spot for the F1 season. 

“[I would] probably have to say Shohei Ohtani [was the greatest athlete of 2025]; [I’m] not a Dodgers fan, but he’s pretty good,” Mathew Chaney, vice principal, said. 

In game four of the National League Championship Series (NLCS), Shohei Ohtani delivered an all time performance, finishing with ten strikeouts and three home runs in a single game.

“[My athlete of the year was] swimmer Katie Ledecky,” Fiona Kelley, ‘28, said.

Ledecky is a renowned Olympic swimmer who seems to not be able to stop breaking records. In her career she has a total of nine olympic gold medals.

 “Myles Garrett, who had the sack record during the 2025-2026 season,” Taha Rana, ‘26, said. 

Garrett broke the National Football League (NFL) single-season sack record with 23 sacks. The record was previously held by TJ Watt in the 2025-2026 season against the Cincinnati Bengals in week 18.

These extraordinary athletes reach remarkable moments that make the fans erupt into anger or joy inside stadiums, arenas and at their house.

“[My] most exciting [moment of sports in 2025] was in Super Bowl 58 when the Chiefs dynasty ended with the Eagles winning in dominant fashion,” Rana said. 

Built up tension and competition between teams and fans creates thrilling rivalries, including the highly regarded game between The Ohio State University and Michigan football, often labeled as “the game.”

“Watching Ohio State beat Michigan in football and getting their revenge was uplifting,” Connor Carlton, ‘27, said. 

This result shocked Michigan fans who thought they were going to keep their four-game win streak against Ohio State alive. Sports can shock fans within minutes or seconds in any given game, no matter the odds.

“The morning that I saw Luka Doncic get traded to the Lakers for Anthony Davis completely shocked me,” Shea Dillon, ‘27, said. 

This trade between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks completely baffled the sports world, with many players and fans believing Doncic and Davis weren’t on the trade block.

Sports are often unpredictable, as the athlete’s hard work can be altered by a sudden injury that could be career or season ending.

“[I was shocked when] In game four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks, Jayson Tatum tore his achilles to end his season,” Ben Greiner, ‘27, said. 

Another similar injury happened in the 2025 NBA finals game seven, between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers.

In the first quarter of the game, Tyrese Haliburton, the starting point guard for the Pacers, tore his achilles.

According to the New York Intelligencer, the MLB world series game seven, played between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers, was the best sports moment of 2025.

With a total of 73.0 innings pitched, the entire series was extremely exciting. Many believed that during game seven the Blue Jays were guaranteed to win, but two electric home runs by Miguel Rojas and Will Smith gave the Dodgers the win.

Sometimes, unexpected yet generational plays take place, setting the bar for moments we may never see again.

“Eagles running back Saquon Barkley’s incredible backwards hurdle [was my favorite play],” Riley Montello, ‘27, said. 

 This play quickly became a jaw dropper for many, securing it the Madden 26 Game Cover photo.

The player on the other end of this hurdle was rookie cornerback for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jarrion Jones, recognizing his “welcome to the league” moment, a term used to describe a rookie’s wake-up call in the big leagues.

Each year, when a new player scores their first touchdown, makes their first goal or first assist, they put the league on notice through statement plays or performances.

“[My favorite rookie moment in sports of 2025 was] Bengals rookie receiver Mitchell Tinsley catching his first career touchdown to help the Bengals start the season with a 2-0 record,” Wren Prows, ‘28, said.

A rookie can deliver a breakout game or season to prove themselves to the sports world. 

“[The greatest performance of a player in 2025 was when] Athletics Rookie First Baseman Nick Kurtz [had] 19 total bases with four home runs in one game to help him win the 2025 American League rookie of year,” Josh Scharff, ‘27, said. 

Kurtz’s performance is ranked by the MLB as the best hitting performance of an Athletic player in MLB history. This game by Kurtz could have been the first five-homer game in MLB history, but he was five to10 feet away from that remarkable record on a near home run that turned out to be a double.

Remarkable achievements and milestones solidify athletes in the history books, especially seasoned veterans who are late in their careers.

In 2025, Washington Capitals’ forty-year-old forward Alex Ovechkin surpassed Wayne Gretzky for the most goals scored in National Hockey League history. In the NBA, Lebron James became the first player in the history of the league to reach 40,000 career points. 

“Lebron James becoming the first NBA player all time to hit the 40K point milestone,” Dillon, ‘27, said. 

As we look into 2026, there are many more remarkable moments that could happen, considering the 2026 World Cup will be hosted in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Unlike most forms of media, sports can’t be edited or shaped into something that they’re not. 2026 presents many exciting sports opportunities, so keep an eye out.

“Most sports events are like a story,” Chaney said. “There’s a whole lot of things that go into it, [and] very rarely the outcome is something you expect.”