Olivia Babcock becomes 1st Pitt female athlete nominated for ESPY Award

Olivia Babcock became the first female athlete in Pitt history to receive an ESPY nomination, the school announced Thursday.

A decorated member of the Panthers’ NCAA semifinalist women’s volleyball team, Babcock is an ESPY nominee for best college athlete in women’s sports. She joins Southern Cal basketball star JuJu Watkins, North Carolina soccer player Kate Faasse and Virginia swimmer Gretchen Walsh in the category.

Babcock won the Honda Award for volleyball and was named an AAU Sullivan Award Semifinalist and the AVCA National Player of the Year after she led Pitt by averaging 5.94 points per set, 4.72 kills per set, 1.82 digs per set and 0.62 aces per set.

She won two AVCA National Player of the Week and three ACC Offensive Player of the Week awards last season.

The ESPYS, hosted by comedian Shane Gillis, will air live from The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles at 8 p.m. July 16 on ABC and will stream live on ESPN+.

Celebrities from sports and entertainment will be in attendance as winners are announced in categories such as “Best Athlete – Men’s Sports,” “Best Athlete – Women’s Sports,” “Best Breakthrough Athlete,” “Best Record Breaking Performance,” “Best Championship Performance” and “Best Comeback Athlete.”

The ESPYS also will deliver the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance and The Pat Tillman Award for Service.