Ranking America’s Best Athletes from All 50 States

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In celebration of America’s semiquincentennial this year, Sports Illustrated set out to name the five best athletes from each of the 50 states, culminating in a list of 250 names in honor of our 250th anniversary.

Editors unearthed an SI project that was featured in our December 27, 1999 issue. At that point, we set out to acknowledge our home-grown talent by ranking the 50 best athletes from each of the 50 states. While the ‘99 list acknowledged coaches solely for their clipboard skills, our 2026 version focuses on athletes only. Athletes were considered for each state based on the following criteria:

• Where an athlete attended high school (for majority years or for the final/graduating year(s)
• Primary residence as a child, if athlete did not attend high school (home school or similar)
• Based on the 1999 list’s spirit of placing athletes “not necessarily to where they were born, but to where they first showed flashes of the greatness to come.”

And so, here they are: The United Greats of America.

ALABAMA

1. Henry Aaron
2. Willie Mays
3. Bo Jackson
4. Satchel Paige
5. Charles Barkley

Alabama boasts a rich baseball history, as the Yellowhammer State is where two of MLB’s greatest players ever, Willie Mays and Henry Aaron spent their formative years, with Aaron starring for the semi-pro Mobile Black Bears and Mays for the legendary Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro League before both enjoyed Hall of Fame careers. Long before Mays suited up in Birmingham, Satchel Paige also starred for the Black Bears as well as eight other franchises across his Hall of Fame career. The state also produced one of the greatest athletes in the history of American sports in Bo Jackson, a Heisman Trophy winner in college, a Pro Bowl running back in the NFL and an All-Star slugger in MLB. Hall of Famer Charles Barkley was born and raised in Leeds and established his playing career at Auburn before entering the 1984 NBA Draft. During his 16 seasons in the league, Barkley was an 11-time All-Star and the 1993 MVP, and he is also a two-time Olympic gold medalist. —Tim Capurso

ALASKA

1. Trajan Langdon
2. Kikkan Randall
3. Carlos Boozer
4. George Attla
5. Lydia Jacoby

When U.S. Secretary of State William Seward spearheaded the Alaska Purchase in 1867, his shortsighted critics deemed it a folly. Duke basketball fans may currently hold a different opinion. Trajan Langdon was a second-team All-American who starred for the Blue Devils team that reached the national championship game in 1999 and is now president of basketball operations for the Pistons. Carlos Boozer won a national title with Duke in 2001 and was later a two-time NBA All-Star and a 2008 Olympic gold medalist. Swimmer Lydia Jacoby is also an Olympic champion, winning gold in the 100-meter breaststroke at the Tokyo Games in 2021, along with a silver in the 4×100-meter medley relay. Fittingly for Alaska, this list also includes a cross-country skier (Kikkan Randall, who won Olympic gold in the team sprint in 2018) and a legendary champion dog musher (George Attla, who won eight Open North American Championships). —Mitch Goldich

ARIZONA

1. Jim Palmer
2. Randall McDaniel
3. Terrell Suggs
4. Michele Mitchell
5. Ty Murray

The Grand Canyon State has gone deep in the trenches with its football heroes, none greater than Randall McDaniel and Terrell Suggs. The former Sun Devils and native Arizonans are both NFL All-Pros; offensive guard McDaniel even helped Arizona State to its only Rose Bowl win in 1987 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009. On the baseball diamond, Jim Palmer caught the attention of Orioles scouts before he ever got to step on the mound for the Sun Devils. That turned out to be a grand decision as he won the most games in the 1970s and won three American League Cy Young Awards. Michele Mitchell starred at the University of Arizona as a nine-time national champion diver. She went on to win two silver medals in the 10-meter platform at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics, and currently holds a director of operations role for the Wildcats’ swimming and diving team. After he began riding livestock at a young age on a ranch not too far outside of Phoenix, Ty Murray became one of the best rodeo cowboys. He cofounded PBR and competed on the circuit, and is lauded as the Michael Jordan of rodeo. —Blake Silverman

ARKANSAS

1. Sonny Liston
2. Bill Dickey
3. Scottie Pippen
4. Willie Roaf
5. Brooks Robinson

Each of these five stars is enshrined in his respective sport’s Hall of Fame. Bill Dickey and Brooks Robinson share residence in Cooperstown: Dickey as a key piece of seven Yankees championship teams in the 1930s and ’40s, and Robinson as one of the best third basemen ever, not to mention the third baseman with the best nickname. (What can compete with The Human Vacuum Cleaner?) Offensive tackle Willie Roaf earned admission to Canton as an 11-time Pro Bowler. Scottie Pippen, of course, began his journey to Springfield with high school and college basketball in Arkansas: The six-inch growth spurt he experienced while playing at the University of Central Arkansas helped launch him to the NBA. And Sonny Liston has a permanent spot in the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y., as one of the most notable heavyweights in history. —Emma Baccellieri

CALIFORNIA

1. Tom Brady
2. Serena Williams
3. Tiger Woods
4. Jackie Robinson
5. Bill Russell

The official state animal of California is the grizzly bear, but it might as well be the goat—or should we say GOATs. These five esteemed athletes stand as tall in their sports as the mighty redwoods along the state’s coast. Tom Brady’s journey from a sixth-round pick to a seven-time Super Bowl champion is the story Hollywood scriptwriters can only dream of, as is the tale of Bill Russell being discovered by a former University of San Francisco player and joining the team before going on to become an 11-time NBA champion. Serena Williams and Tiger Woods have amassed so many accolades that they are both longtime members of the “known by one name” club. Beyond individual achievements, the Golden State also features some of the most influential athletes of all time, particularly when it comes to breaking racial barriers in sports that predominantly featured white athletes before them. Robinson broke MLB’s color line and both Russell and Williams championed racial equality. —Eva Geitheim

COLORADO

1. Jack Dempsey
2. Byron “Whizzer” White
3. Amy Van Dyken
4. Christian McCaffrey
5. Roy Halladay

It’s no surprise that Colorado, home of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, has made significant contributions to the country’s sporting tradition. The Centennial State saw one of its hometown heroes, swimmer Amy Van Dyken of Englewood, star at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, where she took home four gold medals. More recently, all-purpose 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (son of Denver Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey) and late, great, two-time Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay have brought pride to the Rocky Mountains. If you go back to the first half of the 20th century, the likes of boxing legend Jack Dempsey and 1937 Heisman runner-up and eventual U.S. Supreme Court justice Byron “Whizzer” White etched their names into the history books of the nation’s 38th state. —Lorenzo Arguello

CONNECTICUT

1. Hilary Knight
2. Brian Leetch
3. Steve Young
4. Kristine Lilly
5. Jeff Bagwell

Connecticut’s influence over the sports world is outsized for a state of fewer than four million people, with not only ESPN but also NBC Sports and other popular broadcast entities calling the Nutmeg State home. It’s not too shabby at producing elite athletes, either. Connecticuters have thrived on the ice. Former Choate Rosemary Hall student Hilary Knight, who grew up in nearby New Hampshire, has won two golds and three silvers at the Olympics for the U.S. women’s hockey team. During his 18-year NHL career, Hall of Fame defenseman Brian Leetch won the Stanley Cup with the Rangers in 1994, becoming the first U.S.-born player to win playoff MVP honors, and also earned the league’s rookie award and two James Norris Memorial trophies. On the pitch, Wilton’s Kristine Lilly was a U.S. soccer mainstay for 23 years, scoring 130 goals in 354 appearances for the USWNT and winning two World Cups and two Olympic gold medals. The Big Four American sports have their share of superstar Nutmeggers as well. Greenwich’s Steve Young had the unenviable task of replacing Joe Montana and ran with it, putting together his own Hall of Fame NFL career, while Astros slugger Jeff Bagwell (of Killingworth) was one of the best pure hitters of the 1990s. —Dan Lyons

DELAWARE

1. Randy White
2. Elena Delle Donne
3. Judy Johnson
4. Delino DeShields
5. Vic Willis

They called Vic Willis “The Delaware Peach.” Even by the standards of the 1890s and 1900s, Willis stood out as a remarkably durable pitcher, which later helped earn him admission to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Yet he was not the most notable baseball talent from the state: That honor goes to third baseman Judy Johnson, who had a long career as a coach and scout after starring in the Negro Leagues, which landed him in Cooperstown, too. The state is also responsible for Delino DeShields, who enjoyed a 13-year MLB career in the 1990s and led the league in triples in ’97. Away from the diamond, Elena Delle Donne stands out as one of the most decorated women’s basketball players of this century. Originally committed to play her college ball at powerhouse UConn, she changed her mind to play closer to her family at the University of Delaware, where she led the Fightin’ Blue Hens to their first and only Sweet 16. She went on to be a seven-time WNBA All-Star, two-time MVP and the first member of the league’s 50-40-90 Club. And on the gridiron, “The Manster” Randy White was a nine-time Pro Bowler and the co-MVP of Super Bowl XII as a defensive tackle for the Cowboys. —E.B.

FLORIDA

1. Deion Sanders
2. Emmitt Smith
3. Steve Carlton
4. Chris Evert
5. Ray Lewis

The Sunshine State is fittingly home to some of sports’ brightest stars, from Pro Football Hall of Famer and baseball star Deion Sanders, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher in Emmitt Smith, lefty ace and Hall of Famer Steve Carlton, tennis great Chris Evert and legendary linebacker Ray Lewis. For many on this list, their greatness extends back to their early days growing up in Florida: Sanders was a three-sport athlete at North Fort Myers High; Carlton was a two-sport standout at North Miami High and Lewis was a state champion in wrestling and a football player for Kathleen High. But what do all five of these iconic athletes have in common? Winning. Between Evert (18 major singles titles), Smith (three Super Bowls), Sanders (two Super Bowls), Carlton (two World Series) and Lewis (two Super Bowls), Florida’s best have won 27 championships. —T.C.

GEORGIA

1. Ty Cobb
2. Herschel Walker
3. Walt “Clyde” Frazier
4. Maya Moore
5. Evander Holyfield

The baseball legend known as the “Georgia Peach” was famously not as sweet as his nickname, but Ty Cobb’s impact on baseball as the original lineup sparkplug is significant enough to give him the top spot among Georgia’s all-time athletes, nearly a century after he retired. The versatile Herschel Walker—the most iconic player in the storied history of the state’s flagship university—is a close second, leading the Bulldogs to the title in 1980 and winning the Heisman in ’82. Walt “Clyde” Frazier, perhaps the greatest New York Knick ever, combined Hall of Fame basketball talent with a personality and sense of style that made him one of the sport’s most memorable figures. Four-time WNBA champion Maya Moore and Evander Holyfield, boxing’s only four-time heavyweight champ, give the state more than its fair share of title-winning chops. —Will Laws

HAWAI‘I

1. Duke Kahanamoku
2. Shane Victorino
3. Akebono Tarō
4. Clarence “Buster” Crabbe
5. Carissa Moore

Duke Kahanamoku took surfing across the world well before Hawai‘i was admitted as a state. He’s the father of modern-day surfing, sparking a simple joy to be one with the sea from the Hawaiian beaches to all across the globe. Not only that, but he was also a three-time Olympic gold medal winner in freestyle swimming in 1912, 1920 and 1924. Outside of his standing as the premier waterman, he worked as a lifeguard, law enforcement officer and actor. He also popularized beach volleyball, because, why not? Buster Crabbe took the torch on the swimming front, growing up on the islands and winning gold in the 400-meter freestyle at the 1932 Olympic Games. After learning to surf on the beaches of Wakiki in Honolulu, Carissa Moore became a five-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist. Hawai‘i doesn’t only produce winners in water sports, however, with MLB outfielder Shane Victorino and legendary sumo wrestler Akebono Tarō all winning titles in their respective sports. —B.S.

IDAHO

1. Harmon Killebrew
2. Jerry Kramer
3. Picabo Street
4. Gary Stevens
5. Vern Law

The state of Idaho has seen a wide range of great athletes emerge from within its borders. Topping that list is Hammerin’ Harmon Killebrew, who clobbered 573 homers across 22 seasons in the big leagues. Jerry Kramer was a key cog in the heights of the Packers’ dynasty under Vince Lombardi, establishing the power sweep as a right guard and kicking field goals, too. Picabo Street was a trailblazer in women’s skiing, winning the Super-G gold medal at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano. Gary Stevens, a nine-time winner of Triple Crown races and Seabiscuit actor, calls Idaho home, as does the oldest living Cy Young winner in Vern Law, who won the honor in 1960. —Tom Dierberger

ILLINOIS

1. Jackie Joyner-Kersee
2. Dick Butkus
3. Dwyane Wade
4. Candace Parker
5. Bonnie Blair

As with everything about Illinois, Chicagoland looms large over the Land of Lincoln’s sports story. The region’s glut of blacktops have produced a century of basketball greats, culminating in two recent gems: guard Dwyane Wade and center-forward Candace Parker. Both Wade and Parker played their high school ball in the metro area, became campus heroes, won elsewhere in the professional ranks and eventually returned home. But the Windy City hasn’t only produced hoopers. Linebacker Dick Butkus, the son of one of countless immigrants to pass through Chicago’s neighborhoods since its founding, made eight Pro Bowls with his hometown Bears. Downstate has had its say as well—Champaign-reared speedskater Bonnie Blair brought home five gold medals across three different Olympics. Even further south, Jackie Joyner-Kersee of East St. Louis ran and leaped her way to six Olympic medals in the heptathlon and long jump. —Patrick Andres

INDIANA

1. Larry Bird
2. Oscar Robertson
3. Bob Griese
4. Chuck Klein
5. Ray Ewry

Although Dr. James Naismith created the sport of basketball in Massachusetts, the Hoosier state has basketball in its lifeblood. Naismith came to Indiana and noticed its obsession, saying, “Basketball really had its origin in Indiana, which remains the center of the sport.” NBA legends Larry Bird, a three-time MVP who won three titles, and Oscar Robertson, also an MVP with a championship, embody that spirit. They are both Basketball Hall of Famers who each won a gold medal for Team USA. Evansville native Bob Griese won two Super Bowls and was named to eight Pro Bowls during his 14-year career as a quarterback for the Dolphins. Another Boilermaker was Hall of Famer Ray Ewry, who won eight gold medals in the now-defunct standing jump events. Chuck Klein was nicknamed “The Hoosier Hammer” and hit for the Triple Crown in 1933 as a member of the Phillies. —B.S.

IOWA

1. Dan Gable
2. Bob Feller
3. Kurt Warner
4. Caitlin Clark
5. Nile Kinnick

Long before Caitlin Clark turned the Hawkeye State into basketball country, Iowa was known for wrestling. Dan Gable was a Cyclone with an incredible 117–1 record at Iowa State before he won gold at the 1972 Olympics. The Waterloo native was a three-time state champion wrestler and never lost during his high school career. Clark has dominated in similar fashion, becoming the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader in her illustrious career as a Hawkeye and then smashing several rookie records as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever. On the diamond, Bob Feller skipped past baseball’s minor leagues and threw three no-hitters over his Hall of Fame career in Cleveland. He accomplished the AL Triple Crown in 1940, leading the league in ERA, wins and strikeouts. Iowa is a football state, too. Kurt Warner went from Northern Iowa to the AFL’s Iowa Barnstormers and then became the Super Bowl XXXIV MVP as he led the St. Louis Rams to a win over the Titans—even if said win was only by an inch. Nile Kinnick, the namesake of the Hawkeyes’ football stadium, is the only Heisman Trophy winner in the history of Iowa’s football program. He’s the grandson of an Iowa governor and after his collegiate career, he went to law school and worked as an assistant coach for the Hawkeyes. He enlisted in the Naval Air Reserve after one year of law school and tragically died in a test flight off the coast of Venezuela at just 24 years old. —B.S.

KANSAS

1. Barry Sanders
2. Walter Johnson
3. Lynette Woodard
4. Jim Ryun
5. Jackie Stiles

Kansas’s history of elite athletes begins with the Big Train, aka Walter Johnson, whose fastball was one of the most frightening pitches in baseball history. Johnson rode his heater to the 10th-most strikeouts ever and the Hall of Fame. The Sunflower State’s sports history then went from a train to the track, where Jim Ryun, an Olympic silver medalist, broke multiple outdoor mile world records, with his longest-standing (3:51.1) lasting 14 years. He landed on the cover of SI after one of his record-breaking performances in August 1966. But Ryun wasn’t the only speedster to call Kansas home, as legendary running back Barry Sanders blazed through the state before rushing for the fourth-most yards in NFL history. Defenses also had no answer for Jackie Stiles, who scored more points than any man or woman in Kansas high school basketball history, long before injuries derailed her WNBA career. Lynette Woodard’s name is etched in the University of Kansas basketball record books, as she holds school marks for points, rebounds, field goals made and steals. She later became the first female member of the Harlem Globetrotters and was a trailblazer for many women in basketball. —T.C.

KENTUCKY

1. Muhammad Ali
2. Mary T. Meagher
3. Wes Unseld
4. Paul Hornung
5. Cliff Hagan

Headlining the Bluegrass State’s list of athletic superstars is none other than Muhammad Ali, widely regarded as the greatest professional boxer of all time. Born in Louisville as Cassius Clay Jr., Ali was a three-time heavyweight champion, Olympic gold medalist and renowned political activist whose work during the Civil Rights Movement and counterculture protests of the 1960s was just as influential as his prowess inside the ropes. In 1999, Sports Illustrated named Ali the Sportsman of the Century. But that’s not all—Kentucky was also home to swimmer Mary T. Meagher, the five-time Olympic medalist who held world records in the 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly for nearly two decades; former basketball player and coach Wes Unseld, who remains one of just two players in NBA history to win both MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season; Packers halfback Paul Hornung, an Pro Football Hall of Famer and 1956 Heisman Trophy winner who led the NFL in scoring in 1959, ’60 and ’61; and Basketball Hall of Famer Cliff Hagan, a six-time All-Star and 1958 NBA champion. —Brigid Kennedy

LOUISIANA

1. Peyton Manning
2. Karl Malone
3. Ed Reed
4. Armand Duplantis
5. Mel Ott

With diverse and bountiful natural landscapes fit for angling and hunting, Louisiana is known as the Sportsman’s Paradise. It should also be known as a sports paradise, for some of the best athletes began their hunt for glory in the Bayou State. Peyton Manning starred at Isidore Newman before later retiring with the NFL’s career records for passing yards and touchdown passes. Karl Malone scorched the nets at Summerfield High before he became the NBA’s third all-time leading scorer. On the playgrounds of St. Rose, La., a young boy named Ed Reed cultivated the athletic skills that made him a four-sport athlete at Destrehan High, and then one of the most skilled and instinctive safeties the NFL has ever seen. Two-time Olympic gold medalist and pole vaulter Armand (better known as Mondo) Duplantis, who represents Sweden, began learning his sport in his backyard in Lafayette, La., and Hall of Fame slugger Mel Ott grew up a few miles outside New Orleans in Gretna, La. —T.C.

MAINE

1. Joan Benoit Samuelson
2. Jack Coombs
3. Edmund “Rip” Black
4. Cooper Flagg
5. Cindy Blodgett

Maine might be best known as “Vacationland,” where a lobster roll by the water hits just right in the summer, but the state is also home to some great athletes. Joan Benoit Samuelson made history at the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles when she won the gold medal in the first Olympic women’s marathon with a time of 2:24:52. Then there’s Cooper Flagg, the 2025–26 NBA Rookie of the Year, who became the first high school freshman in state history to be named Maine Gatorade Player of the Year. Edmund “Rip” Black was a phenomenal multisport athlete who won bronze in the hammer throw at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam. Jack Coombs, who pitched for 14 seasons in the MLB, won three World Series and in 1910 he won 31 games (and three more in the World Series) while leading the Philadelphia Athletics to a title. Cindy Blodgett starred for the University of Maine’s basketball team from 1994–98 and was the No. 6 pick in the 1998 WNBA draft. —Andy Nesbitt

MARYLAND

1. Babe Ruth
2. Michael Phelps
3. Katie Ledecky
4. Kevin Durant
5. Cal Ripken Jr.

Maryland is a state, similar to Virginia, defined largely by its relationship to nearby Washington, D.C. But Baltimore in particular has carved out its own place as a hotbed for producing sports greats—and none greater than Babe Ruth. The Bambino would garner a reputation as a two-way sensation en route to seven World Series titles with the Red Sox and Yankees, but his influence helped create a rich baseball culture in Maryland, one that would later produce “The Iron Man” Cal Ripken Jr. In recent years, Maryland has been defined by its products in the pool—Olympic swimmers Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky. Phelps, also a product of Baltimore, won more gold medals than any other athlete across five Games, while Ledecky, who grew up in the D.C. suburb of Bethesda, is still shaping her legacy as the most decorated female swimmer of all-time. And no Maryland list would be complete without Kevin Durant, who dominated the local prep school circuit while growing up in Prince George’s County before racking up accolades (16 All-Star nods, two Finals MVPs) in the NBA. —Zach Koons

MASSACHUSETTS

1. Rocky Marciano
2. Doug Flutie
3. Patrick Ewing
4. Rebecca Lobo
5. Aly Raisman

The sport of basketball was created in Springfield, Mass., by James Naismith back in the late 1800s, which makes it quite fitting that two of the game’s icons hail from the Commonwealth. Patrick Ewing, who moved from Jamaica to Cambridge at 12, was the No. 1 pick in the 1985 NBA draft after an NCAA championship-winning career at Georgetown, and he would go on to become an 11-time All-Star and one of the greatest centers of his era. Rebecca Lobo was raised in Southwick and held the state’s high school scoring record (2,710 points) for 18 years from 1991 to 2009. She then attended UConn under coach Geno Auriemma, led the Huskies to a perfect 35–0 season in 1995 and won the AP Player of the Year award. Lobo won an Olympic gold medal in ’96, was allocated to the WNBA’s New York Liberty in ’97 and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017. Beyond basketball, Massachusetts has produced a wide range of athletes in other sports, including legendary boxer Rocky Marciano, long-time CFL and Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback Doug Flutie and Olympic gold-medal-winning gymnast Aly Raisman. —Mike Kadlick

MICHIGAN

1. Joe Louis
2. Earvin “Magic” Johnson
3. Derek Jeter
4. Floyd Mayweather
5. John Smoltz

Like the laborers toiling in the Detroit Industry Murals, Michigan’s greatest athletes have had the uncanny ability to construct beauty from the fires of hard work. Hall of Fame guard Magic Johnson, the Lansing-born son of an autoworker, won five titles pacing the Showtime Lakers’ fast break. Kalamazoo-raised shortstop Derek Jeter won five of his own titles coming up in the clutch for the turn-of-the-century Yankees. And Warren-born Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz excelled on the Braves for decades. No discussion of sports in Michigan, however, is complete without mention of boxer Joe Louis. Born in Alabama, Louis moved to Detroit when he was 12 and went on to spend over a decade as the heavyweight champion of the world, serving as a paragon of excellence before, during and after World War II. Detroit named an arena after him, and his tradition of Michigan fighting prowess has continued all the way to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in modern times. —P.A.

MINNESOTA

1. Bronko Nagurski
2. Dave Winfield
3. Joe Mauer
4. Lindsey Vonn
5. Lindsay Whalen

There’s something special about a Minnesota kid growing up to be a hometown hero. That’s the path Joe Mauer and Lindsay Whalen paved to land on this list. Mauer could have played baseball, basketball or football coming out of Cretin-Derham Hall but he chose the diamond and spent 15 seasons starring for the Twins. He had his jersey retired shortly after calling it a career and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2024. Whalen, a basketball star from Hutchinson, led the Gophers to the Final Four in 2004 and won four championships with the Lynx. Long before she was winning Olympic medals (three) and overall World Cup titles (four), Lindsey Vonn was skiing the slopes at Burnsville’s Buck Hill. And it’s hard to beat the résumés of the top two athletes on this list: Bronko Nagurski, who might be the greatest all-around football player of all time, and Dave Winfield, who was drafted into four different leagues in 1973 (MLB, NFL, NBA, ABA) but ultimately became a 12-time MLB All-Star and Baseball Hall of Fame member. —T.D.

MISSISSIPPI

1. Walter Payton
2. Jerry Rice
3. Brett Favre
4. Steve McNair
5. Archie Manning

The state of Mississippi has been home to some of the greatest football stars the nation has seen—Jerry Rice, Walter Payton, Brett Favre, Steve McNair and Archie Manning. All five of these stars not only hail from Mississippi, but also attended college in their home state. Payton (Jackson State), Rice (Mississippi Valley State) and McNair (Alcorn State) each played football at in-state HBCUs, while Favre played for Southern Miss and Archie Manning starred at Ole Miss. Rice, Payton and Favre all went on to have Super Bowl-winning and record-setting careers in the NFL. Rice, the NFL’s all-time receiving leader, and Payton, who ranks second all-time in rushing yards, are considered by many to be the best to ever do it at their positions. McNair, meanwhile, led the Titans to their first Super Bowl appearance and won NFL MVP in 2003 while Manning was named NFC Player of the Year in 1978. —E.G.

MISSOURI

1. Yogi Berra
2. Tom Watson
3. Max Scherzer
4. David Cone
5. Jayson Tatum

Missouri’s credentials as a baseball hotbed deserve to be bolstered as one of just two states with three baseball players in their top five (the other: Alabama). Yogi Berra, Max Scherzer and David Cone have 17 World Series titles, 31 All-Star Game appearances, four Cy Young Awards and three MVPs between them as players—the majority of those honors coming from Berra, the most decorated player in MLB history in terms of championship rings (10). Tom Watson won eight major golf championships after growing up in Kansas City and still resides in the city’s metro area across the Kansas border. Jayson Tatum was born and raised in St. Louis, and went on to win his first championship with the Boston Celtics in 2024. —W.L.

MONTANA

1. Dave McNally
2. Dan Mortensen
3. Lones Wigger Jr.
4. Pat Donovan
5. Corey Widmer

While Montana may be home to an NFL, NBA or MLB professional sports franchise, the state has still produced elite athletes across several major leagues. Dave McNally was a left-handed pitcher who had a 14-year career in MLB. A three-time All-Star, he led the league in wins in 1970 and was a key member of two Baltimore Orioles teams that won the World Series (1966 and 1970). Dan Mortensen was a rodeo cowboy legend who won seven world championships while competing in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in the 1990s and early 2000s. Lones Wigger Jr. was a sports shooter who competed in three Olympic Games, winning gold medals in 1964 (Tokyo) and 1972 (Munich). He also won a silver medal in 1964. Pat Donovan played nine years in the NFL, all for the Cowboys, and won a Super Bowl in the 1977 season. Corey Widmer also played in the NFL, spending eight seasons with the Giants in the 1990s. —A.N.

NEBRASKA

1. Bob Gibson
2. Gale Sayers
3. Grover Cleveland Alexander
4. Terence Crawford
5. Jordan Larson

Nebraska might be best known for Cornhuskers football but the state has produced some legendary athletes in other sports, too. Leading the way are Bob Gibson and Gale Sayers, two Omaha natives. Not only was Gibson a Hall of Fame pitcher but he’s also still regarded as one of the most dominant pitchers in MLB history. He won two World Series with the Cardinals, two Cy Young Awards, an MVP award and nine Gold Gloves. Hall of Famer Sayers is known as one of the most electric running backs in NFL history. Raised in St. Paul, Grover Cleveland Alexander pitched for 20 years in MLB, won a World Series with the Cardinals in 1926 and is in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Also hailing from Omaha, Terence Crawford retired in 2025 with a flawless 42–0 record (31 KOs) and made history as the first male fighter to win undisputed world championships in three different weight classes. Nicknamed "The Governor," volleyball great Jordan Larson was raised in Hooper, Neb., where she was a three-sport athlete in volleyball, basketball and track at Logan View High. Larson led the Huskers to an NCAA title in 2006 and also won four Olympic medals during her illustrious 15-year pro career. She is now a co-owner of the LOVB Nebraska franchise. —A.N.

NEVADA

1. Greg Maddux
2. Andre Agassi
3. Bryce Harper
4. Patty Sheehan
5. Julia Mancuso

Nevada hit the jackpot when it comes to producing sports prodigies. At 16 years old, Bryce Harper was belting 500-foot home runs and gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated. Eight-time major winner Andre Agassi dominated the 10-and-under tennis brackets in Las Vegas before turning pro at just 16. Patty Sheehan, a six-time major winner, picked up a golf club when she was just 3 years old and later became the first individual and team champion in a Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association girls-sanctioned sport in 1972, the same year Title IX passed. Four-time Olympic medalist ski racer Julia Mancuso made her World Cup debut when she was just 15. Yet, arguably the best athlete to come out of Nevada, four-time Cy Young Award winner and 18-time Gold Glover Greg Maddux, was overlooked coming out of high school due to his slight frame and perceived lack of control on his pitches, the latter of which would become his superpower. —T.C.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

1. Carlton Fisk
2. Jenny Thompson
3. Mike Flanagan
4. Tara Mounsey
5. Matt Bonner

The Granite State has a strong legacy of producing both baseball, basketball and Olympic greats. Carlton Fisk spent 24 years in MLB and will always be remembered for one of the most iconic home runs in World Series history when in 1975 he hit a walk-off blast in Game 6 against the Reds at Fenway Park, famously waving it fair by flapping his arms. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000. Mike Flanagan spent 18 years in MLB and won the Cy Young with the Orioles in 1979. He also won 12 regular-season games in 1983 while leading the Orioles to their last World Series title. Jenny Thompson is a swimming legend, winning 12 medals (including eight golds) over four Olympics. Tara Mounsey starred in the Winter Games, where she won gold with the U.S. women’s hockey team in 1998 and silver in 2002. Matt Bonner was a 12-year NBA veteran, winning two titles with the Spurs. —A.N.

NEW JERSEY

1. Carl Lewis
2. Rick Barry
3. Mike Trout
4. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
5. Carli Lloyd

Some of America’s greatest athletes grew up in the culture-rich state between New York City and Philadelphia, proudly reciting the Garden State Parkway or New Jersey Turnpike exit that represents their little slice of the world. Willingboro’s Carl Lewis is one of the U.S.’s most decorated Olympians, with nine gold medals across four Games between 1984 and ‘96. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, a phenom out of Dunellen, is building a similar legacy, with four gold medals won at the last two Olympics in Tokyo and Paris, and four world championship medals, plus the current world record for the 400-meter hurdles. Rick Barry, a champion in both the ABA and NBA, is one of the most underrated basketball players in history—and if some stubborn big men would just listen to him, could be a serious trendsetter for his highly effective underhanded free throw style. Injuries have kept Mike Trout from being one of the upper pantheon-level baseball players we’ve ever seen, but his best years still rival those of legends like Mickey Mantle. The dominant story of U.S. women’s soccer can’t be told without Carli Lloyd, the Delran native who played collegiately at Rutgers before a stunning international career that included 134 goals for the USWNT, two World Cup victories and a pair of Olympic gold medals, plus a bronze. —D.L.

NEW MEXICO

1. Ralph Kiner
2. Al Unser Sr.
3. Nancy Lopez
4. Brian Urlacher
5. Alex Bregman

Though lacking any major professional sports teams or high-major college athletics, the Land of Enchantment has produced several stars with dazzling resumes. Ralph Kiner, a Baseball Hall of Famer who led the National League in home runs in each of his first seven seasons, was born in Santa Rita, a small copper mining town. Al Unser Sr., born in Albuquerque, was a racing icon who won the Indianapolis 500 four times and lived his entire life in New Mexico. Nancy Lopez attended high school in Roswell, and became one of the best women’s golfers of the 1970s and ’80s, winning the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year twice. Finally, a pair of more contemporary athletes: Brian Urlacher and Alex Bregman. Urlacher was a do-it-all star at New Mexico, playing offense, defense and special teams before his dominant NFL career with the Bears. Bregman was born and raised in Albuquerque before attending LSU, eventually becoming the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft. He’s a three-time All-Star and has won two World Series titles to date. —Nick Selbe

NEW YORK

1. Jim Brown
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
3. Sugar Ray Robinson
4. Lou Gehrig
5. Julius Erving

To say New York has some noteworthy entries in this series would be quite the understatement. Just the list of names we didn’t include in that top five is eye-popping (Sue Bird, Sandy Koufax and Bob Cousy, to name a few). Basketball legends Julius Erving and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hail from the Empire State, becoming huge celebrities beyond their exploits on the hardcourt throughout the 1970s and ’80s—with the latter also following in the footsteps of fellow New Yorker, three-time NFL MVP Jim Brown, with his decades of civil rights activism. Going back even further, Hall of Famers Sugar Ray Robinson (boxing) and Lou Gehrig (baseball) add more than a century of significant athletic glory to one of the original 13 colonies. —L.A.

NORTH CAROLINA

1. Michael Jordan
2. Stephen Curry
3. Richard Petty
4. Chris Paul
5. David Thompson

Four of the five best athletes hailing from North Carolina have one big thing in common: they’re all legendary hoopers. For starters, there’s Wilmington-raised Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time. (Try arguing with his six NBA titles, five MVP awards and 14 All-Star nods, among a deluge of other impressive accolades, should you disagree.) Then, you have Charlotte-bred Stephen Curry, the longtime Warriors point guard and best pound-for-pound shooter the league has ever seen, as well as Winston-Salem’s Chris Paul, the aptly named “Point God” who led the league in assists per game a whopping five times. And of course, there is the Shelby great David Thompson, whose one-of-a-kind vertical brought us the alley-oop pass and a career of high-flying, gravity-defying dunks. Off the court, however, we can’t forget race car driver Richard Petty, another of the Tar Heel State’s influential greats. Born in Level Cross, the 89-year-old Petty is a NASCAR Hall of Famer with a record seven Daytona 500 titles to his name. —B.K.

NORTH DAKOTA

1. Roger Maris
2. Darin Erstad
3. Carson Wentz
4. Andy Hampsten
5. Phil Hansen

New York Yankees great Roger Maris leads this list of impressive athletes from North Dakota. He won AL MVP in back-to-back years (1960, ’61) and broke the record for home runs in a season with 61 in 1961, a record that he held until Mark McGwire broke it in 1998. Carson Wentz won two NCAA FCS national championships while at North Dakota State and then was picked No. 2 by the Eagles in the 2016 NFL draft, leading the team to a Super Bowl-winning season the next year. Darin Erstad spent 14 years in MLB and won a World Series with the Angels in 2002. Phil Hansen enjoyed an 11-year career with the Buffalo Bills and played in three Super Bowls. Andy Hampsten was a professional cyclist who finished fourth in the 1986 Tour de France, in which he helped his teammate, Greg Lemond, get the win. —A.N.

OHIO

1. LeBron James
2. Jesse Owens
3. Jack Nicklaus
4. Pete Rose
5. Katie Smith

The notion that the Buckeye State adores sports is an understatement—the NFL was created in a Canton car dealership, after all—and the state’s two greatest athletes changed the fabric of American sports itself. First there’s Jesse Owens, an Alabama native whose family followed the Great Migration north to Cleveland in 1922. His quartet of gold medals at the 1936 Olympics embarrassed the Nazi regime and paved the way for decades of success for Black Americans at the Games. In the early 21st century, LeBron James emerged from an impoverished Akron childhood to author one of basketball’s most accomplished résumés and re-ignite sports’ tradition of social activism for a new age. Other state giants include 18-time major golf champion Jack Nicklaus, banned MLB hit king and three-time World Series champ Pete Rose and Buckeyes and WNBA star Katie Smith, who won two WNBA titles and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018. —P.A.

OKLAHOMA

1. Jim Thorpe
2. Mickey Mantle
3. Johnny Bench
4. Steve Largent
5. Blake Griffin

The Sooner State has spawned some legendary athletes, including a pair of Hall of Fame baseball stars in Mickey Mantle and Johnny Bench, who combine for five MVPs and nine World Series titles. Mantle, a native of Commerce, won seven championships with the Yankees and is MLB’s all-time leader in World Series home runs, RBIs, walks, runs, total bases and extra-base hits. Bench, who hails from Binger, made 14 All-Star Games and won 10 Gold Gloves throughout his illustrious career with the Reds. On the gridiron, Putnam City was home to Hall of Fame wideout Steve Largent, one of the most decorated receivers in NFL history with seven Pro Bowl selections and more than 1,000 receiving yards in eight of his 14 seasons in the league. The state also produced multisport star Jim Thorpe, who played baseball, basketball and football professionally and was also an Olympic gold medalist, winning two golds in the 1912 Stockholm Games. Thorpe was the first president of the American Professional Football Association (which became the NFL) and was later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Rounding out the list is Oklahoma City product Blake Griffin, the No. 1 pick in the 2009 NBA draft who made six All-Star teams during 13 seasons in the league. —Karl Rasmussen

OREGON

1. Don Schollander
2. Ryan Crouser
3. Bob Lilly
4. Danny Ainge
5. Steve Prefontaine

Steve Prefontaine was a famed long-distance runner who competed for the University of Oregon under coach Bill Bowerman. He grew up in Coos Bay, about 116 miles southwest of Eugene, nicknamed “TrackTown USA” thanks in part to Prefontaine’s running success, which includes seven NCAA titles in the 1970s and a fourth-place finish at the 1972 Olympics in the 5,000 meters. Basketball star Danny Ainge, born and raised in Eugene, is a two-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics (1984, ’86) and an NBA All-Star (1988). Ryan Crouser didn’t grow up in TrackTown—he was raised in the small rural town of Boring—but he certainly knows a thing or two about the sport. Crouser is a three-time outdoor world champion in shot put and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Hall of Fame swimmer Don Schollander won seven Olympic golds over the course of his career. Then there’s Pendleton High’s Bob Lilly, the 11-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle. “Mr Cowboy” won Super Bowl VI and is a member of the Dallas Cowboys’ Ring of Honor and the NFL’s 100th anniversary all-time team. —Kim Curzi

PENNSYLVANIA

1. Wilt Chamberlain
2. Arnold Palmer
3. Johnny Unitas
4. Joe Montana
5. Kobe Bryant

The top athletes out of the Keystone State can go toe-to-toe with those from any other state (or commonwealth). Philadelphia’s Wilt Chamberlain leads off our list, a game-breaking, myth-making talent whose 100-point game for the Philadelphia Warriors took place about 100 miles away in Hershey. After the Warriors moved to California, Wilt would return to play for the 76ers, but finished his career with the Lakers. In 1996, 23 years after Chamberlain’s retirement, L.A. obtained another soon-to-be-legendary Philadelphian in Kobe Bryant, who has five NBA championships and the 2008 league MVP award on his impressive résumé. Latrobe’s Arnold Palmer is one of the greatest and most influential golfers of all time, winning seven majors during his career. And a pair of quarterbacks from the Pittsburgh area—Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana—would change football forever, helping turn QB into the most important position in all of sports. —D.L.

RHODE ISLAND

1. Nap Lajoie
2. Davey Lopes
3. Joe Mullaney
4. Mark van Eeghen
5. Elizabeth Beisel

The smallest state in America punches well above its size in athletic talent. Nap Lajoie was a hitting machine in his 21 seasons in MLB (1896–1916), with his best year coming in 1901 when he finished with an incredible .426 batting average and won the Triple Crown. Davey Lopes spent 16 years in MLB, winning the 1981 World Series with the Dodgers. Joe Mullaney won a NCAA basketball championship at Holy Cross, where he was teammates with the great Bob Cousy. After a brief NBA career, he coached Providence for 14 years and then coached the Lakers for a few years, leading them to one NBA Finals appearance. Mark van Eeghen spent 10 years in the NFL as a running back with the Raiders and Patriots. Elizabeth Beisel swam in three different Olympic Games (2008, ’12 and ’16) winning a silver and bronze in London 2012. —A.N.

SOUTH CAROLINA

1. Joe Frazier
2. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson
3. A'ja Wilson
4. Kevin Garnett
5. Pete Maravich

Before Joe Frazier was “Smokin’ Joe,” before the Olympic gold medal and the heavyweight title and the night he handed Muhammad Ali his first professional loss, he was a kid on a farm in Beaufort swinging on a homemade heavy bag under an oak tree next to where the mules were kept. The bag was burlap, stuffed with rags, corncobs, Spanish moss and, yes, even a brick. That blend of myth, muscle and ingenuity runs through the Palmetto State’s best. “Shoeless” Joe Jackson went from sweeping lint off the floors of Greenville textile mills to hitting Blue Darters with Black Betsy. While the Black Sox Scandal cut his career short, Jackson still haunts and lives on in the record books with the fifth-highest batting average (.356) in MLB history. “Pistol” Pete Maravich’s legend began to take shape as a 5'1", 90-pound eighth grader at D.W. Daniel High in Central, before he set college scoring records and became one of the NBA’s greatest players. Kevin Garnett, a 15-time All-Star, MVP, NBA champion and Defensive Player of the Year, starred at Mauldin High and later dared to turn pro at 18. And A’ja Wilson brought it all home, leading the Gamecocks to the program’s first women’s basketball national title. A four-time MVP and three-time WNBA champion, Wilson may just become women’s basketball’s GOAT. Anything is possible? It is when you’re from South Carolina. —Dan Falkenheim

SOUTH DAKOTA

1. Becky Hammon
2. Adam Vinatieri
3. Billy Mills
4. Garney Henley
5. Marlene Hagge

Think of this as the Mount Rushmore—plus one!—of athletes from South Dakota. A native of Rapid City, Becky Hammon became the all-time leading scorer for Stevens High before emerging as a six-time WNBA All-Star. Legendary kicker Adam Vinatieri also grew up in Rapid City, attending Central High before becoming the most clutch kicker in NFL history by winning four Super Bowls. He will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this August. Billy Mills, a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation, used running to help him cope with the loneliness of being an orphan and won Olympic gold in the 10,000 meters in 1964. South Dakota is also where CFL and College Football Hall of Famer Garney Henley was raised. He attended Huron University before becoming a four-time Grey Cup champion. Eureka native Marlene Hagge, meanwhile, was a trailblazer. As a teenager, Hagge was the youngest athlete named Associated Press Athlete of the Year and was one of the 13 women who founded the LPGA. —E.G.

TENNESSEE

1. Wilma Rudolph
2. Reggie White
3. Mookie Betts
4. Tracy Caulkins
5. David Price

In a state known for its country, blues and bluegrass heritage, Tennessee knows how to put on a good show—and its virtuosos don’t just play on the stage. After surviving polio as a child, Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympics with her victories in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4×100-meter relay at the 1960 Rome Games. She would later use her platform to champion civil rights and desegregation in her state. Far from the only famous Tennessee Olympian, Tracy Caulkins became known as one of the most versatile swimmers of all time with her three medley golds at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, all while setting 63 American records in her career. The Volunteer State doesn't need an MLB team to demonstrate its prowess on the diamond. The 2018 Red Sox featured two Tennessee World Series champions in five-time All-Star David Price and Mookie Betts, whose eight All-Star selections and four World Series rings make him one of the greatest players of the century. And lastly, who could forget about the NFL’s Minister of Defense. After earning All-American honors with the Vols, Hall of Fame defensive tackle Reggie White earned 13 Pro Bowl selections and two NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards (a stunning 11 years apart), a Super Bowl ring with the Packers and second place on the all-time sacks leaderboard. With such sporting heritage, one thing is clear: Tennessee is no one-hit wonder. —Andrew Gastelum

TEXAS

1. Simone Biles
2. Patrick Mahomes
3. Sheryl Swoopes
4. Shaquille O'Neal
5. Clayton Kershaw

The biggest state in the mainland of the USA is home to several sports giants, including 7’1” Shaquille O’Neal, who was a state champion at Robert G. Cole High in San Antonio before becoming a four-time NBA champion during his Hall of Fame career. He is joined on this list by fellow basketball star Sheryl Swoopes, a Brownfield native who attended South Plains College and Texas Tech before becoming a four-time WNBA champion and three-time WNBA MVP. Beyond the court, the state of Texas features the likes of several other champions, including three-time Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes, two-time World Series champion Clayton Kershaw and seven-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles. With 11 total Olympic medals overall and 30 world championship medals (23 gold), Biles is widely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time. Mahomes and Kershaw are arguably the best players at their positions of their generation. —E.G.

UTAH

1. Merlin Olsen
2. Natalie Williams
3. Breezy Johnson
4. Jim McMahon
5. Mac Speedie

Fittingly, Salt Lake City, the home of the 2002 Winter Olympics, is also where one of the world’s best skiers, Breezy Johnson, attended high school. Johnson won her first Olympic gold medal in February at the Milan Cortina Games. The Beehive State also produced WNBA great Natalie Williams, a four-time All-Star. She spent part of her pro career with the Utah Starrz. Utah has also been the home of several football stars, including Merlin Olsen, Mac Speedie and Jim McMahon. A native of Logan, Olsen turned down an offer from Stanford to play football for Utah State, his parents’ alma mater. He became one of the best defensive players in NFL history as a member of the Rams’ famed fearsome foursome. Speedie, meanwhile, represented his last name well as he was a track and field, basketball and football star for the University of Utah, and later, a five-time champion with the Browns. Lastly, McMahon, who didn’t move to Utah until high school, starred at BYU before becoming the rebellious Super Bowl-winning quarterback of the 1985 Bears. —E.G.

VERMONT

1. Mikaela Shiffrin
2. Andrea Mead Lawrence
3. Billy Kidd
4. Bill Koch
5. John LeClair

It is appropriate that the Green Mountain State helped produce some of the greatest skiers in history. Mikaela Shiffrin has roots in Colorado but honed her craft at Vermont’s Burke Mountain Academy, from which she launched an incredible World Cup and Olympic skiing career. Sixty-two years before Shiffrin captured her first slalom gold in Sochi, Andrea Mead Lawrence—a native of Rutland County—won the same medal at the 1952 Oslo Games. Burlington’s Billy Kidd captured silver in the slalom in the 1964 Innsbruck Games, and Brattleboro’s Bill Koch, a cross-country skier, won silver in the men’s 30 km at the 1976 Games. Hockey star John LeClair of St. Alban’s rounds out our list of Vermont Olympians. The left wing enjoyed a 16-year career for the Canadiens, Flyers and Penguins and won silver with the U.S. on home soil at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. —D.L.

VIRGINIA

1. Arthur Ashe
2. Lawrence Taylor
3. Mia Hamm
4. Moses Malone
5. David Robinson

Given Virginia’s proximity to the nation’s capital, it’s appropriate that it would be home to some of the most renowned barrier breakers and American icons in sports. Arthur Ashe overcame segregation in the Richmond area growing up to become one of the most prolific American tennis players ever, and he remains the only Black man to win singles titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open. Mia Hamm pushed the envelope for women’s soccer, taking home a state championship at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, then capturing four consecutive NCAA titles at North Carolina before winning two World Cups and two gold medals. Lawrence Taylor didn’t begin playing organized football until high school in Williamsburg, but blossomed into a two-time Super Bowl winner and three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year. The state has also produced basketball talent galore, like “Chairman of the Boards” Moses Malone, who won 50 straight games and two state titles in Petersburg before becoming a three-time MVP and NBA champion. David Robinson, though born in Key West, Fla., rode a growth spurt during his time in Manassas to become the No. 1 pick out of Navy in 1987 and later a two-time champ and the 1995 NBA MVP with the Spurs. —Z.K.

WASHINGTON

1. John Stockton
2. Apolo Ohno
3. Jordan Chiles
4. Demetrious Johnson
5. Phil Mahre

The state of Washington has produced some outstanding athletes, headlined by NBA legend John Stockton, who grew up in Spokane and attended Gonzaga and is widely known as one of the greatest point guards in NBA history. A Hall of Famer and 10-time All-Star, Stockton still holds the all-time records for assists (15,806) and steals (3,265). The Evergreen State is also the home to a trio of standout Olympians. Apolo Ohno—one of the most decorated short-track speedskaters of all time and the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian—is from Seattle. He won eight Olympic medals in his career, including two golds––one in the 1,500 meters at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, and another in ’06 in Turin for the 500 meters. U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles, part of the team that won gold in the team event at the 2024 Paris Games and silver in Tokyo, grew up in Vancouver. Phil Mahre, arguably the greatest U.S. Alpine skier of all time, is a Yakima native. Mahre won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo and a silver in 1980 at Lake Placid. He was the first American skier to win the overall World Cup title and won 27 World Cup races in his career. Demetrious Johnson the UFC’s inaugural flyweight champion and defended his title a record 11 times. “Mighty Mouse” hails from Parkland and had a career record of 25-4-1. —K.R.

WEST VIRGINIA

1. Jerry West
2. Randy Moss
3. Mary Lou Retton
4. Hack Wilson
5. Randy Barnes

The smallest state by population with either a Big Four or Power 4 sports team has long punched above its weight in athlete production. A few have stayed home and become legends in the Mountain State: guard Jerry West made two All-American teams at West Virginia before making 12 All-NBA squads, and wide receiver Randy Moss began his rise to football immortality with two transcendent seasons at Marshall. Make no mistake about it, though: West Virginians have excelled on the national and global stages as well. Hack Wilson, who started his professional career in Martinsburg, set baseball’s single-season RBI record with the Cubs in 1930. Gymnast Mary Lou Retton of Fairmont won five medals at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 and was the first U.S. woman to win an all-around gold, and shot putter Randy Barnes of Charleston won two Olympic medals toward the end of the 20th century as well. Almost heaven, indeed. —P.A.

WISCONSIN

1. Eric Heiden
2. Jordan Stolz
3. J.J. Watt
4. Al Simmons
5. Arike Ogunbowale

While Wisconsin sports most often bring to mind Lambeau Field and its legion of cheeseheads, the state has produced some elite speedskating talent. Eric Heiden, who hails from Shorewood Hills, had a remarkable run at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, winning gold in all five long-track events. Today, a 22-year-old from Kewaskum is among the world’s best, as Jordan Stolz broke onto the scene with 500- and 1,000-meter golds and a 1,500-meter silver at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. Wisconsin is a football-mad state, and while its greatest product never played for the Packers, J.J. Watt was a standout for the home-state Badgers before embarking on a Hall of Fame-worthy career with the Texans and Cardinals. His brother T.J. may join this list in a few years’ time as well. Milwaukee’s Al Simmons, a Baseball Hall of Famer, won a pair of World Series with the Philadelphia Athletics and made three All-Star Games with the White Sox. WNBA star Arike Ogunbowale is another Milwaukee native who has made four All-Star Games with the Dallas Wings and at 29 has solidified herself as one of the league’s top players. —D.L.

WYOMING

1. Boyd Dowler
2. Lance Deal
3. John Godina
4. Rulon Gardner
5. Brandon Nimmo

Cheyenne’s Boyd Dowler was a key contributor to Vince Lombardi’s dynastic Packers teams at wide receiver, playing for the franchise from 1959 to ’69 and winning five NFL championships, including a pair of Super Bowls. The Cowboy State has produced some elite field athletes. Lance Deal, from Riverton, won silver in the hammer throw at the 1996 Atlanta Games, while Cheyenne’s John Godina earned silver in shot put in the event. Four years later he added bronze at the 2000 Sydney Games. Born and raised in the small town of Afton, Rulon Gardner spent his childhood on his family’s dairy farm. Gardner attended Star Valley High where he was an all-state wrestler and football player, but he is most known for his historic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Gardner pulled off one of the biggest upsets in history when he beat Russian legend Aleksandr Karelin, who was previously undefeated for 13 years in international competition. Brandon Nimmo became the highest-drafted Wyoming native in baseball history when the Mets selected him with the No. 13 pick in 2011. Five years later, he made his MLB debut, eventually cementing himself as New York’s long-term center fielder before he was traded to the Rangers before the 2026 season. —D.L.

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