Marcello Hernández is headed from Studio 8H to the ESPYS.
The Saturday Night Live cast member has been tapped to host the 2026 ESPYS, which will air live from New York’s David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on Wednesday, July 15 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
The gig marks a high-profile sports-entertainment showcase for Hernández, who just wrapped his fourth season on SNL.
“I started doing comedy 10 years ago, in Cleveland, Ohio, and I would take the train 12 hours to New York to sell comedy tickets on the street in Greenwich Village in exchange for stage time,” Hernández said in the announcement. “It is an honor, and frankly feels crazy to be hosting the ESPYS this year in New York. I’m sure the energy is going to be great.”
Hernández’s selection comes as the ESPYS return to New York City, where the awards show first launched in 1993. The 2026 ceremony will also stream on ESPN+ through the ESPN App alongside ABC’s time-zone airings, and will be available the next day on Hulu, the ESPN App, and ABC Video on Demand.
“Marcello is one of the most electric, young comedians today,” said Craig Lazarus, ESPN Vice President and The ESPYS Executive Producer. “His genuine enthusiasm for sports and his ties to New York City make him a natural fit to host this year’s ESPYS.”
Hernández is no stranger to sports. Before comedy, he played collegiate soccer at John Carroll University. He’s also appeared in a commercial campaign for Major League Baseball and a Miller Lite spot with his mother. As it happens, his SNL debut came in a sports-adjacent sketch: the October 1, 2022 ManningCast cold open, in which he appeared doing “the Gritty.”
Since then, Hernández has become the lone remaining member of his four-person SNL freshman class, following the departures of Molly Kearney in 2024 and Devon Walker and Michael Longfellow at the start of this past season. On the show, he has broken through with sketches including “Protective Mom,” “Immigrant Dad Talk Show,” and the “Domingo” series, along with regular appearances at the “Weekend Update” desk.
The ESPYS booking follows another major career marker for Hernández: his debut Netflix special, Marcello Hernández: American Boy, which premiered earlier this year and became a Top 10 Netflix global hit.
Past ESPYS hosts include Jimmy Kimmel, and SNL alums Seth Meyers, Dennis Miller, Norm Macdonald, Tracy Morgan, and Rob Riggle.
