It’s the CGC Hot List, and we’re sharing some of the most popular submissions that have passed through the grading room recently, including players from the past and present who are driving the current market. Utilizing comprehensive insights from CGC submission data and zeroing in on the most popular sports submissions, here are five of the most-submitted athletes in recent weeks.
1) Cooper Flagg
In the last two years, teenager Cooper Flagg has had a meteoric rise to fame, becoming the face of college basketball during the 2024-25 season before becoming a must-watch pro for the Dallas Mavericks as a rookie during the 2025-26 NBA season. Still only 19 years old, Flagg is now the face of the Mavericks franchise after only one season, living up to the hype that has followed him since his high school days in Maine. It didn't take collectors long to start adding Flagg's cards to their collections. Over the last year, he's become one of the most-submitted athletes in all of sports, especially cards from recent Topps sets now that the card makers hold the official NBA licensing rights once again.
2) Shohei Ohtani
Almost any Hot List curated in recent history would prominently feature Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. His cards have been popular submissions since his early days with the Los Angeles Angels. However, his run of six straight All-Star appearances, four MVP Awards out of the last five seasons, and back-to-back World Series titles have elevated him into a category unto himself. CGC receives thousands of Ohtani submissions each month, from base cards to rare case hits to autographed grails, each hoping to earn the coveted grade of CGC Pristine 10 like this Topps Now example commemorating his historic start to the season on the mound.
3) Victor Wembanyama
Although Victor Wembanyama and his San Antonio Spurs teammates fell to the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals last season, the Frenchman's cards have still poured into the CGC grading room throughout the summer. Still only 22 years old, the 7'4" center helped lead the Spurs to their first Finals appearance in more than a decade. Already far ahead of schedule, Wembanyama and the rest of the young core of San Antonio look like they could be perennial title contenders for years to come. Collectors are submitting several Spurs players' cards in loads, including Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, and Devin Vassell, but none more so than the big man himself.
4) Fernando Mendoza
Coming off of one of the most impressive college football campaigns ever, Fernando Mendoza and his collectibles are riding a wave of popularity right now. Selected No. 1 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders, Mendoza will start the season as Kirk Cousins' backup, giving him time to learn and prepare for his eventual pro debut as a starter. The CGC grading room has received thousands of submissions of Mendoza's cards from his time with the Indiana Hoosiers, but now his earliest NFL cards are being submitted, as well.
5) V.J. Edgecombe
If Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel would have stayed in college one more year in Durham, it is safe to say that the 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year Award would be sitting in Philadelphia 76ers guard V.J. Edgecombe's trophy cabinet right now. Finishing third in ROTY voting last season, the former Baylor standout is a key player in a stacked Philadelphia roster that added even more established talent this offseason with the signings of superstars LeBron James and Jaylen Brown. In addition to the added attention surrounding Philadelphia this summer, collectors took notice of the 21-year-old's superb rookie season, as they continue to submit his rookie cards in droves.
About CGC
Since revolutionizing comic book grading in 2000, CGC has grown to include certification services for a vast variety of pop culture collectibles. These divisions include CGC Cards, CGC Video Games, and CGC Home Video. CGC Cards provides expert card grading for sports cards, TCGs, and non-sports cards. CGC Video Games is dedicated to video game grading for the most popular consoles, including Nintendo, Sega, Atari, PlayStation, and more. CGC Home Video provides expert VHS grading in addition to other types of videocassettes, DVD, Blu-ray, and more. CGC also offers seamless solutions for autograph collectors with CGC Signature Series and JSA Authentic Autograph services.
CGC is part of the Certified Collectibles Group, a global provider of expert and impartial authentication and grading services for collectibles. Since 1987, the Certified Collectibles Group companies have certified more than 110 million collectibles, including coins, banknotes, comic books, cards, autographs, and stamps.
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