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USA250: 10 greatest college athletes from California
USA250: 10 greatest college athletes from California
Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAYMon, July 20, 2026 at 9:11 AM UTC·7 min readWhen it comes to college sports, California certainly lives up to its name as the Golden State.
There are 26 Division I schools in California, the most of any state, as well as 32 in the Division II and III level, and they are home to some of the most decorated athletes to ever play collegiately. It's not just in the premier sports like football and basketball either, as California has been where some Olympic sport athletes took a major step toward becoming Team USA icons.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat's what makes picking its greatest ones so tough.
To say there are only 10 spectacular athletes that played college sports in California is criminal, especially when there are so many that left immeasurable impacts on their respective sport. However, it makes for an illustrious list, and there's plenty of accolades on California's 10 greatest college athletes of all time.
10 greatest college athletes from California
Before he broke the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Robinson was a multi-sport star and when he enrolled at UCLA in 1939, he came the first Bruin to letter in four sports. In football, he was an All-American, averaging 12.2 yards per attempt on 42 carries on 1939 team that didn't lose a game, as well as leading the country in punt return average in 1939 and 1940. He was the 1940 NCAA champion in the long jump. In basketball, he was a West Coast Conference MVP as he averaged double figures in 1940 (12.4) and 1941 (11.1). Baseball was actually his worst sport with a .097 batting average in one season, but he made up for it in his Hall of Fame career.
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Lew Alcindor (Kareem-Abdul Jabbar), UCLA
One of the greatest basketball players of all time, Alcindor scored 56 points in his debut game, a record that stands today, to kickstart a dominant career at UCLA from 1966-69. Freshmen weren't allowed on varsity squads then so he was only able to play three seasons, but he won three national championships during the John Wooden dynasty, going 88-2 during his career that includes a 43-game win streak. He averaged 26.4 points on 63.9% shooting and 15.5 rebounds per game. As a three-time national champion, he also was a the first Naismith College Player of the Year, three-time national player of the year, three-time unanimous first-team All-American and three-time NCAA Tournament most outstanding player − the only men's player to win it three times.
Walton was another UCLA men's basketball icon, leading the Bruins to an 86-4 record − including a 73-game win streak − and two national championships from 1971-74, unable to play his freshmen season due to NCAA rules. He had one of the greatest championship game performances ever in 1973, when he scored 44 points on 21-of-22 shooting, both of which are title game records. He was a three-time national player of the year, three-time unanimous first-team All-American and two-time NCAA Tournament most outstanding player.
2025: Indiana Hoosiers
(Kirby Lee, Imagn Images)2024: Ohio State Buckeyes
(Kirby Lee, Imagn Images)College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
College football national champions since 2001
Bill Russell, San Francisco
The most successful NBA Finals player with 11 titles started his career at San Francisco with a level of play never seen before. After a modest 19.9 point, 19.2 rebound sophomore season, he led the Dons to back-to-back national championships in 1955 and 1956, which included a 55-game win streak and the innovation of the alley-oop. He finished his career with 20.7 points and 20.3 rebounds per game, one of five players to average at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a career, and John Wooden called him the "greatest defensive man" he had ever seen. He was a two-time consensus All-American, and was the 1955 Final Four most outstanding player. Russell was also a pioneer in social justice, overcoming racism during his collegiate career when there were few Black players.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPROGRAM RANKINGS: Top 25 | Big Ten | SEC | ACC | Big 12
Marcus Allen, Southern California
USC has had some football greats, but Allen may be the greatest to represent the Trojans. After two seasons in a backup role, he rushed for 1,563 yards and 14 touchdowns in 1980, leading the country in all-purpose yardage. In 1981, he put up one of the most dominant campaigns in football history. Allen became the first player to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season with 2,342 yards and 23 touchdowns in 11 games. He won the Heisman Trophy, and he still holds an NCAA single season record with eight games with at least 200 yards.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee, UCLA
Before becoming a decorated Olympic star, Joyner-Kersee owned college tracked and field. She was the NCAA champion in heptathlon in 1982 and 1983, leading UCLA to the team national title in both of those years alongside Florence Griffith-Joyner.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementShe was a multi-sport athlete, playing four seasons for the women's basketball team and is in the top 20 in career points (1,167) and rebounds (752). Joyner-Kersee won the Broderick Award in 1983 as the nation's best female track and field student athlete, and in 1985 won the Honda-Broderick Cup as the best female collegiate athlete. In 2001, she was awarded the "Top Woman Collegiate Athlete of the Past 25 Years."
Katie Ledecky, Stanford
Swimmers likely groaned when they saw a two-time Olympian enter the college realm, and Ledecky dominated the competition. She racked up several titles in her two years in Palo Alto, becoming an eight-time NCAA champion to lead Stanford to back-to-back team titles in 2017 and 2018. She also broke American records in the 500-yard, 1000-yard, 1650-yard, 400-meter, 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyles in college. In total, she broke 15 NCAA records and six NCAA meet records. Ledecky was awarded the 2017 Honda Cup Award as the top female college athlete, all while being a freshman.
Meyers changed the college landscape when she became the first female to be awarded a full athletic scholarship at any university, and she more than proved why. She played in 97 games for the Bruins from 1974-1978, and made history her senior year by becoming the first player in NCAA history to record a quadruple-double. That 1977-78 season was capped off by winning the AIAW national championship, and she became the first ever four-time All America women's basketball player. Meyers then took home the 1978 Broderick Cup for most outstanding woman college athlete. Her accolades didn't stop there. She was the first woman to be drafted to the Women’s Professional Basketball League and was the first woman to sign a free agent contract with an NBA team (Indiana Pacers).
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCheryl Miller, Southern California
The first early dominance in the women's NCAA Tournament came from a USC team led by Miller. A three-time Naismith College Player of the Year, she was the first woman to accomplish the feat and one of four players to ever achieve it. She led USC to back-to-back titles in 1983 and 1984, and she was named tournament most outstanding player in both championship runs. She also got USC to the 1986 national championship game, with the Trojans owning a 112-20 record in Miller's four seasons. Miller is currently No. 12 in all-time rebounds with 1,534,.
Natalie Coughlin, California
There aren't many people that have won as many titles as Coughlin. She won 12 NCAA titles in her four years at Cal from 2001-04, the second-most for a women's swimmer, including becoming the first three-time title-winner in the 100-yard butterfly and 100 and 200-yard backstrokes. She accomplished it all while never losing a dual meet with an astonishing 61-0 record. By the time she was done in Berkeley, she was the record holder in 17 U.S. records and six NCAA records. It was a no brainer she was a time-time NCAA Swimmer of the Year and two-time winner of the Honda Award for swimming and diving. Not long after she was done with college, she won five medals in the 2024 Summer Olympics.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USA250: 10 greatest college athletes from California