The Oregon Sports Awards will land in downtown Beaverton on Tuesday, Nov. 10, bringing a full slate of honorees to the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts.
Sport Oregon announced the 2026 award winners Thursday, Oct. 1, as first reported by The Oregonian. Portland Thorns forward Sophia Wilson and Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija earned Professional Athletes of the Year honors.
The ceremony will also induct five new members into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, headlined by Thorns legend Christine Sinclair.
Wilson, who missed the entire 2025 season, returned to lead the Thorns in scoring this year. Through her 100th regular-season appearance on Sept. 19, she had tallied 57 career goals and broken the club's penalty-kick record previously held by Sinclair, according to the Thorns.
Avdija earned his first NBA All-Star selection last season after raising his scoring average from 16.9 to 24.2 points per game. He finished third in Most Improved Player voting and helped the Blazers reach the playoffs for the first time since 2021, according to NBA.com.
The Hall of Fame class carries deep local ties. Sinclair captained the Thorns to three NWSL Championships (2013, 2017, 2022) and scored a record 190 international goals for Canada. She won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and competed at four Games total. Beaverton native Mariel Zagunis, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in sabre fencing and five-time Olympian, joins her. The class also includes former Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, a Madras, Oregon, native and Oregon State alum who won two World Series titles; Bob Gross of the Trail Blazers' 1977 championship team; and the 1971 Linfield baseball team, NAIA national champions.
Other winners include Lincoln High School soccer player Frances Reuland and Lake Oswego football player LaMarcus Bell as High School Athletes of the Year. University of Portland men's soccer coach Nick Carlin-Voigt won Sports Person of the Year.
"We're excited to host not only the honorees, but all the people and organizations that are working to enhance our communities through sport," Sport Oregon CEO Jim Etzel said in a statement.
The Reser Center, at 12625 SW Crescent St., seats 550 and sits steps from the Beaverton Central MAX station. Tickets are available through Eventbrite.
