Navy All-American Bowl Announces Five Finalists For The 2026 Defensive Player of the Year Award

The Navy All-American Bowl Selection Committee announced the finalists for the Navy All-American Bowl Defensive Player of the Year Award, given annually to the top defensive player in the country.

The Navy All-American Bowl’s Defensive Player of the Year will be named during the 2026 Navy All-American Bowl Awards Show on Friday, January 9^th in San Antonio, Texas.

Past winners of the award include Jaelan Phillips, Micah Parsons, and Bryan Bresee.

This year’s finalists are:

Live coverage of the 2026 Navy All-American Bowl will be presented on NBC and Peacock on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, at 1 p.m. ET from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

About the All-American Bowl

As an NBC Sports-owned property, the All-American Bowl is part of a marquee lineup of elite events that includes the Olympics and Paralympics, the NBA, WNBA, Notre Dame Football, the Premier League, and primetime’s #1 show for an unprecedented 14 consecutive years: Sunday Night Football. The All-American Bowl is annually the most-watched, most-talked about, and most-prestigious high school all-star event with more than four million unique television viewers and more than 25,000 fans in attendance. The history and tradition of the All-American Bowl is unparalleled, as it features: 631 draft picks; 103 Super Bowl champions; 274 Pro Bowl selections; and 18 Heisman finalists. For more information, visit nbcsports.com/college-football/navy-all-american-bowl or follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram (@AABonNBC).