Austin Riley named Braves’ 2026 Roberto Clemente Award nominee

Third baseman Austin Riley is the Braves’ 2026 Roberto Clemente Award nominee, MLB and the team announced Monday.

The Roberto Clemente Award is considered perhaps the most prestigious individual honor in baseball. It’s awarded annually in recognition of the major leaguer who “best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field,” according to MLB.com.

The Braves shared that Riley was selected as their nominee for his “generosity, humility and unwavering commitment to making a difference in the military community.”

“It’s cool,” Riley said. “To be able to make an impact off the field and with veterans and how much they mean to me and my family and a lot of people around the world — just to have a small impact and showing my appreciation of what they mean to us is cool. I take pride in that. My wife takes pride in it.”

Riley chose The Warrior Alliance as his charity of choice to receive a $7,500 donation from MLB Charities in honor of his nomination. The Warrior Alliance is a Georgia-based nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives for service members, veterans and their families.

Fan voting for the honor opened Monday and will count as one vote among the blue-ribbon panel that determines the league-wide winner. Voting will be available through Sept. 27, the end of the regular season.

“The way I look at it is it’s an awesome recognition, but let’s not forget the reason why I’m doing this and what it’s for,” he said. “It’s for the veterans and active duty military, for what they do for us as a whole. They’re the reason for our freedom and that I get to play baseball.”

Riley, alongside his family, including his wife Anna and parents Elisa and Mike, has always prioritized using his platform to help the military community through philanthropy and personal engagement.

His work includes Operation Home Team, a community initiative done in partnership with the Atlanta Braves Foundation and veteran-serving organizations that honors and recognizes military veterans during Wednesday home games throughout the season. The veterans receive tickets, complimentary parking, on-field passes for batting practice, meet-and-greet opportunities with Riley and various merchandise, as part of the experience.

In June, Riley and Anna hosted and provided a military appreciation lunch at Dobbins Air Reserve Base. They have also hosted spouses of deployed service members in a suite at Truist Park during an event in celebration of Mother’s Day and also Military Appreciation Month.

Riley has also raised funding and awareness for The Warrior Alliance through his annual charity golf tournament. He’s long been at the forefront of the Braves’ community efforts, which include participating in holiday giving initiatives, Make-A-Wish events and community outreach efforts. He hosted a gift giveaway for over 500 students at Winchester Elementary, a school near his native Memphis, this past holiday season. The third baseman would like to do a charity event that would involve hunting with veterans when his playing days have concluded.

Riley is one of the Braves’ franchise players, helping the club to its second-best run of sustained success in its history, which includes the 2021 World Series championship. He has also received received multiple All-Star nods.

The team awarded him the largest contract in franchise history — 10 years, $212 million — in August 2022. Riley donates 1% of his annual salary to the Braves Foundation. He has routinely been lauded for his selflessness and kindness both in the clubhouse and with fans.

“What the Braves do (with the military), just as an organization as a whole, the collaboration there is top notch,” Riley said. “To be a part of that is pretty special.”