CGC Cards Hot List – March 2026

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, here are five of the most-submitted athletes in recent weeks.

1) Cooper Flagg

After one year as a Duke Blue Devil, Cooper Flagg made the leap to the NBA and was selected No. 1 overall by the Dallas Mavericks in the 2025 NBA Draft. The hype surrounding the athletic forward from Maine has followed Flagg from high school to college and now to the pros, as his cards have become a staple of the hobby for basketball collectors. While several cards were already released during his college days along with multiple Topps Now versions (including one commemorating Flagg being the No. 1 overall pick in the draft), his first official rookie card as a pro came out in Topps' flagship basketball release. Collectors are currently submitting base versions and parallels in droves.

2) Paul Skenes

Arguably the most exciting pitcher in Major League Baseball today, Paul Skenes is already one of the most decorated young aces in the game. Still only 23 years old, Skenes is heading into his third MLB season with the Pittsburgh Pirates and has already earned basically every individual honor available to pitchers. An All-Star in each of his first two seasons, the California native became only the fifth rookie in MLB history to be named as an All-Star starting pitcher. He has also won the NL Rookie of the Year Award, made the All-MLB First Team twice, was the MLB ERA leader last season and won his first NL Cy Young Award. To commemorate the milestone, Topps Now released a special Cy Young Award winner card, and numerous copies have recently passed through the CGC grading room.

3) LeBron James

It has been several years since Topps has had the license for basketball cards. The last time collectors saw official NBA logos instead of blank generic jerseys on player images on Topps products was 2009. After 16 years, collectors recently had their first opportunity to rip packs and find officially licensed LeBron James cards tied to his career with the Los Angeles Lakers. CGC has seen an uptick in both the flagship Topps and Topps Chrome versions submitted for authentication and grading.

4) Tiger Woods

One of the greatest golfers in PGA history and one of the most collected athletes of all time, CGC recently saw an influx of Tiger Woods submissions from the 2001 Upper Deck golf set. Although previous cards of Woods released in the 1990s, the 2001 cards from Upper Deck are considered the first mainstream set to feature the famous golfer. Therefore, his cards from this set are considered Woods' official rookie cards, making them some of the most collected items of the 15-time major champion's career.

5) Nick Kurtz

From the 2024 NL Rookie of the Year in Paul Skenes to the 2025 AL Rookie of the Year in Nick Kurtz, sports fans love to collect young and promising talent. Selected fourth overall in the 2024 MLB Draft by the Athletics, the 22-year-old first baseman broke out last season, making a name for himself as a young power hitter. In 117 games played last season, Kurtz hit 36 home runs and had 86 RBIs. In addition, he became the first Athletics player and the first rookie in MLB history to ever hit four home runs in a single game. 1st Bowman rookie cards are a staple of baseball collections and copies of Kurtz's 1st Bowman cards have definitely seen an increase among recent CGC submissions.

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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