CGC Cards Hot List – May 2026
Posted on 5/7/2026
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) Jack Hughes
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Topps Now does an amazing job of capturing historic sports moments in real time while giving collectors something tangible that is connected to these milestones. For American hockey fans, there was no bigger moment in recent history than Jack Hughes' overtime golden goal that lifted Team USA over Team Canada for their first Olympic gold medal in more than 45 years. Instantly iconic images of a bloodied Hughes and Team USA's emotional celebrations will live on in American hockey lore for all time. This particular Topps Now card features a snapshot of Hughes right after he scored the winning goal. It has become the most-submitted card to CGC in recent weeks, as collectors look to grade and encapsulate the card showcasing this legendary American hockey moment.
2) Cooper Flagg/Kon Knueppel
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Ever since they suited up for the Duke Blue Devils as freshmen, Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel have been linked in more ways than one. They competed together for their lone collegiate season, each choosing to leave Durham after one year and enter the 2025 NBA Draft. While Flagg was the No. 1 overall pick, Knueppel was close behind him at No. 4. Throughout their rookie campaigns, both players shined, each earning the honor of being a finalist for the Rookie of the Year Award before Flagg ultimately won the coveted trophy. When it comes to card submissions, CGC is seeing more of the same from the former teammates, with each player being one of the most submitted young stars in the NBA today.
3) Fernando Mendoza
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Arguably no other young sports star has had a better start to 2026 than Fernando Mendoza. The 22-year-old quarterback of the Indiana Hoosiers helped lead his school to a historic turnaround, winning the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship against the Miami Hurricanes and racking up a trophy case of individual college football awards along the way, including the Heisman Trophy. This Bowman U Now card commemorates Mendoza's Heisman win and was a prelude to more football accolades. A few months later during the 2026 NFL Draft, he was selected No. 1 overall by the Las Vegas Raiders, which we're sure will solidify his cards as a popular submission for the foreseeable future.
4) Junior Caminero
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Tampa Bay Rays star Junior Caminero had a breakout season in 2025, batting .264 with 45 home runs and 110 RBIs, leaving him only one home run shy of tying Carlos Pena's single-season franchise record. Still only 22 years old, the Dominican-born third baseman has been a key player in Tampa's hot start to the 2026 season, with the team currently sitting on the second-best record in the American League. Submitters have gone back through their collections and chased down leftover boxes from 2023, when Caminero made his major league debut that September. CGC has seen an influx of Caminero rookie cards recently, with his 1st Bowman issues and their various parallels topping the list.
5) Lando Norris
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In recent years, Dutch-Belgian driver Max Verstappen has had a stranglehold on Formula 1 Racing, winning four straight F1 World Championships from 2021 to 2024. Last season, that changed when British driver Lando Norris narrowly edged out Verstappen by just two points to break the streak and win his first-ever F1 title. Topps Now commemorated the occasion with a special 2025 F1 World Champion card that features Norris celebrating on top of his McLaren race car; it has been the most popular card among Lando Norris submissions to CGC in recent weeks.
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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