San Diego Studios announced on Monday that MLB The Show 26 will not feature a new cover athlete, though the studio did not provide details about what will appear on the game’s cover.

“We know that you are all just as excited as we are for the release of MLB The Show 26, so we wanted to let everyone know that this year we have decided that we will not have a new cover athlete,” the studio said in a statement. “Please stay tuned to all of our social channels for more information to come.”

🚨Breaking News: There will not be a new cover athlete for #MLBTheShow 26. 👀 pic.twitter.com/xhTW8D3u0g

— MLB The Show (@MLBTheShow) January 26, 2026

This would not be the first time the franchise has gone without a new cover athlete. Joe Mauer appeared on both MLB The Show 10 and MLB The Show 11, making him the only player to appear on consecutive covers in the series’ history. Since MLB 06: The Show launched with David Ortiz on the cover, the franchise has featured most of baseball’s biggest stars over the past two decades, including Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez, Andrew McCutchen, Yasiel Puig, Bryce Harper, Javier Baez, Ken Griffey Jr., Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Last year’s triple cover was a first for the franchise’s standard edition. The decision was tied to the 20th anniversary and framed as spotlighting baseball’s next generation. Paul Skenes won National League Rookie of the Year after one of the most dominant pitching debuts in recent memory. Gunnar Henderson finished third in American League MVP voting and established himself as one of the game’s best all-around players. Elly De La Cruz posted 25 home runs and 67 stolen bases in his first full season while playing elite defense at shortstop. All three made sense together as a statement about where the sport is headed.

Whether those three return on the MLB The Show 26 cover or if San Diego Studios goes in a completely different direction is unknown. The studio typically announces the cover athlete in late January or early February, giving fans a few weeks to build anticipation before the game releases in March.

More details are expected soon, but for now, the announcement raises more questions than it answers about what fans should expect when MLB The Show 26 arrives in stores.