espn-mcp

An MCP server that gives Claude access to live ESPN sports data — scores, stats, rosters, standings, and more across 21 leagues.

Installation

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "espn": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "espn-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

claude mcp add espn -- npx -y espn-mcp

Tools

| Tool | Description | Key Parameters | |------|-------------|----------------| | lookup | Resolve a team name, player, or league to ESPN identifiers | query | | get_scores | Live and recent scores across leagues | league, team, date | | get_team_info | Team details: roster, schedule, injuries, depth chart, transactions, history | league, team, aspect | | get_player_info | Player details: stats, game log, splits, bio | league, player, aspect | | get_game | Game deep dive: box score, play-by-play, odds, win probability | gameId, detail | | get_standings | League standings or poll rankings | league, type | | get_leaders | Statistical leaders by category | league, category | | get_news | Latest headlines filtered by sport, league, or team | league, team |

sport is always optional — it's inferred from league automatically.

Supported Sports

Full Depth

NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL — box scores, play-by-play, player stats, odds, win probability, injuries, transactions

Strong

College Football, College Basketball, College Baseball, WNBA, UFL, College Hockey — game summaries, plays, odds, athletes

Good

Soccer (250 leagues including EPL, La Liga, MLS, Champions League), PLL, NLL, AFL — scores, teams, standings; top soccer leagues have odds and commentary

Basic

Golf (PGA), F1, NASCAR, IndyCar, UFC/MMA, Tennis, Rugby, CFL — scores, teams, standings, news

Example Queries

Once installed, ask Claude things like:

• "What are today's NBA scores?"
• "Show me the Chiefs roster"
• "How is Patrick Mahomes doing this season?"
• "What are the NFL standings?"
• "Give me the box score from last night's Lakers game"
• "Who leads the NBA in assists?"
• "What's the latest NFL news?"
• "What were the odds for the Super Bowl?"
• "Show me the AP Top 25 college football rankings"
• "Compare LeBron and Steph Curry's stats this season"

How It Works

The server sits between Claude and ESPN's public API:

1. Smart resolution — "Niners" resolves to San Francisco 49ers (ESPN ID 25) via a built-in registry of 1,200+ teams with aliases
2. Response trimming — ESPN responses can be 500KB+. The server extracts only what's relevant (a box score trims down to ~5KB)
3. Caching — In-memory TTL cache prevents redundant API calls (30s for live scores, 1hr for rosters, etc.)
4. Concurrency limiting — Max 2 simultaneous ESPN requests to avoid rate limiting

Development

git clone https://github.com/ebrodymoore/espn-mcp.git
cd espn-mcp
npm install
npm test          # Run tests
npm run build     # Compile TypeScript
npm run dev       # Run server in dev mode

Regenerate Team Registry

The team registry ships as a static JSON file. To refresh it with current ESPN data:

npm run generate-registry

License

MIT