These 10 athletes were the most searched in 2017

The past 12 months of sports have been filled with plenty of new names and faces, but some familiar friends made their returns, as well.

On Wednesday, Google released its Year in Search, which reveals the trends and terms that were most often sent through the search engine throughout 2017. Several athletes made the list -- but some of the names may surprise you.

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Several members of the Ball family, who made headlines after son Lonzo was drafted No. 1 overall into the NBA and brother LiAngelo was arrested in China and subsequently left college at UCLA, unsurprisingly appear in the ranking.

Also included in the top 10 are Gordon Hayward of the Boston Celtics, quarterback-turned-broadcaster Tony Romo and new Yankees manager and former player Aaron Boone.

Click through below to see all of the top-searched athletes of the year worldwide.