sports
White Sox Select UCLA Shortstop Cholowsky First Overall in 2026 MLB Draft
The Chicago White Sox chose UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with the first pick in the 2026 MLB Draft on Saturday. Cholowsky, 21, is the first college shortstop taken first overall since 2015.
Jul 11, 4:02 PM·1m read7 sources
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The Chicago White Sox selected UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with the first overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft on Saturday. The selection took place in Philadelphia. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the pick during the draft proceedings.
Cholowsky, the son of former minor leaguer Dan Cholowsky, entered the draft ranked No. 2 by MLB Pipeline. 624 line with 52 home runs in 178 games at UCLA and earned 60 grades out of 80 in hitting, power and arm. Cholowsky fought back tears while surrounded by friends and family after the selection.
Officials pronounced the last name as chuh-LEW-skee, while UCLA baseball’s media guide lists it as cha-LAU-skee. Cholowsky is the first college shortstop drafted first overall since Dansby Swanson in 2015.
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