The Chicago White Sox already flashed their basketball ties with Bulls-inspired uniforms. And after winning the draft lottery, they’re alone on a breakaway and gearing up for a slam dunk.
The White Sox secured the first overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft on Tuesday night, reserving first dibs to select consensus big board headliner Roch Cholowsky, a 20-year-old shortstop out of UCLA.
Listed at the top of MLB’s prospect rankings for 2026, Cholowsky is lauded in his scouting report as perhaps “the best all-around college shortstop prospect since Troy Tulowitzki.”
The 6-foot-2, right-handed infielder is fresh off a scorching sophomore campaign in which he hit .353 with a 1.190 OPS, 23 homers, and 74 RBIs for the Bruins. He was also named Baseball America’s 2025 College Baseball Player of the Year.
The son of a former minor leaguer and longtime scout, Cholowsky garnered early draft interest as a two-sport athlete at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona — the same program that produced Cody Bellinger.
“A leader who was a high school quarterback, he serves as the head of his infield in the same manner,” his scouting report reads. “His tools and makeup make him look like the kind of player who could be big league ready in a hurry.”
The outlook in Southside Chicago has instantly shifted for a seemingly directionless White Sox team without a playoff appearance since 2021, a miserable stretch punctuated by three consecutive seasons with at least 100 losses.
Their 121 losses in 2024 marked the second most in MLB history behind the 1899 Cleveland Spiders, who dropped 134 games.
Cholowsky would bolster Chicago’s infield versatility alongside fellow shortstop Colson Montgomery, who crushed 21 homers in 71 games — on pace for 47 over 162 games — during an abridged rookie campaign in 2025.
Should the White Sox choose to go in another direction, other options at the top of MLB’s draft prospect rankings include Fort Worth Christian (TX) shortstop Grady Emerson, Alabama shortstop Justin Lebron, Gulliver Prep (FL) Jacob Lombard and Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress.
Southpaw Carson Bolemon out of Southside Christian (SC) is the top-rated pitcher on the list, sitting at No. 7 on MLB’s rankings.
The 2026 MLB Draft will take place during All-Star weekend from July 11-12 in Philadelphia, with the Rays, Twins, Giants and Pirates rounding out the top five of the draft order.
