​Roch Cholowsky burst into tears of joy, with a trace of relief, when commissioner Rob Manfred announced his name as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft on Saturday. The Chicago White Sox, holding the top selection for the first time since 1977, selected Cholowsky, a 21-year-old UCLA product who is widely regarded as the best collegiate shortstop prospect since Troy Tulowitzki’s standout 2005 season. Cholowsky is also the first college shortstop chosen No. 1 overall since Dansby Swanson in 2015.
From his home in Arizona, surrounded by a large circle of family and friends as the draft played out via video link in Philadelphia, Cholowsky broke into tears once the White Sox announced their pick, settling on a living-room sofa with his emotions visibly spilling over. He might not have even heard Manfred’s mispronunciation of his surname—the commissioner rendered it as “Chu-LEW-skee” rather than the phonetic “Chu-LAU-skee”—but that wasn’t what triggered the flood of emotions. In an NBC interview, Cholowsky said he already knew the White Sox would select him but chose to keep the information to himself until the official announcement.
“There were a lot of emotions this morning,” Cholowsky said. “I found out a couple of hours ago and didn’t tell anybody … Everyone else found out with the pick. I’m super excited that I’ve got all the people here with me. That was a big thing.”
The draft’s early rounds also featured other anticipated selections. Texas high-school shortstop Grady Emerson went second to the Tampa Bay Rays, and Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey went third to the Minnesota Twins. Many analysts had expected those three to go in the top slots. Some espoused Emerson’s upside given his youth, and a few considered Lackey to be the most talented player, though they noted the risks that accompany a catcher’s development. The San Francisco Giants chose UC Santa Barbara right-hander Jackson Flora with the fourth pick, while the Pittsburgh Pirates closed the top five by selecting LSU outfielder Derek Curiel.
Saturday marked the first four rounds of the draft, with rounds 5 through 20 scheduled for Sunday. Cholowsky’s college career at UCLA had been eye-catching: he posted a .329/.448/.624 slash line with 52 home runs over 178 games in three seasons, and he ranked second among NCAA Division I shortstops this season in wins above replacement and in defensive runs saved, according to USA Baseball, which named him a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s top amateur player.
The White Sox didn’t finish 2025 with the worst record, but they performed poorly enough to help them land a high pick in the draft lottery. By all accounts, Cholowsky to the White Sox looked like a foregone conclusion for a time, though questions persisted. Some scouts wondered whether a swing change could further unlock his power, while others questioned his speed on the bases. There were also critics who felt Cholowsky’s development might hinge on how well his season’s momentum translated to the professional level.