White Sox take UCLA SS Cholowsky with top pick

ESPN News Services

Jul 11, 2026, 01:50 PM ET

PHILADELPHIA -- The Chicago White Sox selected UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky on Saturday with the first pick of the MLB amateur draft.

A 6-foot-2 right-handed hitter, Cholowsky was a Golden Spikes finalist at UCLA and had a 1.088 OPS with 21 homers and 60 RBIs in his junior season.

He is the second UCLA player to be taken with the No. 1 pick in the draft, joining pitcher Gerrit Cole, who was picked No. 1 by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011.

In a statement, White Sox general manager Chris Getz called Cholowsky "a leader on the field as well as in the clubhouse. He has more than lived up to very high expectations, and we cannot wait to get him into our organization, get started and see him continue his growth and success."

With the second pick, the Tampa Bay Rays selected shortstop Grady Emerson out of Fort Worth Christian HS (Texas). The Minnesota Twins took Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey with the third overall selection.

The White Sox had the top selection for the first time since taking Harold Baines in 1977.

They got the No. 1 pick after they lost 102 games last season and won the draft lottery and have pegged Cholowsky as a future star who can help them win their first World Series title since 2005.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.