The White Sox didn’t wait around to get their guy. With the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 MLB draft, Chicago took UCLA shortstop Daniel Roch Cholowsky, a move that had been trending for a while even as the conversation around the top spot kept drifting toward other names. The final decision came after a long stretch of uncertainty between Cholowsky and prep shortstop Grady Emerson, but the news broke from MLB’s Jim Callis just before the announcement, and commissioner Rob Manfred soon made it official, welcoming Rob “Cha-lew-sky” (sic) to Chicago.
That selection puts Cholowsky in a pretty exclusive lane. He becomes only the third college shortstop ever taken first overall, alongside Bill Almon in 1974 and Dansby Swanson in 2015. He also gives UCLA its fifth No. 1 overall pick in a pro draft, joining Gerrit Cole, Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), and Troy Aikman.
For the White Sox, this was a clear best-player-available choice, and it fits the way they’ve been building. Cholowsky brings the kind of all-around game teams dream on at the top of the draft: advanced offense, steady defense at shortstop, and enough polish to make the floor high without dulling the upside. MLB had him as the No. 2 overall talent in the class, behind Emerson, but Chicago clearly valued the complete package.
That profile has been on the radar for a long time. Cholowsky was already viewed as a major prospect coming out of high school, when he was ranked No. 44 in the MLB draft rankings.
The White Sox had scouted him extensively ahead of the 2023 draft, so this wasn’t some overnight crush. It was years of tracking a player who kept confirming the hype.
The background helps explain why he’s so refined. Baseball runs in the family: his father, Dan, was a first-round pick by the Cardinals in 1991, played eight seasons in pro ball, and later became a major league scout. Cholowsky grew up with the game, and it shows in the way he plays.
At UCLA, the 6-foot-2, 202-pound Arizona native became the centerpiece of the Bruins’ lineup and kept getting better. He entered college as one of the nation’s top prep recruits, then evolved from a contact hitter into one of the most complete players in the sport.
As a junior, he hit .320/.452/.636 with 21 home runs and finished as a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award. Over 178 career games, he put up a .329/.447/.624 line with 52 home runs and wrapped up his final season with 15.3 defensive runs saved, a number that underscores just how valuable he was on the dirt.
The scouting report is built around completeness, not flash. MLB Pipeline grades him at least 60 in four of the five major categories - hit, power, arm and field - and gives him a 65 overall.
He works counts, doesn’t hand away at-bats, and squares up the ball consistently. The power has grown as he’s added strength, but the approach has stayed intact.
That combination lines up neatly with the type of hitter Chris Getz and the White Sox front office have leaned toward during the rebuild.
Defensively, Cholowsky has a real chance to stay at shortstop. Scouts have long praised his smooth actions, dependable hands, instincts and above-average arm. He’s not a burner, but his feel for the position helps him turn tough chances into routine outs.
Chicago’s pick also adds to a young core that already includes Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Noah Schultz and Grant Taylor. And with Colson seemingly headed to third base, Cholowsky doesn’t create a logjam. He should fit cleanly into the organization’s next wave.
His pro career should get going soon after he signs, with a token Winston-Salem assignment likely later this summer. He’s considered “MLB-ready,” and he wouldn’t be out of place as one of the White Sox’s two September call-ups. With his offensive polish, defensive maturity and experience against high-level college competition, he’s expected to move faster than the usual first-round pick.
Cholowsky arrives with one of the strongest résumés in the 2026 class. If that production carries over, the White Sox may have landed a foundational piece for what comes next.
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White Sox Just Added Serious Draft Firepower With A Surprising Trade
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Chicago also brought in Triple-A left-hander Jaden Woods, giving the deal a little more than just draft capital. The Pirates, meanwhile, got players they expect to help their major league roster quickly, which is the kind of return that usually makes a trade feel balanced in the moment, even if the long-term payoff is still very much to be determined. [Read more 🡒]