Rob Manfred might want a do-over on this one.
Roch Cholowsky has been considered by many for months to be the favorite to go No. 1 in the 2026 MLB Draft, and sure enough, the UCLA star heard his name called when the proceedings commenced on Saturday in Philadelphia.
Well, he sort of heard his name.
“With the first pick of the 2026 MLB Draft, the Chicago White Sox select Roch Cholowsky, a shortstop from UCLA,” Manfred said.
However, Manfred pronounced the last name as chuh-LEW-skee instead of cha-LAU-skee, which is how it is listed in UCLA baseball’s media guide.
It was a tough start to the draft, particularly since Cholowsky’s name has been widely known in baseball circles for quite some time.
Whether or not his name was pronounced correctly, it was still a big day for the middle infielder, who now, for all intents and purposes, begins his pro career with a White Sox organization that has been one of the surprise stories in MLB this year, with their big league club sitting at 48-45 and in first place in the American League Central before Saturday’s play.
The son of former minor leaguer Dan Cholowsky, the infielder was considered the No. 2 draft prospect available on MLB Pipeline with 60 (out of 80) grades in hitting, power and arm.
With friends and family surrounding him, Cholowsky fought back tears after the pick was made official.
“It was a lot of emotions this morning,” Cholowsky said during an interview with NBC after the pick was made. “I found out a couple of hours ago and didn’t tell anybody until I got here – everyone found out with the pick, so I’m just excited to have everyone here and I’m ready to get to work.”
Cholowsky hit .329/.448/.624 with 52 home runs across 178 games with UCLA. The White Sox now hope he’s the bedrock of a promising future.
