UCLA baseball already had a shortstop wearing jersey No. 1 when Roch Cholowsky arrived in Westwood as a freshman in the fall of 2023.

But come opening day 2024, Cody Schrier swapped to No. 3.

It seems Cholowsky just screamed No. 1 from the jump.

The Chicago White Sox drafted Cholowsky with the first-overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft in Philadelphia on Saturday. Cholowsky is the first collegiate shortstop to go No. 1 overall since Vanderbilt’s Dansby Swanson in 2015, the Sox’s first No. 1 overall selection since MLB Hall of Famer Harold Baines in 1977 and UCLA’s first No. 1 draft pick since Gerrit Cole in 2011.

The Chandler, Arizona, local also becomes Chicago’s third No. 1 overall pick in four years across the four major sports, with the Blackhawks selecting center Connor Bedard in 2023 and the Bears selecting quarterback Caleb Williams in 2024.

Cholowsky started in every UCLA contest between 2024 and 2026 and is fresh off a campaign where he slashed .320/.452/.636 with 21 homers, 60 RBIs and posted a 146 wRC+ in 60 games – becoming a Golden Spikes Award finalist and the Big Ten Player of the Year in the process. 

However, Cholowsky’s best season came as a sophomore – when he was named player of the year by D1Baseball, ABCA/Rawlings, Baseball America and Perfect Game. The shortstop slashed .353/.480/.710 with 23 homers, 74 RBIs and posted a 164 wRC+ as UCLA made the Men’s College World Series for the first time since winning the national title in 2013. 

Cholowsky’s 2025 ascent appeared even more impressive when comparing the Bruins’ success in 2025 with their lack of it in 2024, when they went 19-33 and finished in the Pac-12 cellar with the program’s worst season since 2005.

Adding insult to injury, UCLA was barred from using its home ballpark, Jackie Robinson Stadium, in September 2024 amid a federal legal dispute involving the Department of Veterans Affairs. The team was forced to commute to high school fields for practice until it regained access to JRS at the end of October 2024. 

[Related: VA keeps Jackie Robinson Stadium lease, terminates 3 other West LA agreements]

Despite the adversity, the Bruins largely stayed intact between the 2024 and 2025 seasons – something coach John Savage and Cholowsky’s teammates largely credit to the shortstop. It was a drastic shift for a program that lost an eventual second-round pick and three third-round picks across the previous two offseasons.

While Cholowsky may not have been seen as a probable No. 1 selection until after a breakout 2025 campaign, he’s no stranger to scouts. 

Upon graduating from Hamilton – the alma mater of former NL MVP Cody Bellinger – in 2023, Cholowsky was a potential late-first round pick, positioned as MLB Pipeline’s No. 44 ranked prospect and Perfect Game’s No. 17 prospect.

The two-time Arizona State Champion said a trip to the 2023 Men’s College World Series cemented his decision to play collegiate baseball – and honor his commitment to UCLA, the first school to offer him a baseball scholarship, according to Cronkite News. 

After going the entire 2026 campaign as the consensus No. 1 prospect available in the 2026 Draft – and UCLA becoming the first team to ever complete an entire regular season as the nation’s top team – Cholowsky’s stock seemed to slip just before the draft after his 2-for-12 performance in the NCAA Los Angeles Regional coincided with the Bruins’ elimination.

In the end, however, Executive Vice President and General Manager Chris Getz chose Cholowsky over 18-year-old shortstop Grady Emerson and Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey.

Cholowsky joins an organization deep in shortstop talent, with 2021 first-round pick Colson Montgomery in the Big Leagues, 2024 second-rounder Caleb Bonemer at Double-A Birmingham and 2025 first-rounder Billy Carlson at Single-A Kannapolis. 

Regardless, Cholowsky would likely say being selected first overall is like his walk-up song.

“Feel So Good.”