Roch Cholowsky

📅 آخر تحديث: ٤ أغسطس ٢٠٢٦
✍️ نُشر في: ٤ أغسطس ٢٠٢٦
الموسوعة الحرة

Daniel Roch Cholowsky (/rɒktʃəˈlaʊski/; born April 7, 2005) is an American baseballinfielder in the Chicago White Sox organization. He played college baseball for the UCLA Bruins and was drafted first overall by the White Sox in the 2026 MLB draft.

Early life

Cholowsky was born in Vallejo, California, to Daniel and Tika Cholowsky, and the family later relocated to Chandler, Arizona, when Cholowsky was a child.[1] His father played collegiate baseball at the University of California, Berkeley and was chosen 39th overall in the 1991 MLB draft by the St. Louis Cardinals organization.[1] His father reached as high as Triple-A, and became a Cincinnati Reds scout following his baseball career.[2]

Amateur career

Cholowsky attended Hamilton High School in Chandler where he played at the varsity level for the baseball and football teams and was considered a top prospect in both sports.[3]

On the football field, Cholowsky was the backup quarterback for Nicco Marcio, and began starting as a senior.[4] After playing four games in which he helped lead the team to a 3-1 record, he suffered a torn meniscus which sidelined him for the rest of his senior season.[4] Cholowsky was considered a three-star recruit as a quarterback and was ranked the 84th best quarterback in the country and 24th best player overall in Arizona.[5] He received offers from New Mexico State University and the University of Notre Dame.[6]

For the baseball team, Cholowsky played as a shortstop and pitcher. As a junior for Hamilton in 2022, he hit .315 with two home runs.[7] As a senior in 2023, he batted .466 with 11 home runs and 35 runs batted in (RBI) and was named the Gatorade Arizona Baseball Player of the Year.[8] He was considered a top prospect for the 2023 Major League Baseball draft, but went unselected and ultimately enrolled at UCLA to play college baseball.[9]

College career

As a freshman at UCLA in 2024, Cholowsky played in 52 games and hit .308 with eight home runs and 33 RBI.[10] After the season, he played in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Orleans Firebirds.[11][12] As a sophomore in 2025, Cholowsky was named the Big Ten Conference Baseball Player of the Year, Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and helped lead UCLA to their first College World Series in 12 years.[13] He also was awarded the Brooks Wallace Award, given annually to the nation's best college shortstop, as well as being awarded the Baseball America College Player of the Year Award.[14][15] Cholowsky finished the season with a .353 batting average, 23 home runs, and 74 RBI over 66 games and earned first team All-American honors from Baseball America.[16] After the season, he was named to the United States national baseball team.[17][18] As a junior in 2026, Cholowsky hit .320 with 21 home runs and 60 RBI across 60 games, his season ending with UCLA being eliminated by Saint Mary's in the NCAA Los Angeles Regional.[19] He was named the Big Ten Conference Baseball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.[20] He was also one of three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award alongside Landon Hairston and winner Daniel Jackson.[21] After the season, he was invited to attend the 2026 MLB Draft Combine at Chase Field.[22]

Professional career

Cholowsky was considered a consensus top three prospect for the 2026 Major League Baseball draft, with many evaluators viewing him as the top prospect in the class.[23] He was selected by the Chicago White Sox with the first overall pick in the draft.[24] Cholowsky had visited Chicago the month prior and met with White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, general manager Chris Getz, and director of hitting Ryan Fuller, alongside spending time in the White Sox club house and walking the streets of the city.[25] Following his selection in the draft, Cholowsky said "I left the next morning and called my agent and told him that’s where I want to be and he’s got to do whatever he can to make it work. I know that’s where I want to be, and I hope you guys feel the same way about me" and that he "fell in love with the city."[26] He additionally stated "I got really attached. I would have been upset if it didn't work out."[27] On July 13, 2026, Cholowsky signed with the White Sox for a $10.35 million signing bonus setting a record for largest signing bonus in MLB draft history.[28][29][30]

References

  1. 12Harrigan, Thomas. "Get to know No. 2 Draft prospect Roch Cholowsky". MLB.com. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
  2. ↑"Son of a … scout: UCLA's Cholowsky, Gasparino sons of longtime scouts". MLB.com. Retrieved July 31, 2026.
  3. ↑Roberts, Ryan (July 13, 2026). "Notre Dame football and their bizarre 2023 quarterback search nearly altered Roch Cholowsky's athletic career". A to Z Sports. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  4. 12Alvira, Zack (April 4, 2023). "Roch Cholowsky embracing final games with Hamilton". East Valley Tribune. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  5. ↑"Roch Cholowsky, Hamilton , Quarterback". 247Sports. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  6. ↑"UCLA's Roch Cholowsky Nearly Played College Football". UCLA Bruins On SI. June 12, 2025. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
  7. ↑Askeland, Kevin (January 17, 2023). "High school baseball: 2023 Preseason MaxPreps All-America Team". MaxPreps.com.
  8. ↑"Roch Cholowsky Gatorade 2022 - 2023: Player of the Year Baseball - Arizona PLAYER OF THE YEAR". playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.
  9. ↑Law, Keith (June 29, 2023). "Law's MLB Draft scouting report: Latest on Roch Cholowsky, Jacob Wilson and Homer Bush Jr"– via NYTimes.com.
  10. ↑Price, Lawrence (February 13, 2025). "7 college baseball teams that could win their new conferences after realignment". NCAA.com. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  11. ↑"Roch Cholowsky". capecodleague.com. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  12. ↑Pontes, Geoff; Flaherty, Peter (June 28, 2024). "Early Cape League Standouts From 2025, 2026 MLB Draft Classes".
  13. ↑"'Not Done Yet': UCLA, Cholowsky's Omaha Dreams Coming True". UCLA Bruins On SI. June 9, 2025.
  14. ↑UCLA's Roch Cholowsky named 2025 Brooks Wallace Award winner as nation's top shortstop. College Baseball Foundation MLB.com, June 13, 2025
  15. ↑Rudner, Jacob (June 24, 2025). "Roch Cholowsky Named Baseball America's 2025 College Baseball Player Of The Year". Baseball America. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  16. ↑Cholowsky, Levu Receive All-America Honors from Baseball America. UCLABRuins.com June 20, 2025
  17. ↑Rudner, Jacob (August 19, 2025). "Top 10 MLB Draft Prospects From USA Baseball's 2025 Collegiate National Team". Baseball America. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
  18. ↑Koch, Mitchell (February 12, 2026). "Hamilton High grad embraces status as projected No. 1 MLB draft pick and undisputed leader of UCLA". AZFamily. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  19. ↑"Which UCLA Baseball Players Could Leave for MLB Draft". UCLA Bruins On SI. June 1, 2026. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
  20. ↑Bolch, Ben (May 19, 2026). "UCLA's Roch Cholowsky, John Savage win major Big Ten awards". Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  21. ↑Price, Lawrence. "Breaking down college baseball's 2026 Golden Spikes Award finalists". NCAA. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  22. ↑Norris, Josh (June 15, 2026). "2026 MLB Draft Combine: See All 335 Players Attending". Baseball America. Retrieved June 18, 2026.
  23. ↑Cano, Jesús (July 11, 2026). "White Sox take UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky with No. 1 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
  24. ↑Passan, Jeff. "UCLA's Roch Cholowsky taken No. 1 overall in draft by White Sox". www.espn.com. Retrieved July 11, 2026.
  25. ↑Greenberg, Jon (July 12, 2026). "Roch Cholowsky was the perfect name, No. 1 pick for the ascending White Sox". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
  26. ↑Merkin, Scott. "Roch and roll: No. 1 pick Cholowsky 'fell in love' with Chicago". MLB.com. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
  27. ↑Kwiecinski, Chris (July 11, 2026). "Why Roch Cholowsky was the right pick for the Chicago White Sox at No. 1 overall". FOX 32 Chicago. Retrieved July 12, 2026.
  28. ↑Binkowski, Justin (July 14, 2026). "No. 1 Pick Roch Cholowsky Gets Record-Breaking Signing Bonus From White Sox". Minor League Baseball On SI. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  29. ↑Randhawa, Manny (July 13, 2026). "White Sox to sign No. 1 overall pick Cholowsky to record deal (source)". MLB.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2026. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  30. ↑Axisa, Mike (July 13, 2026). "2026 MLB Draft: No. 1 pick Roch Cholowsky sets record with $10.35 million signing bonus". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on July 14, 2026. Retrieved July 13, 2026.