Selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox out of UCLA... name is pronounced "Rock" "chill-OW-skee" ... son of Dan Cholowsky, a former catcher and longtime scout who was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1991 and spent eight seasons in the Minors from 1991-98... was ranked by MLB.com as the No. 2 prospect in the 2026 MLB Draft class... was a top-50 player as a two-sport athlete from the Hamilton High School program in Arizona that produced Cody Bellinger... his commitment to UCLA priced him out and he ended up the highest-ranked player not selected in the 2023 Draft... after a solid freshman year with the Bruins, he vaulted himself to the top of 2026 Draft boards by posting a 1.190 OPS with 23 homers as a sophomore... played for the Orleans Firebirds in the 2024 Cape Cod League season, hitting .218 with a homer and five RBIs in 17 games... is the third UCLA player to be drafted No. 1 overall (Chris Chambliss 1970, Gerrit Cole 2011)
At UCLA in 2026, Cholowsky started all 60 games at shortstop during his junior season and was named Big Ten Player of the Year for the second straight season, becoming the third player in league history to win the award in back-to-back seasons... he hit .320/.452/.636 with 74 hits, 73 runs scored, 60 RBIs, 10 doubles and a team-leading 21 home runs in 2026... led UCLA in home runs, runs scored, and OPS... in 2025 at UCLA, he was named National Player of the Year by four outlets (ABCA/Rawlings, Baseball America, D1Baseball, Perfect Game), was honored as First Team All-American by four outlets (ABCA/Rawlings, Baseball America, D1Baseball, Perfect Game) and was honored as the Brooks Wallace Award Winner, which recognizes the nation's top shortstop... he became first true underclassman to be named D1Baseball Player of the Year... was the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove recipient at shortstop... became first UCLA player to win conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season... in 2024 at UCLA, he was named a Second Team Freshman All-American by Perfect Game and received an honorable mention on the 2024 Pac-12 All-Conference Team... before UCLA, he attended Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona where he was named the 2023 Gatorade Arizona Baseball Player of the Year after slashing .466/.577/.970 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs... was listed as the No. 2 incoming player in the country by Perfect Game... led Hamilton to back-to-back Arizona State Championships in 2022 and 2023
Born in 2005 in Vallejo, Calif. to parents Tika and Dan... he has an older sister, Shyla... told UCLA he admireed Major League infielders Brandon Crawford, Nolan Arenado, and Derek Jeter... hobbies and interests include football, snowboarding, basketball, working out and wake surfing ... his father, Dan, was selected in the first round of the 1991 MLB Draft by St. Louis and played eight seasons of Minor League Baseball .. his uncle, Bill, also attended UCLA
Awards and Honors at UCLA:
- ABCA/Rawlings Player of the Year (2025)
- D1Baseball Player of the Year (2025)
- Baseball America Player of the Year (2025)
- Perfect Game Player of the Year (2025)
- NCBWA District 9 Player of the Year (2025)
- Big Ten Player of the Year (2025 and 2026)
- Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (2025)
- Brooks Wallace Award Winner (2025)
- ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove (2025)
- Dick Howser Trophy Finalist (2025)
- Golden Spikes Award Finalist (2026)
- Golden Spikes Semifinalist (2025 and 2026)
- 2024 Freshman All-American
High-A Affiliate
