MLB completes first day of 2026 Draft presented by Nippon Express

White Sox Select Roch Cholowsky First Overall

MLB Develops Alumni Zion Rose, AJ Gracia, Jacob Lombard & Cade Townsend Selected in First Round

Teammates Selected within Top 10 Picks for Fourth Consecutive Draft as Georgia Tech’s Vahn Lackey and Drew Burress Chosen in Top Eight

Major League Baseball has completed the first day of the 2026 Draft presented by Nippon Express, which aired live on NBC, Peacock and MLB Network today in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. In total, 135 players were selected during the first four rounds, compensatory rounds, competitive balance rounds and prospect promotion incentive selections. The Draft will resume at 11:30 a.m. (ET) on Sunday, July 11^th with the first pick in Round 4, and will continue through the end of the Draft exclusively on MLB.com.

The Chicago White Sox selected shortstop Roch Cholowsky out of the University of California, Los Angeles with the first overall pick in the Draft. Cholowsky is the 14^th shortstop taken with the first overall pick in the Draft, marking the second straight year a shortstop has been selected first overall, following the Washington Nationals’ selection of Eli Willits last July. The 21-year-old joined Danny Goodwin (1971) and Hall of Famer Harold Baines (1977) as the only number one overall picks in White Sox history. Cholowsky is the son of Dan Cholowsky, who was the 39^th overall pick in the 1991 Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals and played eight seasons in the Minors for the Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies, and is now a scout for the Toronto Blue Jays. According to Elias, they are the 11^th father/son pairing to be selected in the first round of the June or July editions of the Draft, joining Tom (1966) and Ben Grieve (1994); John (1967) and John Mayberry Jr. (2005); Jeff (1969) and Sean Burroughs (1998); Steve (1973) and Nick Swisher (2002); Lance (1974) and Dave Parrish (2000); Rod (1978) and Brad Boxberger (2009); Delino (1987) and Delino DeShields (2010); Phil (1992) and Tyler Nevin (2015); Bobby (1985) and Bobby Witt Jr. (2019); and Steve (1993) and Tyler Soderstrom (2020).

With the fifth and sixth-ever Prospect Promotion Incentive Selection, the Atlanta Braves selected Carson Beck out of Indiana State University and the Houston Astros selected Jack Radel out of the University of Notre Dame. The PPI Selection was awarded to Atlanta for the promotion of catcher Drake Baldwin in 2025 who went on to win NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year, and it was awarded to Houston for the promotion of starting pitcher Hunter Brown, who finished third in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2025, prior to his qualification for arbitration.

Georgia Tech University teammates Vahn Lackey (3^rd overall, MIN) and Drew Burress (8^th overall, ATH) were the first pair of teammates to be selected in this year’s Draft. It marks the fourth consecutive year in which a set of teammates were selected within the top-10 of the Draft, joining Corona High School (CA) teammates Seth Hernandez (8^th) and Billy Carlson (10^th) in 2025; Wake Forest University teammates Chase Burns (2^nd), Nick Kurtz (4^th) and Seaver King (10^th) in 2024; and Louisiana State University teammates Paul Skenes (1^st) and Dylan Crews (2^nd) in 2023. Other teammates to be selected within today’s first 40 picks included UCLA alumni Cholowsky (1^st, CWS) and Logan Reddemann (38^th, COL); University of Arkansas teammates Justin Lebron (18^th, CIN), Carson Wiggins (27^th, NYM) and Hunter Dietz (35^th, NYY); and University of Mississippi pitchers Cade Townsend (23^rd, CHC) and Taylor Rabe (30^th, KC).

Four selections among today’s first 40 picks are alumni of MLB Develops programming led by MLB and USA Baseball, including Zion Rose (6^th, KC) who participated in DREAM Series, Hank Aaron Invitational and Breakthrough Series; AJ Gracia (9^th, ATL) and Lombard (14^th, MIA) who participated in the Hank Aaron Invitational; and Townsend (23^rd, CHC) who participated in States Play.

In addition to the first overall pick Cholowsky, other players within today’s first 40 picks who have family ties to Baseball include Eric Booth Jr. (7^th, BAL), whose father, Eric Sr., was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 34^th round of the 1993 Draft; Burress, whose father, Andy, was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the sixth round of the 1995 Draft; Chris Hacopian (11^th, WSH), whose father Derek, was the 1992 ACC Player of the Year and drafted by the Cleveland Guardians in the 1992 Draft; Jacob Lombard (14^th, MIA), whose brother, George Jr., is the New York Yankees top prospect and currently ranked 18^th in all of Baseball per MLB Pipeline, and whose father, George Sr. played six years in the Majors and currently serves as the bench coach for the Detroit Tigers; Trey Ebel (25^th, MIL), whose father, Dino, is currently the third base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and whose brother, Brady, was selected 32^nd overall last July by the Brewers, and currently ranked 13^th in Milwaukee’s system per MLB Pipeline; Wiggins (27^th), whose brother, Jaxon was drafted by the Cubs in the second round in 2023 and is currently Chicago’s top pitching prospect and third overall prospect per MLB Pipeline; and Landon Thome (34^th, CWS), whose father, Jim, played parts of four seasons with the White Sox during his Hall of Fame career.

Overall, 26 of the first 40 selections came from college, while 14 high school players were selected. The state of California produced six picks within the first 40 selections, followed by Georgia (5); Florida (4); Mississippi (4); South Carolina (4); Arkansas (3); Texas (3); Indiana (2); Kentucky (2); Alabama (1); Arizona (1); Illinois (1); Louisiana (1); North Carolina (1); Tennessee (1); and Virginia (1).

Eleven (11) shortstops and 11 right-handed pitchers were selected within the first 40 picks, along with nine outfielders; four left-handed pitchers; three catchers; a third baseman; and a second baseman.

MLB.com will continue to provide Draft Tracker, a live interactive application that includes a searchable database of draft-eligible players with statistics, scouting reports and video highlights. On X, the official Draft account, @MLBDraft, will provide up-to-the-moment updates and commentary.