One of baseball’s newest top prospects is headed to Fluor Field.
Roch Cholowsky, the #1 overall selection in the 2026 MLB Draft, is scheduled to come to Greenville as a member of the Winston-Salem Dash for the six-game series against the Greenville Drive, August 18-23 at Fluor Field.
The Chicago White Sox selected Cholowsky, a shortstop out of UCLA, with the first overall pick in July’s MLB Draft, making him just the third player in UCLA history to go #1 overall, joining Gerrit Cole in 2011 and Chris Chambliss in 1970.
His arrival will also make Drive history.
In the franchise’s 21-year history, Cholowsky will become just the second #1 overall draft pick to play at Fluor Field and only the fourth former #1 overall selection the Drive have ever faced.
The only previous #1 overall pick to take the field in Greenville was Tim Beckham, the top selection in the 2008 MLB Draft, who visited Fluor Field during the 2009 season as a member of the Bowling Green Hot Rods.
The Drive have twice faced other former top overall selections on the road. In 2017, Greenville matched up with Mickey Moniak, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, when Moniak played for the Lakewood BlueClaws in Lakewood, NJ. Six years earlier, the Drive traveled to Hagerstown, MD, where they faced Bryce Harper, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 MLB Draft, as a member of the Hagerstown Suns during the 2011 season.
Now, 17 years after Beckham became the first, Greenville fans will have another opportunity to see a No. 1 overall pick at Fluor Field.
A Decorated Career at UCLA
Cholowsky arrives in professional baseball following one of the most decorated careers in UCLA history.
After earning Freshman All-America honors in 2024, Cholowsky exploded onto the national stage as a sophomore in 2025. The shortstop hit .353 with 23 home runs, 74 RBI and 80 runs scored, posting a 1.190 OPS while helping lead UCLA to the Men’s College World Series.
That season brought an extraordinary collection of honors. Cholowsky was named ABCA/Rawlings Player of the Year, D1Baseball Player of the Year, Baseball America Player of the Year and Perfect Game Player of the Year. He was also named Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, won the Brooks Wallace Award as the nation’s top shortstop and earned an ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove.
He followed his breakout sophomore campaign with another dominant season in 2026, batting .320 with 21 home runs, 60 RBI and 73 runs scored in 60 games. He reached base at a .452 clip, slugged .636 and set a UCLA single-season record with 25 hit-by-pitches.
Cholowsky earned Big Ten Player of the Year for a second consecutive season, becoming the first UCLA player to win the honor twice, and collected First Team All-America recognition from multiple national outlets. He was also a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award while continuing to establish himself as one of college baseball’s premier defensive shortstops.
Across his three seasons in Westwood, Cholowsky developed from an immediate-impact freshman into one of the most accomplished players in college baseball, combining middle-of-the-order power with elite defense at one of the game’s most demanding positions.
That résumé ultimately led the White Sox to make him the first player selected in the 2026 MLB Draft.
Come See the No. 1 Pick at Fluor Field
Greenville fans will now have the chance to see the beginning of Cholowsky’s professional career up close when the Winston-Salem Dash visit Fluor Field.
The six-game series runs Tuesday, August 18th through Sunday, August 23rd, giving fans six opportunities to see the newest No. 1 overall pick while the Drive battle their South Atlantic League rival, with the playoffs also on the line.
From Bryce Harper and Mickey Moniak on the road to Tim Beckham at Fluor Field, only a select few No. 1 overall picks have crossed paths with the Drive.