It’s early days in the college baseball season, but consider the proverbial dust knocked off the BBCOR bats. We’re not talking about just any hitters either -- some of the top names from across the country who are expected to hear their names called early in this July’s Draft have been locked in from the words “play ball.”
But we can’t forget about a pair of highly touted aces, either. Whether it's bounding off the mound in jubilation or delivering GIF-worthy swords, Friday had its fair share of air punches and punchouts.
Curious how the first round of the 2026 Draft might shake out? Check out our first mock draft from back in December.
2026 Draft:
Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA (No. 1 Draft prospect)
2-for-5, 2 HR, 5 RBIs
It all starts with Roch. Depending on who and where you ask, the junior shortstop is gaining hype as the biggest lock for the No. 1 pick since names like Bryce Harper and Adley Rutschman. Scouts who have seen a lot of Draft prospects have decreed Cholowsky the best college shortstop since Troy Tulowitzki. The 20-year-old did nothing to dampen that enthusiasm in the opening contest of a weekend series with No. 7 TCU, demolishing a grand slam in the second inning, his fourth homer in his first five games. But he wasn’t done there. In the fifth, he got a fastball on the outer third in a two-strike count and promptly walloped the ball out to right field on a line at 108 mph off the bat. Also viewed as a plus defender, Cholowsky made a handful of nice plays up the middle. With back-to-back multihomer games under his belt, the Chandler, Ariz., native is slashing .429/.500/1.286 and has 27 total bases through nearly the first week of action.
Justin Lebron, SS, Alabama (No. 3 Draft prospect)
3-for-4, 2 HR, 5 RBIs
After being held in check during a pair of midweek contests, Lebron came out swinging in full force Friday. A 2026 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List selection, the junior shortstop clobbered a two-run homer in the first beyond the center-field batter’s eye. With the game comfortably in hand by the fifth, he added the exclamation point, drilling a hanging breaking ball into the Tide bullpen for a three-run roundtripper. Four of his seven hits thus far have left the yard but he’s also drawn eight walks, a step in the right direction as increased pitch selection was a point of emphasis entering the season.
Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech (No. 12 Draft prospect)
G1: 2-for-3, 2 BB, RBI
G2: 2-for-2, 2 HR, 2 BB, 3 RBIs
While Lackey joins a long lineage of elite Georgia Tech catchers for his work behind the plate, he also made a big statement on Friday at the plate in both ends of a doubleheader. Serving as the designated hitter in Game 1, Lackey reached base four times. The 2025 Buster Posey Award Semifinalist was in the squat for Game 2 and crushed two home runs, the first of which traveled 426 feet. It marked the first mutlihomer game of Lackey’s career, with the latter shot giving the Yellow Jackets a lead they wouldn't relinquish. The 6-foot-2 backstop is scorching to start the season with five multihit appearances over six games.
Liam Peterson, RHP, Florida (No. 13 Draft prospect)
5 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 12 K
Friday marked an enormous bounce-back performance for the junior, who was rocky in his season opener last weekend. This go-round, the 6-foot-5 Florida native retired the first 10 batters he faced, including six strikeouts. He finally allowed his lone hit (a single) in the fifth, but continued to pile up the punchouts, finishing with 12 across his 5 1/3 scoreless frames. Peterson works with a pair of breaking balls and both were sharp against Kennesaw State, consistently diving down and away from right-handed hitters in particular. The outing marked his fourth double-digit strikeout performance dating back to last season, when he posted the third-highest single-season K/9 ratio (12.5) in program history. The margins were hairpin thin between him, Coastal Carolina righty Cameron Flukey and UC Santa Barbara's Jackson Flora for the top-ranked collegiate hurler spot on our preseason Top 100 Draft Prospects list with his latest outing a glimpse into how wholly dominant the 20-year-old can be when on top of his game.
Jackson Flora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara (No. 14 Draft prospect)
5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K
It’s not easy to lose the No. 2 overall pick from your weekend rotation. But the Gauchos are fairing just fine on Friday nights after Tyler Bremner’s departure, thanks in part to the rise of Jackson Flora. The 6-foot-5 righty started his career in the bullpen before joining the rotation last season. He opened 2026 with a dominant start over Southern Miss last Friday, striking out five over six shutout innings. This week, he showcased much of the same against Portland, flashing his 70-grade fastball over five innings as he recorded six strikeouts ... and one tremendous celebration on the way back to the dugout.
A.J. Gracia, OF, Virginia (No. 15 Draft prospect)
4-for-5, 3 HR, 3 RBIs
They say you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, but Gracia is certainly doing his best to win over Virginia fans in his first few games as a Cavalier. The Duke transfer crushed three home runs in a lopsided affair against Monmouth, putting his 60-grade power on display. He became the sixth Virginia player to hit three homers in a game and the first since Henry Ford in 2024. The bats were hot across the board, allowing Gracia to score two additional runs to bring his total on the afternoon to five. With teammates Sam Harris and Noah Murray contributing multihomer games of their own, the trio made Virginia history as the first three players to hit multiple home runs in the same game since 2000. Gracia now has hits in four of five games to start the season with an OPS of 1.518.