The White Sox have not had a lot to celebrate lately, but Saturday night was different. Chicago used the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft on UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky, and the reaction out of his suite said everything about what the moment meant.
Cholowsky breaking down as the pick becomes official, family closing in around him.
This is only the third time in franchise history the White Sox have held the No. 1 pick, and they used it on a college shortstop for just the third time ever in MLB Draft history, joining Bill Almon in 1974 and Dansby Swanson in 2015. Cholowsky put together a monster junior season at UCLA, a 1.088 OPS with 21 homers and 60 RBIs that made him a Golden Spikes finalist, and scouts have been comparing his tools and makeup to Troy Tulowitzki for months. The kid is 21 years old and, by most accounts, close to big-league ready right now.
Barstool Chicago was locked in on the emotion of it all, catching the hugs and kisses from family the second his name got called.
The suite erupting as Cholowsky covers his face, family leaning in to embrace him.
Beyond the tears, there's a real baseball player here. Eric Hubbs pointed to a relay throw from Cholowsky's UCLA tape as the kind of detail that separates a good prospect from a great one, praising how polished his overall game looks for a White Sox org that's already trending upward.
Game footage of Cholowsky's UCLA defense that caught Eric Hubbs' eye.
Not every part of the broadcast went smoothly. Commissioner Rob Manfred, who has never exactly been known for flawless delivery on draft night, reportedly mangled the pronunciation of Cholowsky's name on the call, which is a rough look considering the industry has known for months he was the presumptive No. 1 overall pick.
Shout out Manfred for a total botch job on his name even though we knew for months he was going 1st overall https://t.co/nTCTv50o0o
None of that will matter to White Sox fans who've waited through some ugly seasons for a moment like this. A polished, potentially fast-moving shortstop at the top of the draft is the kind of foundation piece a rebuild is built around, and Chicago now gets to dream on Cholowsky being the face of the next good White Sox team.