Cholowsky is a true ‘Roch star” for UCLA baseball.
Under the current MLB draft guidelines, UCLA star shortstop Roch Cholowsky will likely stay with the Bruins through the 2026 college baseball season despite the fact he would very possibly be a first round selection if he was eligible this year.
Cholowsky has been UCLA’s best hitter as a sophomore this season, batting .370 with 22 home runs and 65 runs batted in while appearing in all 56 games this year for the Bruins. Cholowsky has remained a solid shortstop in the field too, making just six errors so far on the season and projects to remain a shortstop once he turns pro. Cholowsky was selected as a Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalist, which is awarded to the country’s best player.
Last month, Just Baseball writer Jared Perkins tabbed Cholowsky as one of three candidates to go first overall in next year’s class, alongside Alabama’s Justin Lebron and Georgia Tech’s Drew Burress.
“What’s even more impressive is what you can see under the hood of these outward-facing stats. Coming out of high school, the question was whether Cholowsky would develop into more power, and he is undoubtedly meeting those expectations,” Perkins wrote. “He’s got a max exit velocity of 114.1 and an average exit velocity of 87.6 MPH. On top of that, he’s in the 96th percentile for hard-hit percentage. It’s been incredibly solid pull-side power.”
UCLA fans should do their best to enjoy Cholowsky over the next 13 months because after that he’ll be hearing his name in the MLB draft.