Entering 2026, this draft class felt like it had the ingredients of becoming a memorable one.

Now that we’re a few weeks into the college season, it’s looking like an especially nice year to own a pick inside the top-15, and the White Sox have to be feeling their fortune after seeing how the consensus No. 1-ranked player, SS Roch Cholowsky (UCLA; Hamilton HS, AZ, 2023), has been performing out of the gates for UCLA. This class’ college crop is what’s boosting its depth overall, sandwiched around a stout collection of prep shortstops as well, a group that’s more than just a series of consolation prizes.

HOT STARTS 🔥

Through Monday, here’s how Cholowsky has performed so far this spring for the Bruins, the top-ranked program according to D1Baseball.com: In 53 plate appearances, Cholowsky is slashing .366/.472/.976 with a sub-10 percent K%. He hit his seventh homer of the season on Sunday to tie the game against No. 4 Mississippi State in the top of the ninth inning, and his defense is regularly praised and evaluated as on par to his offensive skill set. It feels increasingly likely that you can cinch up his chances of becoming the first player taken in July.

(Roch Cholowsky; 3/1/26)

But he’s still got some competition.

Alabama star SS Justin Lebron (Archbishop McCarthy HS, FL, 2023) has been as productive as he was as a breakout junior, more so even, and he’s also sliced his K rate significantly in the early going. He finished last year with a 24 percent K% as a sophomore which was his lone blemish coming into the spring, and that rate has been cut in half so far. Lebron’s a stellar athlete, one of the class’ best, with shortstop defense and he leads the Tide with seven homers this season and 10 steals.

Opposite Cholowsky on Sunday night was Mississippi State’s 3B Ace Reese (Canton HS, TX, 2023), the left-handed slugger who’s crushing it in the early spring with a 1.281 OPS so far. Reese was forecasted as one of the top offensive threats in college this season and he’s completely lived up to expectations. He’s got four homers, eight doubles, with some special EVs from the left side. If he continues to project like a Major League third baseman defensively, then he’s capable of competing for a place inside the first 10 picks, even.

(Ace Reese; 3/1/26)

In one of college baseball’s best lineups, C Vahn Lackey (Collins Hills HS, GA, 2023) is leading Georgia Tech in several ways, both defensively at backstop and as the Jackets’ leader in OPS (1.440) as well as stolen bases (4), which helps underscore the kind of unique talent that Lackey is. He also has 12 walks to just five Ks, with four homers, three doubles, combined with a skill set that should seamlessly translate behind a Major League plate too. Catchers are coveted and Lackey brings both a floor and a ceiling with him.

(Vahn Lackey; 1/27/26)

Another one of college’s best starts belongs to another ACC product, Virginia’s OF AJ Gracia (Ranney School, NJ, 2023). After two years of production at Duke, he’s injected his premium lefty power into Virginia’s lineup straight away. Through 54 plate appearances, Gracia has a 1.460 OPS, buoyed by six home runs, three doubles, and more than twice as many walks (11) as Ks (5).

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THE PREPS IN ACTION 🎬

Here’s some quick nuggets on the highest ranked high schoolers on our board:

• The top-ranked senior on our board, SS Jacob Lombard (Gulliver Prep HS, FL; Miami commit), is 6-for-15 so far this spring, with a homer as well as four walks and four Ks.
• LHP Gio Rojas (FL; Miami) has been leading one of the country’s premier programs, Stoneman Douglas, again in 2026. He’s punched out 25 batters in 13.2 innings and allowed just two earned runs on eight hits, two walks (4 HBP).
• SS Grady Emerson (Fort Worth Christian HS, TX; Texas) is 19-for-40 this spring so far, with five doubles, two triples, a home run, 15 RBIs, and he’s walked 15 times and has yet to strike out, most notably.

(Grady Emerson; 2/27/26)

• South Walton is one of the top teams in Florida this spring, at 9-1 overall, and 3B/RHP Coleman Borthwick (Auburn) has been predictably at the center of it. He’s hitting .552 (16-for-29) with six doubles, five homers, with eight walks and just one K. On the mound, he’s yet to allow a hit or walk in 11.1 innings, with 23 strikeouts over that span.

(Coleman Borthwick; Prep Baseball All-American Game, 9/18/25)

• As one of the toolsiest preps in the country, OF Eric Booth Jr. (Oak Grove HS, MS; Vanderbilt) owns one of the explosive profiles in this senior class. He’s 9-for-24 thus far in Mississippi, with two home runs, two doubles, and seven walks against just two Ks.
• In his first game of the spring, SS James Clark (St. John Bosco HS, CA; Duke) began 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs from the lead-off spot. Clark has been one of the buzziest names of the preseason and he’ll be playing in front of a large audience regularly, given that the Braves are currently the No. 1-ranked team in the country, for us.
• OF Blake Bowen (JSerra Catholic HS, CA; Oregon State) is 4-for-11 with a homer in the very early part of the spring in which the Lions began their season in Texas, actually, against some of the top programs from the state.
• LHP/OF Jared Grindlinger (Huntington Beach HS, CA; uncommitted) has played three games as a late, new addition to this senior class after announcing his re-classification into the 2026s just before the start of California’s spring season. He’s 3-for-11 with two doubles and he’s made two starts with a combined line of 7 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 9 K.
• And while they’ve been just scrimmages officially, SS Aiden Ruiz (The Stony Brook HS, NY; Vanderbilt) greatly impressed on their voyage south in the preseason to Georgia, with a pit stop at LakePoint. A mature approach, long at-bats, and a slick switch-hit swing complements a stellar shortstop defender too. He could be poised for a selection in the first round with a productive spring that’s only just beginning.

(Aiden Ruiz; 2/24/26)

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MORE DRAFT HQ HEADLINES

+ College Crosscheck: Opening Weekend | Week Two at Globe Life
+ 2026 Super 60: Data Dive | Stock Report: Pos. Players & Pitchers | Blast Motion Leaders 
+ 'Stars at Night': Texas HS Spring Break Trip
+ On The Hunt: Florida's Annual Preseason Classic | Florida's Arms Race

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2026 MLB DRAFT: EARLY SPRING MOCK

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PPI Round & Comp. Round A

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