The 2026 NCAA Baseball Tournament begins with regional play on Friday, with 64 teams looking to become this year's national champion. But the field does not include LSU, the reigning champs, as the Tigers went 30-28 this year.
This time around, UCLA is the No. 1 seed entering the postseason. The start of the college postseason means MLB teams will hunker down and begin their final preparations for the annual amateur draft, which will take place July 11 and 12.
The Chicago White Sox won the lottery in December and hold the No. 1 overall selection. These 10 players are in rough order of expected draft slot, and for the sake of variety, we'll limit ourselves to one player per school.
Top Draft Prospects to Watch
1. Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA
Cholowsky is the best college shortstop in some time, probably since Dansby Swanson and Alex Bregman were selected with the top two picks in 2015. He is the consensus No. 1 prospect for the 2026 draft.
He takes a .321/.455/.660 batting line with 21 homers and more walks (35) than strikeouts (34) into the postseason. It's a tidy right-handed swing that produces big exit velocities, a sound approach, and defense that is plenty good enough to stay at short long-term.
Stats: .321 AVG / .455 OBP / .660 SLG, 21 HR, 35 BB, 34 K
2. Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech
A breakout sophomore season in 2025 and a .403/.521/.781 slash line with 18 home runs in 2026 has made Lackey the 2026 draft's top catcher prospect.
He's a standout defender with a strong arm and uncommon athleticism for a catcher. Lackey began to tap into his power more this year and now looks like a no-doubt starting catcher.
Stats: .403 AVG / .521 OBP / .781 SLG, 18 HR
3. Jackson Flora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
Flora is the consensus No. 1 pitching prospect in the draft class. He has the big frame teams want in a starting pitcher (listed at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds).
He works primarily with a mid-90s fastball that has registered a few 100s this spring. Flora backs up the heater with two sliders — an upper-80s traditional slider and a big breaking sweeper right around 80 mph.
Stats: 1.05 ERA, 124 SO, 30 BB in 94⅓ IP
4. Ryder Helfrick, C, Arkansas
Helfrick is a bat-first backstop with significant right-handed power, though there is swing-and-miss in his gap. His defense behind the plate is quite good.
Because of position scarcity, catchers always come off the board earlier than the public draft prospect rankings would lead you to expect, making Helfrick a likely top 15 pick.
Stats: .281 AVG / .426 OBP / .557 SLG, 16 HR