ROSEMONT, Ill. – A total of 50 players with ties to the Big Ten Conference were selected in the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft, which took place July 11-12 at the Philadelphia Convention Center. The selection number is a Big Ten record and marks a 28 percent increase from last year’s draft class.
UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky became the first Big Ten player to be selected No. 1 overall, going to the Chicago White Sox. He is the second Bruin chosen No. 1 during Head Coach John Savage’s tenure.
Fifteen Big Ten programs had either active players or signed recruits chosen over the weekend, as prospects were distributed among 23 MLB teams. UCLA produced a conference-high 10 picks while Minnesota had eight selections and Oregon seven draftees. USC extended its streak of having a player selected in every MLB Draft (dating to 1965), a milestone that stands just ahead of streaks by UCLA (56 years) and Minnesota (39 years).
A complete list of Big Ten players from this year’s MLB Draft:
2026 MLB DRAFT
+ signee