Scouts are much more enthused about the 2026 Draft class than they were about its 2025 contingent, which was considered lighter than usual. That won't be a concern next year.
UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky was the consensus national college player of the year as a sophomore and would have ranked as the top prospect in the 2025 Draft had he been eligible. He headlines a '26 college crop that features the position player depth that this year's lacked.
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Just four pitchers made our College Top 20, led by right-handers Liam Peterson (Florida) and Cameron Flukey (Coastal Carolina). After three college southpaws (Kade Anderson, Liam Doyle, Jamie Arnold) went in the top 11 picks last July, none project to go in the first 50 selections in 2026. Trey Beard (Florida State) and Jake McCoy (South Carolina) are the best lefties in next year's college class.
1. Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA
Cholowsky drew first-round interest out of high school but wasn't signable away from the Bruins, for whom he slashed .353/.480/.710 with 23 homers last spring. A no-doubt shortstop with four plus tools, average speed and a high baseball IQ, he might be the most well-rounded college player at his position since Troy Tulowitzki in 2005.
2. Justin Lebron, SS, Alabama
Lebron looked like the top 2026 prospect during a torrid start last spring, and though he regressed during Southeastern Conference play, he still finished at .316/.421/.636 with 18 homers and 17 steals. He's not as polished a hitter as Cholowsky, but he's quicker and has similar power and defensive skills.
3. A.J. Gracia, OF, Virginia
The most prominent transfer in the 2025-26 cycle, Gracia followed coach Chris Pollard from Duke to Virginia after batting .293/.449/.558 with 15 homers and a Blue Devils-record 57 walks as a sophomore. He's an advanced hitter with solid power and good instincts in center field, though his average speed may make him more of a corner outfielder at the next level.
4. Drew Burress, OF, Georgia Tech
Burress homered nine times in his first eight college games and has gone deep 44 times in two seasons while batting .357/.490/.756. He's a disciplined hitter with plenty of bat speed and strength in his compact 5-foot-9 frame, and he has the solid speed and plus arm strength to play all three outfield positions.
5. Derek Curiel, OF, Louisiana State
Curiel created some first-round buzz in high school before a disappointing senior season, but he erased memories of that by slashing .345/.470/.519 en route to winning a Men's College World Series championship and National Freshman of the Year accolades in 2025. He makes consistent contact to all fields and controls the strike zone, and he'll help his cause next spring if he can develop more power and handle a move from left field to center (he has the solid speed and instincts to do so).
6. Liam Peterson, RHP, Florida
While Peterson ranks as the best college pitching prospect for 2026, he could use more consistency after posting a 4.28 ERA and 96/32 K/BB ratio in 69 1/3 innings last spring. There's still projection remaining in his 6-foot-5 frame and he already can miss bats with three pitches: a mid-90s fastball that reaches 99 mph with carry as well as a mid-80s slider and a changeup that both feature depth.
7. Cameron Flukey, RHP, Coastal Carolina
Coastal Carolina had the best college catcher in the 2025 Draft (Caden Bodine) and could have the best college arm in the next one. Last seen battling Anderson and LSU in a 1-0 loss in the MCWS Championship Series, Flukey rode a mid-90s fastball (peak of 98 mph) and upper-70s curveball to a 3.19 ERA and 118/24 K/BB ratio in 101 2/3 innings last spring.
8. Ace Reese, 3B, Mississippi State
The SEC's 2025 Newcomer of the Year after transferring from Houston, Reese batted .352/.422/.718 with 21 homers in his first season in Starkville. His power is real and plays to all fields, though there are questions about whether he can remain at third base vs. winding up in left field or at first.
9. Tyler Bell, SS, Kentucky
The highest unsigned pick (supplemental second-rounder by the Rays) in the 2024 Draft, Bell is eligible again as a sophomore after hitting .296/.385/.522 with 10 homers and 11 steals as a freshman. A smooth defender with a solid arm at shortstop, he's also a switch-hitter who could grow into 20-homer pop.
10. Chris Hacopian, SS, Texas A&M
Texas A&M has more players (three) on this list than any other school, starting with Hacopian, who transferred after slashing .375/.502/.656 with 14 homers and more than twice as many walks (40) as strikeouts (19) as a Maryland sophomore. While his hitting ability stands out more than his pop, the latter is at least average and will play at third base, where he's likely headed because his instincts outshine his tools and quickness at shortstop.
11. Jackson Flora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara
UC Santa Barbara spawned the first pitcher drafted in 2015 (Dillon Tate) and 2025 (Tyler Bremner) and has another candidate for that distinction next year. Flora logged a 3.60 ERA and an 86/17 K/BB ratio in 75 innings last spring while working with a lively fastball that sits at 96-97 mph and touches 100, and a sweeping low-80s slider.
12. Sawyer Strosnider, OF, Texas Christian
As a freshman last spring, Strosnider batted .350/.420/.650 and became just the sixth NCAA Division I player in the past 25 seasons to reach double figures in homers, triples, doubles and steals. He's a physical 6-foot-2, 200-pounder with the possibility for solid-or-better tools across the board, and he may get the chance to prove himself in center field next year.
13. Eric Becker, SS, Virginia
New Jersey prep shortstop Nick Becker went in the second round to the Mariners in July and his older brother could go even higher next year. Eric has a similar profile as an offensive-minded infielder -- he hit .368/.453/.617 as a sophomore -- though he may fit better at second or third base than shortstop.
14. Gavin Grahovac, 3B, Texas A&M
After setting a Texas A&M freshman record with 23 homers in 2024, Grahovac played just six games last spring before requiring season-ending surgery on his left shoulder. He offers some of the best raw power in the 2026 class and has the arm strength to handle third base, but he needs to improve his selectivity, contact and defensive consistency.
15. Caden Sorrell, OF, Texas A&M
Both of Sorrell's grandfathers (Billy Sorrell, Tom Griffin) played in the big leagues and Caden has the all-around ability to do so as well. He slashed .337/.430/.789 with 12 homers in 26 games while dealing with hamstring and hamate injuries last spring, displaying plus power, speed and arm strength when he was fully healthy.
16. Chris Rembert, 2B, Auburn
The fourth Draft-eligible sophomore on this list, Rembert batted .344/.467/.555 with 10 homers in his first taste of college ball. He manages the strike zone well, provides reliable contact to all fields with some pull power and is a sure-handed defender with solid speed.
17. Maddox Molony, SS, Oregon
Though Molony's tools aren't as loud as those of the other shortstops on this list, he still has first-round upside. He hit .309/.403/.565 with 15 homers and 10 steals last spring, exhibiting bat-to-ball skills, some pull power, quick hands and fluid actions.
18. Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech
The best catcher in the 2026 college crop, Lackey is an athletic backstop with quality receiving skills and a strong arm. He improved dramatically at the plate as a sophomore, slashing .347/.421/.500 with 18 steals, erasing concerns about his ability to produce enough offense to project as a regular in the Majors.
19. Gabe Gaeckle, RHP, Arkansas
Gaeckle was more dominant as a freshman than as a sophomore, though he did star at the MCWS last June and finished with a 4.42 ERA and a 92/31 K/BB ratio in 71 1/3 innings. If he can improve his control and command, he has the four-pitch mix (highlighted by a mid-90s fastball that's up to 98 mph and mid-80s slider up to 90 mph) to work in the front half of a big league rotation.
20. Logan Hughes, OF, Texas Tech
After batting .327/.411/.697 with nearly as many homers (19) as strikeouts (24) during the spring, Hughes earned Cape Cod League All-Star honors and won a championship on the wood-bat circuit this summer. He makes repeated hard contact with power to all fields and profiles best as a left fielder with fringy speed and arm strength.
Five more college hitters to watch: Jarren Advincula, 2B, Georgia Tech; Caden Bogenpohl, Missouri State; Chase Brunson, OF, Texas Christian; Henry Ford, 1B, Tennessee; Carson Tinney, C, Texas
Five more college pitchers to watch: Jason DeCaro, RHP, North Carolina; Tegan Kuhns, RHP, Tennessee; Ryan Lynch, RHP, North Carolina; Brett Renfrow, RHP, Virginia Tech; Joey Volchko, RHP, Georgia