Bruins SS Named to Midseason Player of the Year Watchlist

The No. 10 UCLA Bruins (26-6, 10-2) are putting together some of the best baseball in the Big Ten and nation, behind one of the most electric young players, sophomore shortstop Roch Cholowsky. His success this season has tabbed him as a midseason watch list member for a major award.

Ben Weinrib of MLB.com released a Top 45 midseason watch list for potential winners of the Golden Spikes Award, given to the best college baseball player in the country. Cholowsky's numbers this season have supported that honor as he has led the Bruins to the top of the Big Ten standings.

After a very strong freshman season, Cholowsky is doubling down with an even more impressive second year in Westwood. In 32 games, he is hitting a team-high .371 batting average with 43 hits, 10 doubles, nine home runs, 32 RBIs and 27 walks with only 18 strikeouts.

Defensively, the Chandler, Arizona native is just as strong, holding a .980 fielding percentage with just three errors in 151 chances. He has also helped turn 23 double plays this season, a key reason why the Bruins hold a +141 scoring margin this season.

Many of the players on this watchlist alongside Cholowsky are projected to be high draft picks in the upcoming 2025 MLB Draft, but since UCLA's young star is just a sophomore, he is not yet eligible to be drafted. It is fair to say that he will be a projected first-round selection during his junior year.

Earlier this season, Cholowsky was given the No. 9 national ranking out of 50 players at the shortstop position in the country. He has backed up that honor by becoming one of the most dominant players in the program's first year in the Big Ten.

Recently notable winners of the Golden Spikes are current Washington Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews ('23 - LSU), Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman ('19 - Oregon State), and former MLB pitcher Trevor Bauer ('11 - UCLA). No shortstop has won the award since Khalil Greene in 2002.

As a sophomore, Cholowsky's chances of winning the award are lower than usual, but just to be considered and on the midseason watchlist is a huge plus. His name is beginning to circulate amongst MLB scouts and there will certainly be teams coming out to scout him in the future.

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