"Chris Burke: There are so many fascinating storylines in college baseball as we get ready to kick off 2026, but two of them are really top of mind. First, can UCLA unseat the SEC from making it seven straight national championships? History has not been kind to preseason No. 1 teams, but UCLA has the star power and experience to run this race. Can the Bruins live up to the hype?"
"Secondly, speaking of UCLA's star power, its biggest star is consensus projected No. 1 pick SS Roch Cholowsky. He leads a group of three shortstops who could all be top-five picks in this summer's MLB draft. Alabama's Justin Lebron and Kentucky's Tyler Bell are two other DUDES to keep your eye on. This trio could be the best group of college shortstops we've seen in a long time!"
Opening weekend of the 2026 college baseball season brings widespread excitement with star players coast to coast. Shortstop Roch Cholowsky anchors No. 1 UCLA, Alabama's Justin Lebron is a premier SEC player, and Georgia Tech's Drew Burress remains a high-upside performer. Multiple high-profile programs installed new head coaches, including Josh Elander at Tennessee, Chris Pollard at Virginia, and James Ramsey's promotion at Georgia Tech, creating significant movement among teams with deep postseason pedigrees. UCLA combines star power and experience while questions persist about preseason No. 1 teams living up to expectations. A trio of elite shortstops could be top-five MLB draft picks.
Read at ESPN.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]