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, including 22-28 after an 8-0 start. 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. With that in mind, let’s highlight 10 of the NCAA postseason’s top draft prospects.

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. With the necessary throat-clearing out of the way, here are 10 draft prospects to watch as the college postseason begins.

1. Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA

Cholowsky is the best college shortstop in some time, probably since Dansby Swanson (Vanderbilt) and Alex Bregman (LSU) were selected with the top two picks in 2015. He is the consensus No. 1 prospect for the 2026 draft and he takes a .321/.455/.660 batting line with 21 homers and more walks (35) than strikeouts (34) into the postseason. Cholowsky gets the stamp of approval from both old-school scouts and new-school analysts. 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. All signs point to a future All-Star. Cholowsky’s UCLA teammate, righty Logan Reddemann, could also hear his name called in the first round as well, though he has not pitched since mid-April with what has vaguely been described as “arm fatigue.”

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 who contributes both at the plate and behind it, and earns himself a few All-Star Game selections. Georgia Tech has another first-round draft prospect in outfielder Drew Burress, who could join Lackey as a top 10 pick.

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) and 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. Whichever team takes him in the first round (likely in the top 10 picks) will have to work with him to develop a changeup. Flora has a 1.05 ERA with 124 strikeouts and 30 walks in 94 ⅓ innings this spring.

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Carter Bahns

4. Ryder Helfrick, C, Arkansas

Helfrick and Lackey split time behind the plate for Team USA last summer, though they are different players. 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, but he will need more refinement to stand out at the next level. 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, if not top 10. He’s hitting .281/.426/.557 with 16 home runs this spring.

5. Cameron Flukey, RHP, Coastal Carolina

A rib injury sidelined Flukey for about 10 weeks earlier this spring. He returned last month and is gradually building up his pitch count, so his workload and performance are well behind the draft’s other top college pitchers (4.35 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 20 ⅔ innings), though the arm talent is undeniable. Flukey’s mid-90s fastball and upper-70s curveball might be the best 1-2 punch in the draft class. He also throws a low-80s slider and has a funky delivery that adds to his effectiveness. It wasn’t an arm injury and teams have so much data these days (spin rates, release points, etc.) that the rib issue and absence shouldn’t prevent Flukey from hearing his name called in the top 15 or so picks in July.

6. Justin Lebron, SS, Alabama

Before Cholowsky came on last spring, Lebron was the super early favorite to be the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft. He’s a tool shed with big-time power, terrific speed, a cannon arm, and elite athleticism. Lebron’s upside is immense. The risk is an overly aggressive approach, particularly against breaking balls. The fact of the matter is that Lebron’s .266/.384/.522 batting line this spring is comfortably below what you typically see from a top college hitter. The tools cannot be denied, but some MLB teams could be scared off by the lack of plate discipline, which is not the easiest fix in pro ball.

7. Chris Hacopian, IF, Texas A&M

One of the most accomplished college players in the draft class, Hacopian is a career .336/.448/.595 hitter with 38 home runs and way more walks (93) than strikeouts (66). He pairs military-style plate discipline with very high contact rates and exit velocities. Hacopian has played all around the infield during a college career that started at Maryland and later took him to College Station. A nagging back issue caused him to miss about three weeks earlier this spring, though the injury is far enough in the rear-view mirror to not be a major long-term concern. Outfielder Caden Sorrell and slugging first baseman Gavin Grahovac are two other Aggies who should come off the board fairly early on draft day.

2026 NCAA baseball tournament: Regional picks, predictions as College World Series pursuit begins

Carter Bahns

8. Ace Reese, 3B, Mississippi State

Reese is a big man (listed at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds) with big left-handed power. He can hit the ball out of the park in any direction, but Reese is a bat-first prospect who may not have the range or arm to stick at the hot corner long-term. He has experience at first base and played left field earlier in his college career at Houston before transferring to Mississippi State. In a draft class light on power hitters, Reese stands out from the pack. He’s hit .327/.424/.691 with 20 home runs so far this season.

9. Tegan Kuhns, RHP, Tennessee

Every spring, there is a college pitcher who pushes his way up draft boards with loud stuff and loud performance (Chicago Cubs righty Cade Horton, the No. 7 overall pick in 2022, is the poster child for this kind of prospect). Kuhns is that guy this year. It’s banger stuff — mid-90s fastball, high spin low-80s curveball, plus a slider, changeup, and cutter — with good athleticism and a 6-foot-3, 193-pound frame that suggests Kuhns has more velocity in the tank once you get him under pro instruction. He’s thrown 77 innings with a 3.39 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 2026.

10. AJ Gracia, OF, Virginia

At 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, Gracia looks like a big leaguer and he has legitimate power to all fields. There are some concerns about his plate discipline, but not for the usual reason — Gracia gets too passive and doesn’t swing enough. That, in theory, is more easily fixable than getting a hitter to stop chasing excessively. Gracia has shown enough in the field to at least begin his pro career in center, though chances are he’ll move to a corner spot down the road. He’s hitting .338/.478/.616 with 14 homers and more walks (45) than strikeouts (34) this spring.