In all my time at South Side Sox, this is the sort of draft I’ve been waiting to cover for the White Sox, one where the club just kept digging up quality picks even late in the draft, as opposed to going completely off of the MLB board by, like, the fourth round. The South Siders struck once more in the 15th (!) round, taking a flier on MLB’s No. 250 talent, high-powered lefthander Cameron Johnson of the University of Oklahoma, with the No. 435 pick in the 2026 MLB draft.
The hits really do just keep
coming for the White Sox this year, as Johnson brings a massive fastball that touches 99 mph and sits mid-90s.
But (c’mon, it’s the 15th round, there’s gotta be a but) Johnson has had some issues with control, so much so that despite an improved regular season in 2026 he sat out nearly all of the postseason as the Sooners made their run to the NCAA title.
I mean, Johnson is a bit of a mess. He had never before even been allowed to see regular starter’s innings in his career until 2026 — and that really is the crux of his improvement. But over 15 starts for the Sooners, he remained all over the place: a 6-1 record but 43 walks against 72 Ks, and still putting himself in enough compromising counts to get hit pretty hard (4.36 ERA, 1.547 WHIP).
Still, Johnson’s raw makeup is to dream on. As a 15th round gamble, he’s absolute gold.
The 2026 White Sox draft storystream contains all of our draft content.
