The division series is set to start on Saturday for Major League Baseball, a trio of UCLA Bruin alumni remaining alive for a chance at a World Series championship this fall. UCLA had 12 alumni appear in the 2026 season, with a quarter of the group still standing.
Former Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole is set to start Game 1 for the New York Yankees on Saturday, with the Yankees going on the road to face the AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays. Cole returned from Tommy John Surgery this season, putting up a 3.61 earned run average over 127 innings.
Right-handed pitcher Griffin Canning is still in the dance with the San Diego Padres. Canning was left off the Padres roster in the Wild Card round, with San Diego opting to keep more position players in the three-game
series. Canning could be an option in the NLDS after putting up a 5.68 ERA in 88.2 innings this season.
Canning and the Padres will be facing another UCLA Bruin, squaring off against Garrett Mitchell and the Milwaukee Brewers. Mitchell had his best season in the majors, putting up a .262 batting average, a career-high 11 home runs and 14 stolen bases.
Roch Cholowsky’s new team, the Chicago White Sox, are still in the dance and will face the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS. The No. 1 overall pickwon’t be making a postseason MLB debut though, with Chicago shutting down Cholowsky’s season before the end of the minor league season.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Which UCLA alumni are still alive heading into MLB's Division Series?
