Colson Montgomery, an Indiana native, is taking inspiration from the Hoosiers' improbable football national championship run and hopes his Chicago White Sox can find the same magic. Indiana had the worst record in college football two years ago, and the White Sox set a record for losses in 2024.
Colson Montgomery is a rising young star with the Chicago White Sox, and he had an amazing rookie season in 2025. He's a key piece of the much-needed rebuild on the south side of Chicago.
Most experts figure it's going to take a while for the White Sox to get back into the postseason, but Montgomery has a different take on it all. The Indiana native who was also a great high school football player is taking a lot from Indiana's recent football national championship that came out of nowhere.
He'd love to see the same magic with the White Sox.
Montgomery, who turns 24 next month, was committed to Indiana University to play baseball before the White Sox drafted him in the first round of the 2021 MLB draft. He's still a big fan of the Hoosiers, and catches football and basketball games in Bloomington in the offseason.
He'd love to see the White Sox capture some of that same magic.
"I think the first thing is that anything can happen in one or two years. I'm not saying anything like that can happen with us, but it just shows you that if you've got the right guys together, and you're clicking on all cylinders, that anything can happen.
"It's like what (Indiana football coach Curt) Cignetti said. Indiana football just won the national championship — it can be done. I think it's just a collaboration of having the right guys and the right time and playing the right ball.''
Indiana was the losingest football program in America before Cignetti took over, but he's gone 11-2 and 16-0 in two years, and won the school's first football national title on Jan. 19 in Miami, when they beat the Miami Hurricanes 27-21 to claim the most unlikely of titles. Indiana was a 100-to-1 longshot to win the title in the preseason.
Montgomery played just 71 games in his debut season with the White Sox in 2025, but he put up some stunning numbers. He hit .239 with 21 home runs and 55 RBIs. Everyone is excited to see what he can do over a full season in 2026.
So is Montgomery.
“That would be awesome,” Montgomery said at the SoxFest Live event on Friday on the possibility of hitting 40-plus home runs. “It would be fun to do. But I mean, it’s just what I always say, it’s day by day.
“I just go into each day trying to have the best at-bats I can. If the first at-bat doesn’t go my way, I know I’m getting at least three more. Just taking it one at-bat at a time. I have good coaches and teammates next to me. They have a lot of insight and wisdom.”
Montgomery had some ups and downs on his path to the majors, but White Sox always believed in him and taking one step back in exchange for two steps forward was always the goal.
“Their belief in me from the start is kind of what kept my confidence and my belief in myself,” Montgomery said. “I had belief in myself, but if you are struggling and the organization is still high on you and still believing in you, it gives you extra motivation. Just starts with them. I’ve always thanked them for being like that.
“Once I got up here to Chicago, I just started having the most fun I’ve ever had in my life. It’s everything you’ve worked for, and once you get to the big leagues, it’s being around these guys and my teammates and the coaches we had, it was a lot of fun. Even with the losses, not saying losing is fun, but you learn from a lot of that stuff. I loved it.”
The White Sox start spring training in Arizona in two weeks. Opening Day is March 26, when the White travel to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers.
Chicago set an MLB record with 121 losses in 2024 and were much better last year after calling up several highly touted rookies. They finished the season with a 60-102 record, 19 games better than the year before. They are hoping for continued improvement in 2026.