CHICAGO (AP) — Colson Montgomery grew up in Indiana rooting for the Hoosiers and committed to play baseball for them before the Chicago White Sox made the slugging shortstop a first-round pick in the 2021 draft.
Fair to say, he's inspired by the football team's historic transformation under coach Curt Cignetti. In just two seasons, Indiana's gone from doormat to national champion.
“Cignetti kind of summed it up,” Montgomery said Friday before the team kicked off its fan festival. “He said Indiana University football just won the national championship. It can be done.”
The White Sox believe they are poised to turn a corner. General manager Chris Getz said this week he expects the team to take “a meaningful step forward" after three straight 100-loss seasons.
The players echoed that on Friday, when the team kicked off its weekend fan festival.
“It's great,” right-hander Davis Martin said. “I love the energy that we have and I think everyone in the clubhouse feels it. So the fact that it's emanating outside the clubhouse into the community, into the city is great. But all of us know at the end of the day, wins matter. You've got to go win games.”
The White Sox haven't done much of that in recent years. They made the playoffs in 2020 and 2021 with young stars like Tim Anderson and Luis Robert leading the way, only to unravel.
The White Sox are coming off back-to-back last-place finishes in the AL Central. They went 60-102 in manager Will Venable's first season. But as bad as that sounds, they made a 19-game improvement over 2024, when they finished 41-121 and set a modern major league record for losses.
Last season, there were at least some promising developments. Right-hander Shane Smith made the All-Star team as a rookie, and Montgomery, catcher Kyle Teel and versatile infielder Chase Meidroth all showed potential after making their debuts.
“I think we use last year as a good foundation,” Smith said.
Montgomery belted 21 homers in 71 games. Teel, who hit .273 in 78 games, showed the potential to hit for power and average and the ability to keep runners at bay with his arm.
“It didn’t quite satisfy us,” Montgomery said. “It just made us (feel) like, OK, we think this is what we can do. And now, we just want to be able to sustain it for a 162-game season.”
It's not just the young players the White Sox have returning. They also made a series of moves in the offseason, most notably signing Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami and trading center fielder Luis Robert Jr. to the New York Mets. They acquired infielder Luisangel Acuña and minor league pitcher Truman Pauley in that deal.
The White Sox used some of the financial flexibility they got in the Robert deal to sign veteran reliever Seranthony Domínguez. He figures to close for them.
“It's all going in the right direction,” right-hander Davis Martin said. “But at the end of the day, you're in the big leagues, you've still got to do your job. I think there’s been plenty of times where teams get hyped up and they fall short of expectations. And I think for us we’re not really worried about anything except just going out and playing the game and seeing where we end up after nine innings.”
The fact that things appear headed in the right direction, that there is a building buzz, is a big change from a year ago. Maybe fans will show up. The White Sox were near the bottom in attendance last season at 1,445,738. Only Miami, Tampa Bay and the Athletics were worse.
“From the fans that I've spoken to, they feel it's coming just as much as we do,” Smith said. “So I don't think the convincing takes much. But people want to see wins. There's only so many things you can say without wins. That's what we want to do, too.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
FILE - Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Seranthony Dominguez (56) delivers during the ninth inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the New York Mets, July 10, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)
FILE - Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable stands before a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Sept. 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
FILE - Chicago White Sox general manager Chris Getz talks with reporters before a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, April 26, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — An exit poll in Bulgaria suggested Sunday that the center-left Progressive Bulgaria coalition led by ex-president Rumen Radev will be the winner of Bulgaria’s parliamentary election.
The poll conducted by Trend research group showed Radev’s coalition earning 39.2% support, edging out the center-right GERB party of its veteran leader, Boyko Borissov, which is expected to capture 15.1%. Despite the huge gap between the two groups, the predicted percentage could not be enough for Radev to form a one-party government, and he will face the uphill task of looking out for partners to govern.
The exit poll also predicted that voter turnout stood at 43.4%, and six parties could pass the 4% threshold to enter a fragmented parliament.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgarians are heading to the polls on Sunday for the eighth time in five years, hoping to finally elect a parliament able to resolve the longtime political impasse that has gripped this Balkan country.
The snap vote follows the resignation of a conservative-led government amid nationwide protests last December that drew hundreds of thousands, mainly young people, to the streets. The protesters called for an independent judiciary to tackle widespread corruption.
Since 2021, the nation of 6.5 million has struggled with fragmented parliaments that produced weak governments, none of which managed to survive more than a year before being brought down by street protests or backroom deals in parliament.
The revolving door of governments has fostered widespread public mistrust, voter apathy and a shrinking turnout in elections.
Still, Sunday’s vote is significant as it could bring to power a left-leaning, pro-Russian former president — just days after Hungarian voters rejected the authoritarian policies and global far-right movement of Viktor Orbán, who cultivated close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The front-runner, Bulgaria’s former President Rumen Radev, is leading a newly formed, center-left Progressive Bulgaria coalition. He resigned from the mostly ceremonial presidency in January, a few months before the end of his second term, to launch a bid to lead the government as prime minister.
The 62-year-old former fighter pilot and air force commander is seen as Bulgaria’s most popular politician and has promised to give the nation a fresh start. His supporters are split on those hoping he will put an end to the country’s oligarchic corruption and those lining up behind his Eurosceptic and pro-Russian views.
After voting on Sunday, Radev said that Bulgaria now has a historic chance to change the alleged oligarchic model of governance. He urged people to go to the polls because mass “voting is the only way to drown vote-buying in a sea of free votes.”
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m., and are to close at 8 p.m., after which initial exit polls will be announced. Preliminary results are expected on Monday.
Bulgaria is a European Union and NATO member country, joined the eurozone on Jan. 1, shortly after entering the border-free Schengen travel area. However, it has been plagued by political instability since 2021, when three-time conservative Prime Minister Boyko Borissov resigned following massive protests fueled by anger over widespread corruption and injustice.
Radev has cast himself as an opponent of the country’s entrenched mafia and its ties to high-ranking politicians. At campaign rallies he vowed to “remove the corrupt, oligarchic model of governance from political power.”
And though Radev has officially denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he has repeatedly opposed military aid to Kyiv and has favored reopening talks with Russia as a way out of the conflict.
Opinion polls predict that Radev’s coalition could get more than 30% of the vote, putting him nearly 10% ahead of his closest rival — Borissov’s center-right GERB party. Most polls report margins of error from 3 to 3.5%.
Mario Bikarski, senior Eastern and Central Europe analyst at the risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, also believes that Radev’s new coalition stands the best chance to lead a future government, with possibly “the best electoral result for a single party in nearly 10 years.”
Radev's relatively vague campaign has left him open for cooperation with almost any party in the future Parliament, Bikarski noted. He predicted that the vote share for euroskeptic and Russia-leaning parties also will to rise to the highest level in decades.
Radev, however, seems reluctant to enter a formal coalition with the hard right and openly pro-Russian Revival party, Bikarski added.
Former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov speaks to journalists after casting his vote in a polling station in Bankya, Bulgaria, Sunday, April 19, 2026, during early parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
People cast.their ballots at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, April 19, 2026, during early parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A man casts his vote during an early election at a polling station in Sofia on Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A man casts his ballot during an early election at a polling station in Sofia on Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
People cast.their ballots at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, April 19, 2026, during early parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev casts his vote at a polling station in Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, April 19, 2026, during early parliamentary elections. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A supporter of former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev reacts during the closing rally of his campaign, in Sofia, Thursday, April 16, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Supporters of former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev hold posters in the colors of the Bulgarian flag during the closing rally of his campaign, in Sofia, Thursday, April 16, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
A print on the back of a jacket of a supporter depicts the former three-time conservative Prime Minister Boyko Borissov at the closing rally of his campaign, in Samokov, Wednesday, April 15, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Former three-time conservative Prime Minister Boyko Borissov is seen at the closing rally of his campaign, in Samokov, Wednesday, April 15, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
Former Bulgarian President Rumen Radev delivers a speech at the closing rally of his campaign, in Sofia, Thursday, April 16, 2026, as Bulgaria heads into an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo/Valentina Petrova)
