UC Santa Barbara consensus all-American Jackson Flora will return to the Bay Area as he was drafted No. 4 overall in the 2026 MLB draft by the San Francisco Giants.
Flora became the 71st player drafted from the UC Santa Barbara baseball program during Head Coach Andrew Checketts’s tenure and the 14th Gaucho selected by the Giants. He was also the first pitcher chosen in this year’s draft, following former UC Santa Barbara pitcher Tyler Bremner, who was the first pitcher selected in the 2025 MLB Draft.
UC Santa Barbara is the first program since Florida State in 1994 and 1995 to produce the first pitcher selected in consecutive MLB drafts. Flora is the third Gaucho to be the first pitcher taken in a draft under Checketts, joining Dillon Tate, who was selected fourth overall in 2015, and Bremner.
A native of Pleasanton, California, Flora completed a standout season for the Gauchos, setting the program’s single-season strikeout record with 133. He finished the year with a 1.06 earned run average, the lowest in the nation, and went undefeated in decisions. His ERA remained below 1.50 throughout the season.
The MLB Draft continues through Sunday in Philadelphia as part of Major League Baseball’s All-Star Week festivities.
