SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — With the 2026 college baseball season only growing closer on the horizon, the first awards of the campaign have started rolling in for UC Santa Barbara, with ace pitcher Jackson Flora named to Perfect Game's Preseason All-America First Team. The flamethrowing righty climbed his way up draft boards with a tremendous 2025 season, capped by a stint with USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team. Coming into 2026, Flora ranks comfortably among the top 20 prospects for the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft, with D1Baseball and MLB Pipeline both placing him at 14^th in their preseason draft rankings.
 
Flora, touching 100 mph on the radar gun at times, pitched to a 3.60 ERA and 1.00 WHIP across 13 appearances. The highlight of his season was a complete game, nine-strikeout, one-hit shutout of Cal Poly on April 19, which earned him a National Pitcher of the Week award. Add to that outings of 11 and 12 K's in the following two weekends, and he finished his sophomore season with 86 strikeouts to just 17 walks.
 
The Gauchos went 9-4 in Flora's 13 games in 2025, with Flora's record standing at 6-3. Santa Barbara finished with a 36-18 record and fell in the opening game of the inaugural Big West Championship. The Gauchos will open their 2026 campaign on the road against 2025 NCAA Regional Hosts Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, Feb. 13-15. Santa Barbara's first game at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium is set for Feb. 20. Season tickets are on sale now at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets.