Crossing home plate against Jackson Flora is becoming as rare as ... a nine-inning shutout.
MLB Pipeline's No. 14 Draft prospect extended his scoreless streak in emphatic fashion with the second shutout of his collegiate career for UC Santa Barbara in a 6-0 victory over Cal Poly on Thursday night. Flora struck out nine during his 118-pitch effort.
2026 Draft, July 11-12:
Since allowing two runs in the opening frame against Long Beach State on March 6, the right-hander has gone 33 1/3 consecutive innings without allowing a run.
The 20-year-old didn't exactly struggle early on, but he took his game to another level as the night wore on. Flora yielded three hits and a pair of walks across the first four-plus frames, but after surrendering a leadoff double in the fifth, he was untouchable. The 6-foot-5, 205-pounder retired 16 consecutive batters to close out his dominating performance, punctuating the performance by striking out the side in the ninth.
Flora's performance dropped his ERA in eight starts to 0.69, third-lowest among all NCAA DI hurlers. Only Central Florida's Matt Sauser (0.64) and USC's Mason Edwards (0.67) -- the No. 88 Draft prospect -- sport better ERAs.
Blessed with a fastball that regularly hits triple digits and routinely sits in the upper 90 mph range, Flora has breezed through competition through the first six weeks of the Gauchos' season. The native of Pleasanton, Calif., has surrendered one run or fewer in seven of his eight starts with a 65/15 K/BB ratio while yielding 4.5 hits per nine innings -- including just one homer -- across 52 1/3 frames.
Already one of the top pitching prospects in the country following a strong sophomore campaign in 2025, Flora is making a push at an opportune time. Since beginning his scoreless streak in the second inning of his March 6 outing against the Dirtbags, Flora has struck out 42 of the 120 batters he's faced.
Widely expected to be a first-round pick this July, if not a top-10 selection, Flora possesses an MLB-ready heater and three offspeed pitches that grade out as plus offerings. His good command as well as the ability to miss bats consistently -- 151 K's in 21 appearances (19 starts) dating back to the start of last season -- put Flora in position to join former teammate Tyler Bremner (LAA No. 1/MLB No. 77) as the most recent UC Santa Barbara first-rounders.