San Francisco, Calif. - The San Francisco Giants selected RHP Jackson Flora out of the University of California, Santa Barbara with the fourth overall selection in the 2026 First-Year Player Draft.
Flora ranked as the top pitcher and the No. 4 overall prospect per MLB.com in this year’s draft. He was the consensus top pitching prospect, also ranking inside the top-10 overall according to Baseball America (No. 4), ESPN (No. 4) and The Athletic (No. 5).
The 6-5, 205-pounder is the first true college pitcher selected by the Giants in the first round since RHP Will Bednar was selected 14th overall out of Mississippi State in 2021. He is the Giants’ first draft pick out of UC Santa Barbara since they selected IF Zander Darby in the 12th round of the 2024 draft. This marks the second straight year in which a UC Santa Barbara pitcher was taken inside the top-four of the draft after the Angels selected RHP Tyler Bremner second overall last year.
Flora went 12-0 with a 1.06 ERA (12er, 102.0ip), 133 strikeouts and a 0.85 WHIP in 16 starts for the Gauchos last season. In three seasons at UCSB, Flora went 21-5 with a 2.49 ERA (62er, 224.0ip), 259 strikeouts and a 1.03 WHIP over 52 games (31 starts).
He was named the College Baseball Hall of Fame National Pitcher of the Year, Perfect Game College Pitcher of the Year, NCBWA District 9 Player of the Year, Big West Pitcher of the Year, a Dick Howser Trophy Finalist, a Baseball America National Pitcher of the Year Finalist and a Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist.
A Bay Area native, Flora attended Foothill High School (Pleasanton, CA), the same high school as two-time World Series Champion, three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner with the Giants, Brandon Crawford.
With the 29th overall pick, the Giants selected LHP Carson Bolemon out of Southside Christian High School in Simpsonville, SC. The left-hander went 7-0 with a 0.17 ERA (1er, 41.1ip) as a senior at Southside Christian, striking out 91 batters in 41.1 innings and pitching five shutouts and two no-hitters. He led the Sabres to their fifth consecutive state title in 2026 and was named South Carolina’s Gatorade Player of the Year both as a junior and senior.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder pitched in the 2025 U-18 Baseball World Cup in Japan last September, tallying 17 strikeouts in 11.0 scoreless innings over two starts. On September 6, 2025, he struck out 11 batters against Chinese Taipei while pitching the first Baseball World Cup no-hitter for the United States in 30 years. The southpaw was ranked the No. 24 draft prospect on MLB Pipeline.
With their second round (55th overall), the Giants selected RHP Kaden Waechter out of Jesuit High School (Tampa, FL). Waechter is the son of six-year MLB veteran Doug Waechter, who played for the Rays (2003-2006), Marlins (2008) and Royals (2009).
The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder was the 57th overall prospect per MLB Pipeline. He went 6-3 with a 1.15 ERA (10er, 61.0ip) and 82 strikeouts in 13 games at Jesuit High School. Waechter threw 3.2 scoreless innings for the Team USA U–18 National Team in 2025 (was teammates with SF’s earlier selection Carson Bolemon on Team USA).
The Giants selected OF Peyton Bonds, the nephew of Giants legend Barry Bonds, in the third round (90th overall) out of Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ). The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder was the 81st overall prospect per MLB Pipeline.
Bonds slashed .352/.436/.535 (.972 OPS) with eight doubles, six homers, and 29 RBI across 36 games with Rutgers in 2026 and struck out just 12.7% of the time. He was also teammates with OF Trevor Cohen, San Francisco’s secondround draft pick in last year’s draft, at Rutgers.
In the fourth round (118th overall), the Giants selected RHP Carlos Martinez out of Hofstra University. The 6-foot-2, 210 pounder went 6-3 with a 3.30 ERA (28er, 76.1ip) with 96 strikeouts and a 1.18 WHIP in 13 starts at Hofstra in 2026. He became the third pitcher in program history to reach 200 career strikeouts.