PLEASANTON, CA — Brandon Crawford may have retired, but the Giants could soon have another Foothill player leading them to victory.
On Saturday, the San Francisco Giants selected Jackson Flora, a 2023 Foothill graduate, as the No. 4 overall pick, making him the first pitcher selected in the 2026 MLB Draft.
This is exciting news for Flora, a lifelong Giants fan. “It's been a dream of mine since I could remember, since I started playing baseball,” he said in a news conference Saturday. “The first team I ever played on was the Giants as a Little Leaguer. I was obviously stoked, really excited. I grew up going to Giants games at AT&T Park and then Oracle Park. I've always been a big fan, so this is really just a dream come true. I still haven't quite wrapped my head around it, but I'm stoked.”
But Flora was much more than just a fan. At Foothill, he finished 5-2 with a 2.40 ERA. At UC Santa Barbara, he achieved the nation’s lowest ERA at 1.06, and never saw his ERA rise above 1.50. He received three National Pitcher of the Year awards, and received First Team All-America honors from six different selectors.
“I’m ready to go,” Flora said in an interview with reporters. “Being drafted is awesome, but it’s not the end goal. The goal is to play in the big leagues. That’s what I’m focused on now, just getting myself ready, continuing to get better. Whenever they need me, I’ll be ready.”
But the major leagues aren’t done with Pleasanton just yet. On Sunday, 2023 Amador Valley High School graduate Oliver de la Torre, currently a pitcher at UC Berkeley, was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays.
After a standout senior season at Amador Valley, de la Torre developed into a full-time starter at Cal. This season he went 5-5 with a 3.76 ERA, threw 81.1 innings and finished 12th in the ACC in ERA before being selected by the Blue Jays in the 15th round.
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