Gainesville, FL.

Sante Fe Saints ace Justin Jackson has been named as the FCSAA Pitcher of the Year after a dominant season on the mound. Over 15 appearances and 98 and one-third innings pitched, he posted an outstanding 2.20 ERA, the second lowest in the FCSAA, and earned a FCSAA best 11 wins, which is tied for the second most in NJCAA Division I. His 2.20 ERA is the lowest of any FCSAA Pitcher of the Year winner with at least 60 innings pitched since Yusniel Padron-Artiles had a 2.17 ERA in 2018. Jackon's 11 wins are tied for the most by any FCSAA Pitcher of the Year since 2015, tied with Central Florida's Ben Chestnutt (2022) and Hillsborough's Chase Ingram (2015). 

Justin Jackson also boasts an impressive 1.10 WHIP on the season and tied last year's State College of Florida's Michael Forrett for the most strikeouts (106) by a Pitcher of the Year since Florida SouthWestern State's Ryan Gusto in 2018. He joins Pensacola State's Konnor Copeland as the only other lefty pitcher to win the award dating back to 2015.

Jackson started his collegiate baseball career with the University of South Florida in 2022 before transferring to Santa Fe last year. Next for Justin Jackson is playing baseball for head coach Joe Urso and the University of Tampa, where he committed to play alongside fellow Saint Drake Harman for the 2024-2025 season. The University of Tampa Spartans have won a total of eight NCAA DII National Championships and produced over 100 MLB draft picks in program history. In 2024, the Spartans are 43-7 and have their first playoff game coming up on May 16th at 1 P.M. against Savannah State in the NCAA South Regionals.

Article by: Cory Soles

Graphic by: Cory Soles