OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) announced its 2023 Baseball Division I All-America team yesterday, and Johnson County sophomore left-hand pitcher Luc Fladda was tabbed to the second-team of the 54-man squad. He becomes the 16th player in team history to be selected All-American, and the fourth pitcher in team history.
This season Fladda was the ace of a pitching staff that helped lead the Cavaliers to a school record mark of 56-10 while capturing conference and district titles capped by an eighth place finish at the NJCAA JUCO World Series.
Fladda appeared in 18 games, 17 as a starter. He had a perfect record of 12-0 with 107 strikeouts in 102.0 innings, six complete games and an earned run average of 2.74. Fladda led the conference in innings pitched, ranked second in ERA, victories, strikeouts, and complete games. Nationally he ranked second in innings pitched, tied for third in victories and tied for 13th in strikeouts. His 12 victories tie for the second most in a season in team history and tied the record for fewest losses. Fladda also ranks second on the season chart for innings pitched, tied for third in strikeouts and set a team record for most games started.
"Luc was our No. 1 all year long," said JCCC head coach Eric Horner. "He wanted the ball in big games and thrived in big situations. He was fun to watch compete and will go down as one the top pitchers in school history."
In his first start Fladda hurled six innings of no-hit ball with 11 strikeouts to earn a 3-0 win over nationally ranked Crowder (2-11-23) … That performance earned him KJCCC East Pitcher of the Week for week two. Three months later, he earned a nine inning complete-game 11-2 victory over Cowley in the championship game, securing JCCC's third trip to the NJCAA World Series.
Fladda came to JCCC after spending the 2022 season as a redshirt with the Oklahoma Sooners baseball program.
Prior to OU, Fladda was a two-year starter for coach Boyd Manne at Lafayette High School, Chesterfield, Mo. His 2020 campaign was cancelled due to COVID-19. Fladda was rated as the No. 28 overall recruit and No. 2 left-handed pitcher in Missouri, and a top-500 prospect nationally by Perfect Game. He was named First Team All-State 6A by the Missouri Baseball Coaches Association as a senior. Fladda was also named the All-Metro Pitcher of the Year and All-Central Suburban Conference first-team.