Gulliver Prep shortstop Jacob Lombard, who played soccer for the Ransom Everglades Raiders before focusing on baseball, is projected to be selected among the top four picks when the 2026 MLB Draft begins Saturday, July 11, at 1 p.m.

Both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America rank the 6-foot-3 right-handed hitter as the No. 5 overall prospect in this year's class. His projected draft slot is even higher: MLB Pipeline's July 2 mock draft and Bleacher Report's Wednesday, July 8, projection both place him at No. 4 to the San Francisco Giants. MLB Pipeline also noted the Minnesota Twins, picking third, have discussed Lombard.

Baseball America named him the No. 1 high school player in Florida for the 2026 draft.

His senior season backed up the hype. Lombard hit .477 with nine home runs, 25 RBIs and 52 runs scored, earning the Miami Herald's Miami-Dade 4A-1A Baseball Player of the Year award.

MLB Pipeline's scouting report calls him "a 6-foot-3 premium athlete at a premium position" with above-average power potential.

The Lombard family knows this path well. Jacob's father, George Lombard Sr., appeared in parts of six MLB seasons and is in his sixth year as the Detroit Tigers' bench coach. He also won a World Series ring as a coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Jacob's older brother, George Lombard Jr., was the Yankees' first-round pick in 2023 and is ranked the No. 20 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline. The Yankees promoted him from Double-A to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in April after he hit .324 with a 163 wRC+ in 19 games at Somerset.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone has noted that George Jr. is "a former standout soccer player, which he acknowledged helps with his athleticism." Jacob shares that same soccer background from his time with the Raiders in Coconut Grove.

If Lombard goes in the first round, he would become the third first-round pick in Gulliver Prep history, joining his brother and infielder David Espinosa, who went No. 23 to the Cincinnati Reds in 2000. He is committed to the University of Miami.

Should both Lombard and Parkland Stoneman Douglas pitcher Gio Rojas land in the first round, it would mark the first time since 2012 that South Florida produced multiple high school first-round picks in the same draft, according to the Miami Herald.

Rounds 1 through 4 begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 11. Rounds 5 through 20 continue Sunday, July 12, at 11:30 a.m. The Beacon will report Lombard's draft result once selections are announced.