DENVER Major League Baseball completed its annual First-Year Player draft on Wednesday and 19 WAC baseball players were picked. Rice had a WAC-high seven players drafted while Fresno State had four. Nevada and San Jose State had three players selected, while Hawaii had two.
Rice's Wade Townsend, who did not sign with a team last year and sat out a year after being selected with the eighth pick in 2004 by Baltimore, was selected with the eighth pick of the draft by Tampa Bay. Fresno State's Matt Garza, the WAC's 2005 Pitcher of the Year, was taken later in the first round (25th pick) by Minnesota.
Nevada catcher Brett Hayes was a second round selection of the Marlins while Rice's Josh Geer was taken in the third round by San Diego. Rice had another player selected in the following round as pitcher Lance Pendleton was drafted by the New York Yankees in the fourth round.
Several first team All-WAC players were drafted as well including: Garza, Hayes, Hawaiis Isaac Omura and Stephen Bryant, San Jose States Anthony Contreras, Nevadas Jacob Butler, Rices Adam Rodgers and Fresno States Rudy Quinonez.
WAC Players Selected
Rd.-Pick, Name, Pos., School, Team
1-8, Wade Townsend, P, Rice, Tampa Bay
1-25, Matt Garza, P, Fresno State, Minnesota
2-79, Brett Hayes, C, Nevada, Florida
3-98, Josh Geer, P, Rice, San Diego
4-139, Lance Pendleton, P, Rice, N.Y. Yankees
6-199, Doug Fister, P, Fresno State, N.Y. Yankees
8-236, Jacob Butler, OF, Nevada, Toronto
9-282, Anthony Contreras, SS, San Jose State, San Francisco
12-377, Rudy Quinonez, P, Fresno State, Atlanta
13-403, Bryson Cox, P, Rice, L.A. Angels
15-447, Travis Becktel, OF, San Jose State, Colorado
17-521, Isaac Omura, 2B, Hawaii, Oakland
17-530, Michael Cooper, P, Fresno State, St. Louis
20-602, Ben Mummy, 1B, Nevada, Cincinnati
20-611, Stephen Bryant, P, Hawaii, Oakland
25-770, Adam Rodgers, 1B, Rice, St. Louis
29-881, Brad Kilby, P, San Jose State, Oakland
41-1245, Eddie Degerman, P, Rice, Boston
47-1420, Adam Morris, 3B, Rice, St. Louis