(Richmond, Va).  The first day of the major league baseball draft

yielded a fantastic 'crop' of draftees from the state of Virginia.  Leading

of the contingent of draftees from Virginia was Matt Moses of Mills E. Godwin High

School.  Matt was chosen in the first round, 21st pick overall, by the

Minnesota Twins.  This marked the culmination of a great prep career for

Matt, who stated "This is the happiest day of my life, a day that I have

been working towards all of my life".  Matt had signed to play college

baseball with the Clemson Tigers, but given his draft position and likely $1

million + signing bonus, all indications point to his going pro. 

The second high school star from the Old Dominion selected was Jay Sborz of

Langley High School (pictured).  Jay was drafted, 40th pick overall, by the

Detroit Tigers.  Jay a pitcher / first baseman prospect has a tremendous

fastball that has been clocked in the mid nineties.

The next several selections involved teammates - Two were selected from James

Madison University junior, first was left-handed pitcher Kurt

Isenberg, (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial - pictured) and then senior

first baseman

Eddie Kim (Fairfax, Va./Fairfax) were both selected in the fourth round

of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft conducted by Major League Baseball. 

Isenberg was the 110th pick overall and was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays. 

Kim was tapped by the Oakland Athletics with the 122nd overall pick. 

Intermingled with the JMU teammates were two teammates from George Washington

High School (Danville), Jon Fulton, 83rd pick,  and Ken Lewis, was the

111th pick.  Fulton who also played quarterback for the Eagles

football team, is an infield prospect. Having signed in the fall with Virginia

Tech to play baseball, it will be interesting to see if he continues his career

with the Hokies or with the Toronto Blue Jays.  Fulton, due to his age has

the option of attending Virginia Tech and then being draft eligible after his

sophomore season.  Lewis, who also signed with Virginia Tech - but on a

football scholarship will face the same decision - turn pro or pursue his

gridiron career in the fall with the Hokies.  Lewis was drafted by the

Cincinnati Reds.

Continuing the teammate trend, and taking it a step further, twin brothers

from VCU were the next Virginian's taken. Junior pitcher

Brian Marshall (Manchester HS)) was chosen by the Boston Red Sox with the 144th

overall pick in the fifth round, and twin brother Sean Marshall (Manchester) was

nabbed in the sixth round (163rd overall) by the Chicago Cubs. Junior second

baseman Nick Jones (William Byrd) was also taken by the Cubs with the 313rd

selection in the 11th round.

Brian

Marshall enjoyed a stellar three-year career as the Rams' closer and was a

two-time All-Colonial Athletic Association selection as a reliever. The

lefthander earned first team All-CAA and second team All-East Region honors as a

sophomore in 2002 after racking up six wins and 10 saves out of the bullpen,

while striking out 92 batters in 79 innings pitched. Marshall followed up that

performance by tying a VCU single-season record with 12 saves this past year,

along with five victories and a 2.81 ERA in 32 appearances. He also fanned a

total of 77 hitters in just 51 1/3 innings of work, an average of 13.50

strikeouts per nine innings.

Brian, who currently ranks third on the Rams' career list in saves (22), fourth

in ERA (2.95), fifth in games pitched (85) and 10th in strikeouts, will likely

be assigned to the Lowell Spinners of the short-season Class A New York-Penn

League if he signs.

Sean

Marshall also stands among VCU's career leaders in a number of pitching

categories and was one of the top starters on a Rams' staff that leads all

Division I teams this spring with a 2.56 team earned run average. A southpaw as

well, Sean was named the 2001 CAA Rookie of the Year and a Freshman All-America

by both Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America after posting a

9-4 record and a 3.34 ERA during his rookie campaign. In 2003 he compiled a 7-2

overall mark and a 2.69 ERA while ranking fifth among all CAA hurlers with a

career-best 95 strikeouts to receive second team All-CAA honors for the second

time in his career.

Sean will likely end his collegiate career fourth on the VCU all-time list in

strikeouts (254), sixth in games started (40) and eighth in wins (19).

Jones

has also put together an outstanding three seasons for VCU and has earned

All-Colonial Athletic Association honors in each of his last two years. The

Roanoke-area native was a first team All-CAA and second team All-Eastern College

Athletic Conference (ECAC) pick in 2003 after leading the Rams with a .355

batting average and amassing team-highs in runs batted in (51), doubles (23),

total bases (124) and slugging percentage (.579). The right-handed slugger also

belted a career-best seven home runs this spring, topped the CAA in doubles, and

stood among the conference's top 10 in five other offensive categories.

Jones was a second team All-CAA choice as a third baseman in 2002 after batting

.340 and leading the Rams with 51 RBI and 55 runs scored during his sophomore

campaign. The right-handed slugger also racked up 20 doubles, six triples and 14

stolen bases for the year.

With the selections of Jones, whose 46

career doubles is tied for seventh on VCU's all-time list and his .478 slugging

percentage in a Ram uniform is ninth-best in school history, and Sean Marshall,

VCU has now had four players drafted by the Cubs in the last four years.

Outfielder Jason Dubois was picked by Chicago in the

14th round of the 2000 Major League Draft and shortstop Josh Arteaga was the

Cubs' 20th round pick in 2001. Both are currently playing for the West Tennessee

Diamond Jaxx of the Class AA Southern League.

Jones and the Marshall brothers each helped VCU to three consecutive NCAA

appearances as well as CAA tournament championships in both 2002 and 2003 during

their time with the Rams.

The

next Virginian selected was Asher Demme of South Lakes High School.  Demme

possesses a very good fastball and a good curve ball as well.  Joey Kamide

of the Observer News writes "Demme, a 6-foot-3-inch, 205-pound righty has

been one of the Northern Region's top hurlers for three years now, and will

either take his arm to Chipola Junior College in Marianna, Fla., or to the

professional level next year, depending on where he is drafted."

The next player from Virginia selected, currently

attending UNC at Chapel Hill, was Jeremy Cleveland, chosen by the Texas Rangers

with the 226th pick. 

Victor Hamisevicz was chosen with the 297th pick by the

Montreal Expos.  Hamisevicz, while playing high school baseball in

Washington DC for Gonzaga HS, is a native of Virginia.

William and Mary senior outfielder Michael Brown drafted by the

Detroit Tigers in the 13th round (370th overall )of the Major League Baseball

Draft.

Brown was chosen after piecing together the finest offensive display in school

and league history, as the 6-0, 195 pound senior finished the year with a .423

batting average and 20 home runs, both league highs, with 66 RBIs. He reached

base safely in 50 of 51 games, and recorded a hit in 47 of 51 games. He holds

school career records in hits, at bats, total bases, home runs, RBIs, runs

scored and doubles while earning first-team All-CAA honors. His batting average

never dipped below .409 at any course during the season.

Other Virginian's selected included Dave Winfree of First Colonial High

School by the Minnesota Twins with the 388th pick. Harold Mozingo of Essex High

School was selected by the Mets with the 439th pick. 

The

last Virginian selected on the first day of the draft was Nick Barden

(pictured), who

currently attends VMI. Barden, a product of Manchester High in

Chesterfield,  led the 2003 Keydets in batting with a career-high .318

average and started 41 games at either catcher or DH. He led the team in RBI’s

(30) and slugging percentage (.520), and co-led the team in homers with seven.

Opponents had only a 57% success rate against him on the basepaths.