LEXINGTON, Va.- Shortstop Chad Rice became the first VMI player selected in the 2007 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft, as he was selected in the 24th round (728th overall) by the Pittsburgh Pirates in day two of the annual draft.

Rice (Grindstone, Va./Brownsville) earned First Team All-Big South Conference honors just two weeks ago, and becomes the highest-drafted Keydet since Jeremy Harper was taken in the 14th round of the 2003 draft. He is also the third Keydet to be selected by the Pirates, joining Nate Shepperson, who was taken in the 53rd round in 1996, and Duke Acors, who was selected in the 32nd round in 2005.

"I got a phone call from Coach Ikenberry and he told me that I had just been taken, but he didn't want to tell me who took me until I found out for myself," said Rice, who was in Washington, D.C. visiting family at the time of his selection. "I really wasn't expecting to go that early, so it was a pleasant surprise. There's a lot going on right now, but it's just a feeling that I cannot describe to get a chance to play professionally."

Rice, who grew up just an hour outside of Pittsburgh, led VMI with 11 steals this season while hitting from the leadoff spot. The shortstop ranks in the top ten in career runs scored at the Institute with 126 and also ranks third in career fielding assists with 505. Rice enjoyed perhaps his finest season as a junior, when he hit .294 with 56 runs scored, the second-most in a single-season by a VMI player, while also posting career-highs with a .393 slugging percentage and .394 on-base percentage.

"It's great to see Chad get drafted because of all of the hard work he has put in over the past four years," said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. "He mirrored (former VMI shortstop and current Texas Ranger minor-leaguer) Matt Smith for two years, and over the past two seasons has played a great shortstop for us. We're all very excited for Chad as this is a great opportunity for him to make the next step into professional baseball."

Rice is expected to join the State College (Pa.) Spikes of the New York Penn League, a Single A Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Spikes play in the Pinckney Division of the New York Penn League, along with the Auburn (N.Y.) Doubledays, where 2006 VMI graduate Kelly Sweppenhiser spent last season after being drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays.