University of North Carolina Athletics
Four Tar Heels Selected In MLB Draft
June 4, 2002 | Baseball
June 4, 2002
CHAPEL HILL - The University of North Carolina's Russ Adams, Chris Maples, Scott Autrey and Adam Greenberg were all selected Tuesday on the first day of the 2002 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Adams was picked by the Toronto Blue Jays with the 14th overall pick of the draft, while Maples went in the sixth round to the Detroit Tigers, Autrey went to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the seventh and the Chicago Cubs picked up Greenberg in the ninth round.
Adams, a junior from Laurinburg, N.C., led the Tar Heels in 2002 with a .370 batting average, 45 steals and 52 walks, while his 94 hits, 20 doubles, three triples and 75 runs ranked second on the team. After earning first-team All-ACC honors as a sophomore, Adams burst onto the national scene by being named the top professional prospect last summer in the Cape Cod League. He carried that momentum into the 2002 season and had a terrific year for the Tar Heels, where he is a finalist for the prestigious Golden Spikes Award, given annually by the MLB Players Association to the top amateur baseball player in America.
"I'm thrilled for Russ," said UNC head coach Mike Fox. "He's a coach's dream. He has worked incredibly hard over the last three years to put himself in this position, and I know this is an exciting day for him and his family. With his work ethic and passion for baseball, I have no doubt that he'll have success in professional baseball."
Adams played primarily shortstop and third base as a junior and put together one of the finest seasons in UNC history. His 94 hits in 2002 were the sixth most ever in a single season at Carolina, his 20 doubles ranked seventh, his 75 runs ranked fourth, his 45 steals ranked third and his 52 walks ranked fourth.
Maples, a senior from Hillsborough who earned first-team All-America and All-ACC honors, went with the 170th overall pick as a pitcher. While Maples set new school records in 2002 for total bases (190) and extra-base hits (48) and hit .347 with 23 home runs, 24 doubles and 79 RBIs, he emerged as a top prospect on the mound last fall when he first began pitching. He led the Tar Heels with five saves in 21 appearances and had a 2.45 ERA.
"It's been an exciting day for me," Maples said. "I thought I may go somewhere between the fifth and 10th rounds, but I really wasn't quite sure what would happen. It was kind of shocking to get drafted as a pitcher, just because I haven't been talked about much lately there. I think my hitting had kind of overshadowed my pitching. That's something I didn't really expect, but I think the Tigers will be a great organization for me. Hopefully I will have a chance to move up quickly."
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"Russ, Chris, Scott and Adam are all a special part of our program and I'm thrilled for them to have this kind of tremendous opportunity."
- Mike Fox
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Greenberg, a junior from Guilford, Conn., was UNC's final player taken in Tuesday's draft, going with the 273rd overall pick to the Chicago Cubs. A speedy centerfielder who started 163 consecutive games for Carolina over the last three seasons, Greenberg was named first-team All-ACC and was a third-team All-America selection in 2002 after batting .337 with 17 home runs, 57 RBIs, 35 steals and a UNC-record 80 runs scored. His name appears throughout the UNC career record book, with his 253 hits (fifth), 45 doubles (seventh), 17 triples (first), 201 runs scored (second), 92 steals (fourth) and 124 walks (third) all ranking among the best in school history.
"This says a lot about how hard so many of our players have worked this year and over the past several years," Fox said. "Russ, Chris, Scott and Adam are all a special part of our program and I'm thrilled for them to have this kind of tremendous opportunity."
Adams is the 10th first round draft pick in Carolina history and the fifth in the past four years. Carolina's other first-round picks were Dave Lemonds (1968), Scott Bankhead (1984), Blaine Deabenderfer (1985), B.J. Surhoff (1985), Walt Weiss (1985), Paul Shuey (1992), Mike Bynum (1999), Brian Roberts (1999) and Kyle Snyder (1999).
