June 6, 2006

"Today was a definite culmination of 17 years of hard work. I wanted to play professional baseball my entire life and to finally have that chance is unbelievable. This is just the first step along the way. I need to continue taking steps to get where I want to ultimately be, the big leagues."

"This has been something I have worked towards my whole life. I feel so lucky that the Padres chose me. I could not be happier being drafted by another team."

"I was with most of my family and friends. The Padres had called earlier in the day and said that if I was still around when they picked that there would be a good chance they would select me. I actually found out a few minutes before they called my name, but I kept it a secret from everyone here. That was pretty fun."

"I will find out my schedule in the next couple of days. I would love to start tomorrow if I could."

"I think coming to Wake Forest and playing in the ACC was the best thing I could have ever done out of high school. Obviously, I moved up 19 rounds in the draft, but the chance to play baseball in the best conference in the country and attend a school with a reputation such as Wake Forest was immeasurable. I not only matured as a player, but also as a person. That combination was vital for me when I consider where I am today from where I was three years ago."

"I am a hard-nosed type player. I am also pretty versatile. I can play third, second and even in the outfield. I feel like I can do a lot. I can hit and run, steal bases and play pretty good defense."

"I enjoy them all. I played third base in college after playing shortstop my whole life. I don't have a favorite position, necessarily, and any position will be fine with me."

"Obviously, I grew up watching the Red Sox. My favorite player growing up was Nomar Garciaparra. He just brought so much energy and a great work ethic to the park. I guess you could say I somewhat model my game after him."

"I had seven home runs coming into this year, then I hit 11 this year. I put on five or 10 pounds of muscle, plus I was a year older and more experienced. Those both helped raise my power numbers."

"I have always been a leadoff guy. I have always taken a lot of pitches and worked the count. I just try to get on base as much as possible. I'd just as much draw a walk as get a hit. The more times on base means the more times I can score runs."