June 7, 2005

SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University junior catcher Kiel Thibault was drafted in the ninth round of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft on Tuesday afternoon by the Kansas City Royals.

Thibault, a native of Jerome, Idaho, was the West Coat Conference Player of the Year in 2004 after leading the conference with a .424 batting average. This season Thibault was a second-team All-West Coast Conference pick after hitting .312 with 68 hits, 11 doubles and 35 RBI. Thibault currently ranks eighth all-time at Gonzaga in career batting average hitting .359 over three seasons. The junior played catcher for the Bulldogs this season with 54 starts.