NC State junior shortstop Trea Turner was selected 13th overall by the San Diego Padres in the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft on Thursday night to make Wolfpack history. Turner combines with left-handed pitcher Carlos Rodon — was taken third by the Chicago White Sox and is one of the first three-time All-Americans in program history alongside Turner — to give the Pack a pair of first-rounders for the first time.
NC State the only team in the country to have multiple first-round picks.
Turner marked the sixth position player taken in the event, and he was the eighth collegiate player selected. He also stands as the fifth Wolfpacker to be taken in the first round, and the second-highest pick ever behind Rodon, his classmate and college roommate.
NCSU's previous first round picks include Dan Plesac (26th in 1983), Joey Devine (27th in 2005) and Andrew Brackman (30th in 2007), which makes Turner the first position player to be selected in the opening round.
State also boasts a trio of compensatory first-round picks in its history: Ron Evans (1975), Greg Briley (1986) and Corey Lee (1996).
Turner was a two-time finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award, which is annually awarded to the nation's top shortstop, and was named a first-team All-America as a senior. He hit .321 and scored a team-best 65 runs, eight home runs, 12 doubles, 111 total bases, .516 slugging percentage, .418 on-base percentage and 26 stolen bases.
The Lake Worth, Fla., native stands as NC State's career leader in stolen bases with 113 — he actually claimed the record as a sophomore &mash; and also holds multiple single-season marks.
He has a career batting average of .342, to go along with 172 starts in 173 games played, 203 runs scored — which ranks sixth in program annals — 38 doubles, nine triples, 20 home runs, 121 runs batter in and 356 total bases.
"I think Trea Turner was one of the best college players in the country this year," MLB Network draft analyst John Hart said on the broadcast after the selection. "This a middle infielder that can absolutely fly. He impacts the game with his legs, has a solid-average arm, is going to be a plus defender.
"The bat is ultimately going to decide whether this guy is going to be an all-star-type player or not. I've got him with Jose Reyes-type speed, a Stephen Drew sort of defender. This guy's a solid defender, but I like a middle infielder that can run. I think he can make the adjustment [hitting]. This kid is a baseball rat, he likes to play, good player."