Paulsen selected in third round

Junior first-baseman becomes the highest-drafted Tiger infielder since 2002.

Junior first-baseman Ben Paulsen was selected in the third round (No. 90 overall pick) of the 2009 Major League Draft by the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday. The first three rounds of the draft were held on Tuesday, while the rest of the draft (rounds 4-50) will be held over the next two days.

Paulsen, a junior from Acworth, GA, batted .367 with 18 doubles, four triples, 13 homers, and 61 RBIs in starting all 66 games at first base in 2009. He led or tied for the team-lead in batting average, games, starts, hits (95), doubles, homers, total bases (160), slugging percentage (.618), and on-base percentage (.435).

The son of Associate Head Coach Tom Riginos was a big reason the Tigers had a 44-22 record, finished third in the ACC standings, ranked in the top 15 in the nation, and reached the NCAA Super Regionals in 2009. Paulsen is the first Tiger drafted by the Rockies since 2002 (Steve Reba) and Clemson's highest-drafted infielder since 2002, when Khalil Greene and Michael Johnson were both selected within the first two rounds.