Former Anna standout Alley taken by Padres

Former Anna-Jonesboro (Ill.) High School star Josh Alley was selected in the 10th round Tuesday on the first day of baseball's amateur draft.

Alley is a junior outfielder at the University of Tennessee, which won an NCAA regional title over the weekend and plays at Georgia Tech this weekend in the NCAA super regional round.

Alley is batting .333 with 18 doubles, two triples, three home runs, 43 runs batted in and 24 stolen bases in 29 attempts. He was taken by the Padres with the No. 308 overall pick.

There were several other players of regional interest selected Tuesday, when the first 18 rounds of the draft were held. The 50-round draft concludes today.

Southern Illinois had three players selected, including P.J. Finigan, the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year as a pitcher and shortstop. He went to the Tigers in the seventh round as a pitcher.

Also from SIU, outfielder Grant Gerrard went to the Mariners in the 16th round and pitcher Tyler Norrick was taken by the Blue Jays in the 17th round.

Missouri also had three players selected, led by outfielder James Boone, who went to the Pirates in the third round. Other Tigers taken were pitchers Andrew Johnston (ninth, Rockies) and Doug Mathis (13th, Rangers).

Central Missouri State, which was Division II's top-ranked team most of the season but was upset in the Division II World Series, had five pitchers taken in the first 11 rounds.

Nick Webber went to the Cardinals in the second round, followed by Daniel Powers (eighth, Twins), Jason Schutt (10th, Indians), Josh Outman (10th, Phillies) and Michael Phelps (11th, Cubs). All but Outman are right-handers.