Four Tigers Taken In Baseball Draft

June 5, 2001

NEW YORK — Four Clemson baseball players -outfielder Patrick Boyd, pitcher Josh Cram, shortstop Khalil Greene and pitcher Steve Reba – were selected on the opening day of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday.

Boyd, who missed all but one game this season with a back injury, was selected in the seventh round, the 201st pick overall, by the Texas Rangers. Boyd, who came back to Clemson for his senior year after getting drafted in the fourth round by the Pittsburgh Pirates last year, was a 1999 All-American and is a 2001 preseason second-team All-American by Baseball America. He is a career .342 hitter with a .442 on-base percentage and 49 stolen bases in three seasons. The senior from Palm Harbor, FL ranks in the school’s career top-10 lists in five different categories, including walks, doubles, runs scored, hits and RBIs. Boyd was a second round pick coming out of high school.

Cram was taken the highest among the four Tigers drafted on Tuesday, going in the fourth round, the 136th overall pick, to the San Francisco Giants. Cram, a right-handed reliever, led Clemson with six saves in 2001. He had a 4-2 record with a 4.20 ERA. He had 38 strikeouts with 11 walks in 40 2/3 innings and 28 appearances.

Greene, a junior from Key West, FL, was a 14th round selection by the Chicago Cubs and was the 408th overall pick on Tuesday. Greene can play either short stop or third base, having played both for Clemson this season. He switched from third to short seven games into the season and finished with the best fielding percentage at his new position in the history of the program. He fielded for a .961 at shortstop. Greene also batted .303 this season and led the team with 18 doubles to go with his 13 home runs.

Reba was the ace of the Clemson pitching staff this year, posting a 12-3 record and a 2.58 ERA. The junior from Fort Wayne, IN was drafted in the 16th round Tuesday and was the 491st pick overall. Reba had 103 strikeouts versus 31 walks in 108.0 innings. he was a third-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball. Reba pitched a complete game shutout against Georgia Tech in April and pitched just the second complete game of his career against William & Mary in the opening game of the NCAA Regional.