BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University relief pitcher Zach Quate, center fielder Rand Smith and third baseman Isaac Harrow have all been selected in the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday. Quate went to the defending American League champion Tampa Bay Rays in the 14th round (439th overall), Smith was tabbed by the Florida Marlins in the 20th round (608th overall) and the New York Yankees made Harrow their 24th-round selection (735th overall) in the 50-round MLB Draft. 

Quate, a third-team all-America and first-team all-conference honoree, turned in the best season by a closer in Appalachian history in ?09, going 3-1 with 11 saves and a 1.09 earned run average in 31 appearances. In 41.1 innings of work, the right-handed senior allowed only five earned runs on 24 hits (.171 opp. BA) while striking out 55 and walking only 14.

The senior's 11 saves ranked 21st nationally and obliterated the ASU single-season record of eight.  He was a perfect 11-for-11 in save opportunities and surrendered earned runs in only three of his 31 appearances. Aside from an uncharacteristic outing at UNC Greensboro on May 10 when he allowed three runs in a 9-8 extra-inning victory, Quate sported a miniscule 0.47 ERA in his 30 other outings on the mound.

Quate was especially dominant in April, going 1-0 with eight saves in 13 appearances. He struck out 24 and allowed only eight hits in 16 innings of work, en route to being named the SoCon's Pitcher of the Month. He turned in perhaps his best performance of the season when he struck out the side on 10 pitches in the bottom of the ninth inning to nail down a 4-1 win over The Citadel in the opening game of the Southern Conference Tournament.

Smith, an all-conference and all-state selection, enjoyed perhaps the most consistent campaign by a batter in Southern Conference history in '09, hitting safely in 52-of-54 games, including an amazing three different double-digit hitting streaks.

The senior opened the season by collecting hits in 10-straight contests, followed by a school-record 27-game hitting streak, which broke ASU's 21-year standard of 25-consecutive games with a hit and fell just two games shy of the SoCon record. After the 27-game run was snapped on April 21, he hit safely in the final 15 games of the season.

In addition to his consistent performance at the plate (he finished the season with a .365 batting average), Smith set a school record by scoring 68 runs on the campaign. He also finished second on the squad with 10 home runs from the leadoff spot in the order and had five outfield assists to go along with a wide array of acrobatic catches in center field.

Harrow put together one of the best offensive campaigns in Appalachian history in ?09, setting school records with 75 RBI, 163 total bases and six triples. He ranked among the nation's top 35 in nine different statistical categories, including batting average (.422 ? 19th), hits (92 ? 23rd), doubles (23 ? 18th), triples (6 ? 21st), RBI (75 ? 18th), slugging percentage (.748 ? 26th), total bases (163 ? 21st), on-base percentage (.500 ? 34th) and sacrifice flies (7 ? 28th).

The honorable-mention all-American and second-team all-conference honoree was the driving force behind the Mountaineers' rebound from a 6-14 start, hitting .488 (61-for-125) with 54 RBI, 39 runs scored, 15 doubles, five triples, seven home runs, a .557 on-base percentage and .856 slugging percentage over the final 31 games of the regular season. He was particularly impressive during the Apps' 18-2 April, batting .442 (34-for-77) with 35 RBI and 27 runs scored in 20 games, en route to being named the SoCon Player of the Month. Half of his 34 hits in April went for extra bases (eight doubles, three triples, six home runs), good for a .857 slugging percentage, and he hit safely in 19-of-20 games, including 14-straight to close out the month.

In addition to his three single-season records, Harrow became ASU's all-time leader in at-bats (750), runs (165), hits (260), doubles (65), RBI (201) and total bases (421) during the course of the season.

With Quate, Smith and Harrow's selections, Appalachian boasts three MLB draftees for the second year in a row. Last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected outfielder David Rubinstein in the 11th round of the MLB Draft while outfielder Jason Rook and pitcher Garrett Sherrill were tabbed by the Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers, respectively, in the 12th round. Prior to that, no ASU player had been drafted since 1996.

ASU's three draftees in 2008 and '09 match a school record also achieved in 1970 and 1985. Mountaineer pitcher Josh Dowdy would give ASU a school-record four draftees this year if he is also picked, as expected. Selections will be made through Round 30 on Wednesday before wrapping up with Rounds 31-50 on Thursday.