Five Illinois baseball players were selected in the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft and have earned the right to exhibit their talents at the next level of play.

Junior catcher Chris Robinson was picked in the third round of the draft, 90th overall, by the Detroit Tigers on June 7. Robinson, a native of Dorchester, Ontario, was the highest pick of position players taken from Illinois. Robinson is the highest Illinois draft pick since pitcher John Ericks was selected in the first round in 1988. He is the third-highest draft pick in school history behind only Ericks and pitcher Joe Olker, who was a second-round pick in 1984.

Other Illinois players selected were senior right-handed pitcher Jimmy Conroy, who was selected in the 19th round by the New York Yankees; senior centerfielder Drew Davidson, chosen in the 22nd round by the San Diego Padres; junior left-handed pitcher James Morris, taken in the 23rd round by the Cincinnati Reds; and senior shortstop Toby Gardenhire, picked in the 41st round by the Minnesota Twins last Wednesday.

“It’s quite an honor with some of the unbelievable players who have played at the University,” Robinson said in response to being the highest drafted position player from Illinois. “But I understand that it’s just the first step because some of the guys who went a little later than me have had some great careers.”

Robinson recently earned first team All-Big Ten honors for the second straight year after batting .353 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs for the Big Ten. Robinson led the conference with seven pick-offs while throwing out 43.1 percent of would-be base stealers in 2005.

“They performed very well and did their jobs,” said Illinois head coach Itch Jones. “This is great for our program and for the University.”

The Illinois baseball team finished their season on May 27 with a 4-3 loss to Purdue.

“In the preseason we were picked to finish sixth in the Big Ten. We played very well, but whether you come up strong at the end is completely up to your performance, we definitely faltered in the tournament. We played all 32 games,” Jones said.