Reds sign top draft pick OF Phillip Ervin taken with 27th selection overall

The Cincinnati Reds have signed No. 1 draft pick OF Phillip Ervin (5-10, 205) from Samford University in Homewood, Alabama. He was taken with the team's first pick (27th overall) in Thursday's 2013 first-year player draft. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Ervin, 20, recently completed his junior year at Samford, where for the second straight season he was All-Southern Conference after hitting .337 with 11 HR, 40 RBI and 21 stolen bases. The sociology major was a pre-season All-American and his league's pre-season Player of the Year.

He is the first baseball player to be drafted in the first round out of Samford and the highest draft pick in the school's history in any sport. While playing just 3 seasons for the Bulldogs, Ervin ranks in the school's Top 10 in career hits (230), hitting (.344), runs scored (157) and doubles (47).

In 2012 Ervin started all 64 games in centerfield for the Bulldogs. He led the team with 18 doubles and finished third on the team in average (.327), HR (10) and RBI (52). Following that 2012 collegiate season, he was the Most Valuable Player of the Cape Cod League.

Ervin attended Leroy High School in Leroy, Alabama.

The Reds' list of 2013 draft picks can be found on the second page of the attached document.