The Coastal Plain League announced Thursday that 53 players, both former and players signed for the 2003 season, were drafted in the 2003 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. A list that featured six players selected in the first 10 rounds was headed by David Aardsma. Aardsma, who played in Fayetteville in 2001 while attending Penn State, is now a member of the Rice Owls and was selected by the San Francisco Giants in the first round, 22nd overall.
The 48 players drafted was the CPL’s largest alumni total drafted since beginning in 1997. The Wilson Tobs and Durham Americans led the league with eight players drafted, while Wilmington had seven, and Florence had six. Asheboro, Edenton, and Fayetteville each had five players selected, followed by Outer Banks and Peninsula with four a piece. Thomasville was represented by three players and Petersburg finished things out with two alums selected.
The complete list of CPL players drafted follows:
| Round | Overall | Player | College/University | MLB Team Drafted By | CPL Team(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | David Aardsma | Rice | San Francisco | ’01 Fayetteville |
| 5 | 144 | Brian Marshall | VCU | Boston | ’02 Florence |
| 7 | 203 | David Marchbanks | South Carolina | Florida | ’01 Wilmington |
| 7 | 206 | Jeremy Dutton | NC State | Seattle | ’00, ’01 Asheboro/ ’02 Durham |
| 7 | 217 | Ryan Basner | Western Carolina | Atlanta | ’01 Florence |
| 8 | 222 | Brandon Powell | Coastal Carolina | Kansas City | ’00 Outer Banks/ ’01 Wilmington |
| 9 | 262 | David Cook | Miami (Ohio) | Chicago (AL) | ’00 Durham |
| 9 | 266 | Justin Ruchiti | Rice | Seattle | ’02 Thomasville |
| 11 | 308 | Chad Cooper | Middle Tennessee State | Tampa Bay | ’02 Fayetteville |
| 11 | 313 | Nick Jones | VCU | Chicago (NL) | ’01, ’02, ’03 Durham |
| 11 | 320 | Tom Mastny | Furman | Toronto | ’01 Wilson/ ’02 Wilmington |
| 12 | 347 | Joe Gaetti | NC State | Colorado | ’01 Wilson |
| 12 | 354 | Justin Sturge | Coastal Carolina | Boston | ’01, ’02 Fayetteville |
| 12 | 362 | Brian Ingram | Elon | Oakland | ’00 Outer Banks/ ’01 Fayetteville |
| 12 | 363 | Ryan Sadowski | Florida | San Francisco | ’02 Edenton |
| 14 | 417 | Larry York | Liberty | Montreal | ’00, ’02 Asheboro/ ’01 Thomasville |
| 15 | 440 | Vito Chiaravalloti | Richmond | Toronto | ’00, ’01 Edenton |
| 15 | 452 | Steve Bondurant | South Carolina | Oakland | ’01 Edenton |
| 16 | 460 | Jordan Tata | Sam Houston State | Detroit | ’02 Durham |
| 16 | 469 | David Smith | Pfeiffer | New York (NL) | ’02 Asheboro |
| 17 | 505 | Derek Griffith | Birmingham Southern | Philadelphia | ’02 Durham |
| 18 | 541 | A.J. Ellis | Austin Peay State | Los Angeles | ’01, ’02 Durham |
| 19 | 567 | Jeremy Plexico | Winthrop | Montreal | ’00, ’01 Wilson |
| 19 | 577 | Andy Barden | VMI | Atlanta | ’01 Asheboro |
| 20 | 578 | Mark Schleicher | Pfeiffer | Tampa Bay | ’03 Gastonia |
| 21 | 618 | Adam Brandenburg | Kennesaw State | Cleveland | ’01 Peninsula |
| 21 | 621 | Todd Nichols | Mississippi State | Cincinnati | ’03 Edenton |
| 22 | 633 | Ryan Blake | North Carolina | Florida | ’00 Asheboro/ ’01 Wilmington |
| 23 | 673 | Robert Ransom | Vanderbilt | Chicago (NL) | ’01 Florence |
| 23 | 685 | Charles Waite | Mississippi | Philadelphia | ’01 Thomasville |
| 23 | 697 | Jamie Hemingway | UNC Wilmington | Atlanta | ’00 Asheboro |
| 24 | 698 | Christopher Shaver | William & Mary | Tampa Bay | ’02 Peninsula |
| 24 | 707 | Jeffery Watchko | Georgia Tech | Colorado | ’00 Edenton |
| 24 | 715 | Justin Foust | Toledo | Philadelphia | ’01 Thomasville |
| 25 | 730 | Nathan Doyle | James Madison | Detroit | ’01 Durham/ ’02 Wilson |
| 25 | 733 | Landon Powell | South Carolina | Chicago (NL) | ’01 Wilmington |
| 25 | 740 | Brian Patrick | Duke | Toronto | ’00 Petersburg/ ’01, ’02 Wilmington |
| 25 | 752 | Sean Farrell | North Carolina | Oakland | ’01 Edenton |
| 25 | 805 | Brad Overton | UNC Wilmington | Philadelphia | ’01, ’02 Fayetteville |
| 28 | 823 | Adam Tidball | Richmond | Chicago (NL) | ’01 Wilson |
| 30 | 903 | Derek Barrow | Campbell | San Francisco | ’02 Gastonia |
| 31 | 918 | Mark Harris | William & Mary | Cleveland | ’02 Peninsula |
| 34 | 1006 | Samuel Hewitt | North Carolina | Texas | ’03 Durham |
| 34 | 1008 | Roger Lincoln | Stetson | Cleveland | ’01 Florence |
| 34 | 1012 | Scott Martin | Delaware State | Chicago (AL) | ’01 Edenton |
| 34 | 1015 | Justin Riley | NC State | Philadelphia | ’01 Durham/ ’02 Wilson |
| 35 | 1044 | Eric Cloninger | Liberty | Boston | ’02 Gastonia |
| 36 | 1087 | Justin Phillips | Louisburg | Atlanta | ’02 Wilson |
| 38 | 1118 | Kristopher Dufner | Delaware | Tampa Bay | ’01 Outer Banks/ ’02 Florence |
| 40 | 1192 | Matthew Deachler | James Madison | Chicago (AL) | ’02 Peninsula |
| 43 | 1278 | Ryan Gordon | UNC Greensboro | Toronto | ’00 Outerbanks |
| 45 | 1342 | Christopher Noonan | Seton Hall | Anaheim | ’02 Petersburg |
| 50 | 1472 | Tim Turner | East Tennessee State | Seattle | ’02 Wilson/ ’03 Wilmington |