Former Tunstall standout Jacob Thompson drafted by the Atlanta Braves

Jacob Thompson could hear his younger brother scream from inside their Dry Fork house. From that point, the weight was off his shoulders.

Thompson, a former standout at Tunstall High School, had been selected in the fifth round — 160th overall — by the Atlanta Braves in Thursday’s Major League Baseball first-year player draft.

“My little brother Justin was on the computer and he saw where they had picked me and he yelled,” Thompson said.

“It was later than I expected, but with the Atlanta Braves — that’s always been a dream of mine.”

The University of Virginia junior pitcher went 6-4 this season with a 4.30 earned run average and 70 strikeouts in 15 starts. It was a below par season compared to his sophomore year, when he was 11-0 with a 1.50 ERA and 101 strikeouts and was a unanimous first-team All-American. The rough season likely contributed to him slipping to the fifth round.

“I feel like this was a disappointing year for me, but now I can wipe the slate clean and just move on,” Thompson said.

The 6-foot-6 right-hander expects to sign with Atlanta sometime next week.

He had been contacted by all 30 teams prior to the draft, but the Braves organization has had its eye on Thompson since his senior year at Tunstall.

Tunstall baseball coach Barry Shelton recalled the Trojans’ lone loss in 2005 in a game against E.C. Glass at the Heritage Invitational. Tunstall lost 1-0, but Thompson shined on the mound.

“What I remember is Atlanta Braves scout Billy Best being at that game,” Shelton said. “He came up to me after the game and was like, ‘Oh wow, this guy is something.”

But Thompson injured his ankle the next game running to second base and was plagued by injuries for most of his senior year. He decided to go to Virginia and scouts backed off before the 2005 draft.

As a freshman at Virginia, Thompson was a second-team All-ACC selection after going 10-4 with a 2.60 ERA and 77 strikeouts. After his sophomore season, he played for the U.S. National team and pitched in the Pan Am Games, where he won a silver medal.

Thompson is the second pitcher drafted off Tunstall’s back-to-back Group AA state championship teams in 2004 and 2005. Will Inman was selected in the third round in the 2005 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He is currently pitching in Double-A with the San Diego Padres organization.

“They both achieved what their childhood dream was,” Shelton said. “I just felt like it was going to happen for both of them — no doubt. They just both took two different roads.”

No one is happier than Thompson that the draft process is over.

“My stomach was killing me, I couldn’t eat today,” Thompson said. “Now, it’s just a weight off my shoulders. I’m so excited.”