Since N.C. State’s baseball season is officially over, next for the Wolfpack is the Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft, which started Tuesday. On the opening day of the draft, seven State players were selected.

In the third round, junior first baseman Aaron Bates was the first player taken from the Pack when the Boston Red Sox used the 83rd pick to select Bates, who started in all 63 games this season.

Bates said before the draft that he was not anxious about where he would go.

“I don’t really have any real expectations,” Bates said. “I’ll just wait and see where I go.”

For Bates, this was the second consecutive year he was drafted on the first day of the draft. In 2005 he was taken in the eighth round by the Florida Marlins, but returned to school for his redshirt junior year.

Asked before the draft whether he has ever regretted the decision to come back Bates said emphatically, “absolutely not.”

The next time the Red Sox had a pick they went with another State player, taking junior first baseman Jon Still in the fourth round.

After Still, it was not until the 10th round that a Pack player was drafted. But with the 307th overall pick the Philadelphia Phillies took junior closer Sam Walls.

The 11th, 12th and 13th rounds saw junior pitcher Gib Hobson, junior shortstop Jonathan Diaz and senior center fielder Matt Camp drafted, respectively.

Camp, who was selected by the Chicago Cubs, said before the draft he was confident that he would hear his name called.

“I’ll get picked on the first day,” Camp said. “I want to keep playing baseball and where ever I get picked I’ll go and play.”

Junior pitcher Jeff Stallings, who missed the year due to injury, rounded out State’s draft as the San Francisco Giants selected him in the 18th round.