HobbsDailyReport.com
SECAUCUS, N.J. – The all-time stolen bases leader at West Iredell High got a chance to go pro on Wednesday.
POPE
Brett Pope, a starting shortstop at Western Carolina, was selected in the 22nd round by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was the 658th pick in a three-day draft that will finish up later Wednesday.
Pope, a junior, started all 56 games at shortstop this season at Western Carolina and hit .342, second-best for the Catamounts, and tied for a team-high in hits with 83.
Twice having hitting streaks of eight games, Pope had one in which he had more than one hit per game.
Pope led the Catamounts with 15 stolen bases this year and had four-hit games against Marshall and Furman. He was named second-team All-Southern Conference this season by league coaches and on the SoCon media team.
Pope was a three-time All-North Piedmont 3A-4A pick while playing at West Iredell, where he hit .393 for his career with 25 doubles and 36 RBIs.
He was the NPC 3A-4A Player of the Year as a senior and has school records for career stolen bases (56 of 58) and for single-season doubles (16).