Bel Air, Md. – Harford Fighting Owls star pitcher Will Reed became the ninth Fighting Owl to hear his name called in the Rule 4 MLB draft as he was picked up by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 20^th round and the 598^th overall pick.

Reed was an All-State performer at Loudon Valley High School in Purcelville, Va. before committing to play at Shepherd University. After the fall semester of his first year at Shepherd, Reed transferred to Harford where he pitched for the Fighting Owls for a couple of seasons.

He was only used out of the bullpen in his freshman season where he compiled a 1-1 record with a couple of saves and a 1.35 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 14 innings pitched.

In his sophomore campaign, Reed was moved to the rotation primarily, starting 11 games in 14 appearances with an 8-1 record and a 2.38 ERA. He struck out an incredible 78 batters in 56.2 innings with opposing hitters batting .175 against him over the year.

In his last appearance as a Fighting Owl, Reed put in perhaps his best collegiate performance as he went seven and a third with 10 strikeouts and earned a win over rival Potomac State in the Region 20 tournament. He reflected on the draft experience as well as his time at Harford, "The draft was one of the more stressful things to go through, but when it was all said and done it was a great feeling to be selected. Being at Harford was the most fun I have ever had playing baseball while at the same time winning an unreal amount of games."

Head coach Tom Eller was full of praise for his former player, "Will really put in the work to become a better pitcher. He increased his strength and really cleaned up his mechanics that has allowed him to get where he is today. All of us at Harford are very proud of Will for this wonderful accomplishment."

Reed joins Dominic DiSabatino and Joe Burton as the only players selected in the MLB Draft directly from Harford under the guidance of head coach Tom Eller. DiSabatino was the 594th overall selection (20^th round) by the San Diego Padres and Burton was picked in the 24th round (728th overall) by the New York Yankees; both in the 2016 MLB draft.

Reed is committed to attend West Virginia University next year if he chooses not to sign with the Pirates.