AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Boston Red Sox announced late last week the signing of five draft picks, including former Augusta State All-American Shannon Wilkerson.

A two-time All-American for Augusta State and the 2009 National Player-Of-The-Year by two different organizations, Wilkerson was selected in the eighth round by the Red Sox on June 10. He was recently assigned to the Lowell (Mass.) Spinners of the Class A (Short Season) New York-Penn League.

In his first eight games as a professional, Wilkerson has posted a .242 batting average (8-for-33) with three doubles, two triples, two runs scored, two runs batted in and a .455 slugging percentage.

The 258th draft pick overall, Wilkerson was the highest draft pick in the 45-year history of the Jaguar baseball program. As a junior in 2009, he set five new, single-season ASU records. He led the PBC in hitting (.441), slugging (.891), runs scored (82), hits (101), home runs (24) and triples (7). He also ranked second in the league with 82 RBI and paced ASU in 13 different offensive categories.

He established new standards for batting average, runs scored, hits, RBI and total bases (204). His 101 hits were the fourth-highest, single-season total in PBC history while his 24 homers rated as the third-highest mark in conference annals. He also tied an ASU mark for most at-bats (229) while his 24 homers ranked as the third-most in single-season history.

With the signing, Boston has 16 selections from this year's draft under contract.