The Washington Nationals selected Western Kentucky center fielder Jacob Rhinesmith on Wednesday in the 18th round of the 2018 MLB Draft with the 551st overall pick.

Rhinesmith is the 56th player drafted in WKU program history, 27th-highest Hilltopper taken, 25th WKU player drafted in the top 18 rounds, 12th WKU outfielder selected in the draft and 21st WKU player drafted in the past 10 years.

Former WKU outfielder Philip Diedrick was previously taken by the Nationals in the 29th round of the 2015 MLB Draft. Hilltopper righty Matt Ridings was selected by Washington in the 25th round of the 2009 MLB Draft, but elected not to sign and returned to WKU for his senior season.

The Hilltoppers most recent draft pick was righty Ben Morrison, who was taken 301st overall Tuesday in the 10th round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Angels. Rhinesmith would join Morrison, Danny Hudzina (10th round in 2016), outfielder Anderson Miller (third round in 2015) and righty Andrew Edwards (19th round in 2013) as active WKU players in minor league baseball.

In his lone season at WKU, Rhinesmith slashed .306/.383/.555, leading the team with 14 home runs, 13 stolen bases, 116 total bases, 43 RBI and 45 runs scored.

When WKU’s season ended, he was only one of nine players in Division I with at least 13 homers and 13 stolen bases. He led the Hilltoppers with 23 multi-hit and 11 multi-RBI games, as he earned a spot on the 2018 All-C-USA First Team as an outfielder.

Rhinesmith made program history March 13, becoming the first Hilltopper ever to earn NCBWA Hitter of the Week honors. From March 6-10, he led WKU to four wins, slashing .550/.571/1.250 in four games, hitting 11-for-20 with six extra-base hits (four home runs and two doubles).

He scored 10 runs and drove in eight for the Hilltoppers. He was also named C-USA Hitter of the Week, College Sports Madness Hitter of the Week and was mentioned among Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s Players of the Week (1-of-5).

As a sophomore at Indian Hills CC, Rhinesmith slashed .407/.461/.675 in 61 games and earned Second Team NJCAA All-American honors. He amassed 94 hits, 54 runs and 59 runs batted in.

Of his 94 hits, 35 went for extra bases (19 doubles, five triples and 11 home runs), which contributed to his 156 total bases. He added 15 stolen bases – while only being caught once – with 18 walks and 5 times hit by pitch, compared to 19 strikeouts.

Upon signing his deal with Washington, Rhinesmith would become the 108th Hilltopper player to sign a professional contract.{&end}