Adam Loewen, right, and Jeff Francis celebrate being drafted. Loewen could sign with the O's this week. (Richard Lam/AP)

Seventeen of the 28 players tabbed in the second day of the First-Year Player Draft were college players, including Penn State right-hander Justin Nash and mammoth first baseman Timothy Thurman from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

"We need to get college players because we need players for our new Rookie League team," scouting director Tony DeMacio said. "Hopefully there are some gems in this group."

DeMacio is referring to the situation the team was in with Willie Harris, a 24th-round pick a few years ago who was traded during the offseason to the Chicago White Sox for Chris Singleton. Harris is considered a top White Sox prospect, and the O's would like to develop more like him. DeMacio said the team's philosophy with the second day was to nab potential talented high school players and overlooked college standouts.

The Orioles are expected to sign some of these draftees in the next few days. First-round pick Adam Loewen, a powerful left-hander from British Columbia who signed a letter of intent with Arizona State, said he hopes he is able to sign soon.

"I hope it doesn't come down to me going [to Arizona State]," he said. "I want to get started."

The Orioles signed two players from the 2001 draft just before potentially losing their rights. Right-handed pitcher Doug Brubaker from New Mexico Junior College, a 44th-round pick, and third baseman Michael Done from the University of Washington, a 40th-round pick, agreed to contracts.

	ORIOLES 2002 DRAFT PICKS
	4	ADAM A LOEWEN	LHP	FRASER VALLEY CHRISTIAN H
	45	COREY B SHAFER	C	CHOCTAW HS
	76	WALTER V MAJEWSKI	RF	ST U NJ RUTGERS
	106	TIMOTHY GILHOOLY	RF	U PACIFIC
	136	HAYDEN A PENN	RHP	SANTANA HS
	166	JOHN K MAINE	RHP	U NORTH CAROLINA
	196	PAUL HENRY	RHP	BALL ST U
	226	RYAN S HUBELE	C	U TEXAS
	256	TREVOR CAUGHEY	LHP	CUESTA COL
	286	MATTHEW BOLANDER	RHP	PENDLETON HEIGHTS HS
	316	MARK A MCCORMICK	RHP	CLEAR CREEK HS
	346	BRANDON W FAHEY	SS	U TEXAS
	376	MICHAEL H HUGGINS	1B	BAYLOR U
	406	MATTHEW J ROHR *	LHP RF	CALIFORNIA ST U
	436	MATTHEW D HOWERTON	CF	RIVERDALE HS
	466	GERARDO ALVAREZ	SS 2B	TEXAS TECH U
	496	NEAL R STEPHENSON	RF	TEXAS A&M U
	526	CARL A MAKOWSKY	RHP	NORTHWESTERN ST U
	556	MICHAEL V PATITUCCI	LHP	OKLAHOMA ST U
	586	GEORGE R COX	C	U CENTRAL FLORIDA
	616	GREGORY V DAVIES	OF	TOWSON STATE U
	646	STEPHEN Z SUTTON	RHP	U CENTRAL FLORIDA
	676	JASON M CIERLIK	LHP	MINNESOTA ST U-MANKATO
	706	RYAN M SOEHLIG	3B	U NORTH FLORIDA
	736	TIMOTHY P THURMAN	1B	CALIFORNIA POLY ST U
	766	ERIK SMALLWOOD	RF	U SOUTH ALABAMA
	796	ANTOAN E RICHARDSON	CF	PALM BEACH CC
	826	ZACHARY T DAVIS	CF	J A FAIR HS
	856	EDWARD R COLBERT	LF	CATONSVILLE CC
	886	MELVIN B SPIVEY	RHP	U SOUTH ALABAMA
	916	JUSTIN L NASH	RHP	PENN ST U
	946	WHITNEY ROBINSON-PIERCE	C	CUESTA COL
	976	RYAN K CHILDS	RHP	CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
	1006	LEVI ROBINSON	SS	TEXAS CHRISTIAN U
	1036	NICHOLAS T MCCURDY	RHP	OKLAHOMA ST U
	1066	JORDAN M COMPTON	LHP	HAYSI HS
	1096	RUSSELL J PETRICK	LHP	BELLEVUE CC
	1126	ALEX P MUSZYNSKI	1B	ALPENA HS
	1156	HENRY LOZADO	RHP	ADOLFINA IRIZARRY DE PUIG
	1186	STEVEN P GUERRA	RHP	PASO ROBLES HS
	1216	CHARLES J WHITE	C	OVERLEA SR HS
	1246	BARRY M ROE	RHP	HEATH HS
	1276	RANDY A YOUTSEY	2B	COOLIDGE HS
	1304	BRADFORD L WIGGINS	CF	ARLINGTON HEIGHTS HS
	1332	JAMES M COONEY	LHP	FLORIDA ATLANTIC U
	1359	DAVID L MITTELBERGER	LHP	ERNEST RIGHETTI HS
	1385	ANDRE S PSARADELIS	CF	BELLEVUE CC
	1411	MARK A WAHL	C	U DAYTON
	1437	GABRIEL A SOMARRIBA	CF	FLORIDA ATLANTIC U
	1461	LAWRENCE A PONDER	RHP	LEE SCOTT ACADEMY

Gary Washburn covers the Orioles for MLB.com. He can be reached at gwashb7519@aol.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.