Kentucky's Ka'ai Tom drafted in 5th round by Cleveland Indians

Kentucky junior outfielder Ka'ai Tom was selected in the fifth round of the Major League Draft Draft, going No. 154 overall to the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday afternoon.

A native of Kaneohe, Hawaii, Tom was the second Kentucky player picked, joining Kyle Cody, who was selected the 73rd overall pick by the Minnesota Twins.

Tom, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound left-handed hitter, has hit .352 in two seasons with the Wildcats. Tom has 148 career hits, the second-most hits for a two-year UK player in program history, just behind Sawyer Carroll (2007-08; 173).

"We went on a roll of college bats first," Brad Grant, the Indians' director of amateur scouting, told MLB.com. "With Ka'ai, he's another guy who really controls the strike zone very well. He's a guy that puts the ball in play, uses all the fields. He can play all three outfield spots."

As a junior in 2015, Tom led UK 16 doubles, 51 RBI and a .375 average. He also had one triple, five home runs and 15 stolen bases.

A first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection in 2014, Tom reached base safely in 51 of his 55 games in 2015 and in 99 of his 109 career games.

This story was originally published June 9, 2015 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Kentucky's Ka'ai Tom drafted in 5th round by Cleveland Indians."