Padres draft pair from UNLV

Spencer Patterson

Wednesday, June 3, 1998 | 11:11 a.m.

Major League Baseball's amateur draft couldn't have gone any better for UNLV juniors Kevin Eberwein and Sean Campbell Tuesday.

Not only were both taken in the first 10 rounds, but when the close friends phoned one another to discuss their luck, they realized they were headed to the same organization.

The San Diego Padres took Eberwein, a power-hitting third baseman, with their fifth-round selection (No. 142 overall), then selected Chambers, the Rebels' starting catcher, in round nine (No. 262 overall).

"That doesn't happen very often, but it just worked out that way," San Diego scouting director Brad Sloan said.

If both players sign in the next few days as expected, the UNLV teammates could find themselves heading to this weekend's Padres' mini-camp in Peoria, Ariz., together.

"Going into a brand new situation, knowing someone helps a lot," Chambers said. "We've already talked about bunking up together."

"We joked around about getting taken by the same team all year," Eberwein said. "It helps that we're not going into this by ourselves."

The 6-4 Eberwein, who graduated from Green Valley High School in 1995, ranks ninth all-time among UNLV hitters with a .359 batting average. This spring, he hit .377 with a team-high 16 home runs, 52 RBIs and a UNLV single-season record 24 doubles.

"We like his swing," Sloan said. "He's a good athlete; he runs and throws well."

Eberwein originally was drafted by Cleveland in the 53rd round coming out of high school, but opted to play college baseball and improve his major league prospects.

The 6-3 Chambers, who hails from Fresno, Calif., batted .310 this spring to improve his career average to .303. In his three seasons at UNLV, he hit 10 home runs and knocked in 39 runs.

Chambers improved his stock over the weekend, when he traveled to San Diego at the request of the Padres to work out in front of scouts and executives.

"I honestly didn't think I would go in the top 10 rounds," he said.

"We didn't feel we had all that good a look at him, so he was wise enough to come to the workout," Sloan said.