TAMPA – Rising sophomore Chad Taylor of the University of South Florida baseball team has been selected to play in the 2010 Mid-Atlantic Classic on Wed., July 14, 2010 at Shirley Povich Field in Bethesda, Md.

“Chad went up to the Ripken League wanting to get better,” said Bulls head coach Lelo Prado. “He knew what he needed to do. He went up there to get better and is doing just that. He is having a great first half up there and hopefully he will continue that and have a great second half.”

Taylor, who plays for the Valley League's Youse's Orioles, is hitting .296 with 14 RBI and 15 runs scored while playing in all 31 games, serving as the Orioles' every day centerfielder. He has made just one error with seven outfield assists.

The Jefferson High product is perfect on the base paths having swiped 14 bases.

Taylor is one of two BIG EAST players to be selected to play in the contest on the Ripken Team as Georgetown's Rand Ravnaas will team up with Taylor while UConn's Greg Nappo and Georetown's Charles Steinman were named to the Valley League.

The Mid-Atlantic Classic features All-Stars from the Cal Ripken League taking on their counterparts from the Valley Baseball League in a rare inter-league summer college baseball match-up.

Taylor is coming off a rookie campaign in which he lead the Bulls in BIG EAST play with a .362 batting average and Coach Prado expects him to continue to be a key piece to the Bulls' success in 2011.

“We expect big things out of him as he is one of the key pieces of our puzzle,” added Prado. “We are very proud of him. He has gone up there and represented the University of South Florida in the right way.”