By Randy Whitehouse,Staff Writer
The Oxford Hills and Franklin Pierce College star is selected in the fourth round of the MLB draft by Minnesota

For a while Tuesday, Garrett Olson was starting to think about how he’d look in green and gold. Then the idea of blue and scarlet started to appeal to him.

The Oxford Hills and Franklin Pierce College star expected the Oakland A’s to make him their fourth-round selection in Tuesday’s amateur baseball draft, but the Minnesota Twins selected the infielder two picks before Oakland’s with the 126th pick overall.

“I was surprised by the Twins,” Olson said from his family’s home in Norway, where about 40 friends and family had gathered to watch the draft and celebrate with him. “I knew I was going between (rounds) three and five and Oakland had two picks late in the round. It was basically coming down to who would choose me and the anxiety before each pick.”

And there was plenty of anxiety for 21-year-old Olson, who watched a live webcast of the draft with his parents, Randy and Barbara, in a separate room, while guests waited for word in the living room.

“It’s kind of surreal right now, still,” Olson said early Tuesday evening as the crowd at his home cheered his appearance on the local news. “I can’t wait to get out and play.”

The two-time All-American at Franklin Pierce was the second Division II player chosen in the draft and the highest selection ever out of the New Hampshire college.

Shortly after his selection was announced, an area scout for the Twins called to congratulate Olson and said the contract was in the mail.

“I should receive it (Wednesday) or the day after and go over it, and then he’ll be coming up the next day to sign me,” Olson said.

Once the two sides agree to terms, Olson will be assigned to one of the Twins’ minor league affiliates. The Twins didn’t indicate where that would be, but he expects he’ll be heading to their short-season Class-A affiliate in the Appalachian League in Elizabethton, Tenn.

“It doesn’t matter where they send me,” he said. “They’re known for developing their farm system and bringing they’re players up through the system, so it’s exciting.”

A 6-foot-2, 200 pound junior, Olson batted .367 with 14 homers, 60 RBIs and 18 stolen bases while leading Franklin Pierce to within one game of the Division II national championship game. He played shortstop and third for the Ravens, committing 11 errors in 313 chances.

He was a three-year starter for the Ravens and also spent summers playing in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

A 2003 Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School graduate, Olson is the third Viking in the last three years to be drafted. In 2004, Eric Cavers, another Franklin Pierce product, was selected in the 10th round by the Houston Astros and Aaron Easton was a 29th round-choice of the Florida Marlins.

“I don’t think it’s sunk in,” Olson said. “I don’t think it will sink in until the first day I step out onto that diamond.”