MOUNT VERNON — As the Skagit Valley College baseball team’s season went on, the team’s following was consistently augmented by a flock of scouts bearing radar guns trained on each pitch freshman Braden Tullis threw.

The only thing that remained was to find out what it all meant and what the scouts were reporting, a question finally answered Wednesday on the second day of the Major League Baseball amateur draft.

As it turned out, the Texas Rangers were the most impressed, selecting Tullis in the eighth round — the 244th player taken overall.

“I’ve been getting a lot of calls from family and friends, a lot of congratulations,” Tullis said. “It’s definitely a dream come true. I can’t describe it.

“It definitely exceeded my expectations when I came here,” he added. “I knew if I worked hard, I’d have a chance, but I didn’t think I would get drafted that high.”

The Rangers had been one of his primary suitors through the spring. Tullis said a Rangers scout told him he was one of the team’s main targets.

Tullis, a freshman from Boise, was not drafted coming out of high school, but flourished with the Cardinals. A hitter and pitcher coming out of high school, he came to SVC to focus on pitching.

“I came here to be a pitcher,” Tullis said. “I was finally was able to focus strictly on pitching. I improved really fast. I was able to work on my control, sharpening up pitches.”

His fastball, clocked around 90 mph, was especially effective with heavy sinking action. He pounded the bottom of the strike zone, inducing grounder after grounder to go along with his share of strikeouts.

Tullis finished the season 8-1 with an earned run average of 1.48 and 50 strikeouts in 602⁄3 innings, as the Cardinals reached the NWAACC Tournament. He was selected to the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges’ first team.

“He came in, worked hard all year, and he deserves everything he gets,” Cardinals coach Kevin Matthews said. “We changed some grips and he worked his tail off. You could tell right away his future was on the mound.”

Tullis is not under any obligation to sign a contract with the Rangers, though he did say he expects to sign. He can return to Skagit Valley College for his sophomore year or sign on with a four-year college.

Matthews said he does not expect to see Tullis back in an SVC uniform.

“I think he’s ready,” Matthews said. “He’s one of those special kids. He’s very mature, very athletic, and we couldn’t be more happy. I’m going to miss him. He’s a great kid.”

Tullis said the Rangers told him he is likely to start out in the Arizona rookie league for a few starts before heading to Single-A ball in Spokane.

Tullis is the highest-drafted player at Skagit Valley College since Matthews took over the program. Other former Cardinals now in the minor leagues include catcher Beau Seabury and pitcher Ryan Verdugo.

Tullis may not be the only Cardinal pitcher drafted this year. Starter Alex Besaw has drawn interest, though he has stated it will take a large signing bonus to lure him away from his scholarship at Central Florida.

Two-year star Tyrell Poggemeyer, who led Cardinal pitchers in ERA this year, could also be selected in today’s final rounds. Poggemeyer has signed on with Lewis-Clark State College for next year.

“You never know what they’re thinking,” Matthews said of team’s scouting department. “But both have good situations. Tyrell’s been great for us for two years. Alex came in and had a great year.”

• Eric Francis can be reached at 360-416-2131 or by e-mail at .