[06/06/02]J.J. Brown didn’t have to wait long on Wednesday to get a call from a major league team.

Brown, Vicksburg High’s center fielder for the past four seasons, was selected in the 26th round 768th overall by the Kansas City Royals on the second day of baseball’s amateur draft.

“I was asleep, and they woke me up. I thought it was somebody just playing around,” Brown said with a laugh as he recalled the moment.

Brown’s mother, Jean, said her son will sign a contract sometime in the next few days. She said the deal was worth between $150,000 and $200,000, but wasn’t sure about its length or how much of the total was a lump-sum signing bonus.

Both J.J. and Jean Brown said they weren’t disappointed that J.J. slipped into the second day of the draft. J.J. Brown had been hopeful he would be selected as high as the fourth round.

“Myself, I was thinking anywhere from the fifth to the 25th round because he was coming out of high school,” Jean Brown said. “I think I was more into it than J.J. was.”

J.J. Brown, who hit .388 with four homers and five triples for VHS this spring, is hoping to follow his cousins Roosevelt Brown and Ellis Burks into the majors.

First, however, he’ll complete his high school career on Saturday in the MHSAA Class 4A-5A All-Star game. The contest begins at 1 p.m. at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson.

Former Warren Central star Shea Douglas was also selected on the second day of the draft, picked by the Cleveland Indians in the 32nd round, 964th overall.

Douglas, however, said Tuesday that he would most likely return to Southern Miss for his senior season.