Jared Bolden wants to play professional baseball, and it's likely he will one day.

Virginia Commonwealth University would like to have the explosive bat of the junior first baseman for one more season.

The immediate future of the Lynchburg native will probably be decided June 7-8, when the Major League Baseball amateur draft is held. Bolden's name is expected to be called, but how high he goes is going to determine whether he stays or leaves .

"We'd love to have him back," VCU coach Paul Keyes said. "If he feels like he's the best player he can be here, and can't get any better, then he needs to go play professionally. If he feels like he wants to get closer to finishing his degree and can get better here, then he should stay and play some more. That's what I've always told my guys."

Bolden's Rams are finishing their season this week in a Colonial Athletic Association series with Delaware, which was scheduled to get under way last night at the Diamond. For the first time since VCU joined the CAA, the Rams (15-29) will not be playing in the league tournament.

"The coaches have asked me before, 'Are you going to go, are you going to go?'" Bolden said of his draft status. "I've told them, 'I don't know, coach.' I'm still trying to decide right now. With us not going to the tournament actually gives me a little more time to think about it.

"I'm just more focused on letting the draft come. See where I'm drafted. See what the offer is and then deciding after that."

Bolden needs to be drafted at least in the first 10 rounds to seriously consider an offer. Beyond those rounds, there won't be much money involved, as far as signing bonuses. From what he's been told by scouts, Keyes believes that Bolden could be picked in the first 10 rounds.

For a while this season, it didn't appear as though his draft-eligible year would make much of a impression on the scouts. During one mid-season stretch, Bolden went 0 for 27 before snapping out of it in a big way.

Going into last night, Bolden was hitting .472 (34 for 72) in the past 17 games to raise his average to a team-leading .351. He's also clubbed 12 homers (the same number he hit in his first two seasons combined) and leads the Rams with 44 RBI.

"I think the whole draft thing and trying to be a leader affected him," Keyes said. "Our schedule was really hard at the beginning, too. I think he was just trying to do too much."

Bolden admitted he wasn't feeling at ease at the plate.

"I think I was pressing too much," said the sports management major. "I knew the team looked to me to be one of the leaders, so I felt I had to do more than I really had to do to show I was a leader. That's when the slump came."

Advice came from everywhere, including his father, and eventually the 6-2 200-pounder worked his way out of it.

"I don't think the draft had anything to do with [the slump]," he said. "I just wanted to win so bad and I wasn't used to being on a losing team. You just try to do a little extra. It turned out to be a mechanical thing. I was pulling off the ball. Once I got that going, everything started coming together."

If he decides to stay, Bolden figures it will be worth it, both on and off the field.

"Going out this way, having one of the worst seasons in school history, leaves a bitter taste in your mouth," he said. "You never want to go out that way."
Contact John Packett at (804) 649-6313 or jpackett@timesdispatch.com.