John Vanden Berg was drafted by the Brewers in the 25th round of the draft Wednesday. Vanden Berg is the son of the Brewers' head groundskeeper. (Courtesy UWM)

• Brewers' round-by-round picks

MILWAUKEE -- John Vanden Berg's ultimate dream is to someday play on the baseball field his father keeps in Major League condition.

The Brewers selected Vanden Berg, a catcher from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the son of longtime head groundskeeper Gary Vanden Berg, with the 739th overall pick in the 25th round of the First-Year Player Draft Wednesday.

Vanden Berg, a 6-foot 2-inch, 215-pounder who bats and throws right-handed, was one of 20 players the Brewers selected in day two of the draft. In 42 rounds in all, the team added 15 right-handed pitchers, eight outfielders, seven infielders, six left-handed pitchers and six catchers.

In the first round Milwaukee took slugging first baseman Price Fielder, son of former Major League Cecil Fielder. More than 700 players later, the Brewers went with another Major League son of sorts.

"I've been around baseball my whole life and this is just a dream come true," said the younger Vanden Berg, 22, whose father tended Brewers playing fields since 1981 and is in his 13th season as head groundskeeper.

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"I was a great opportunity when I was a young kid to be around the stadium," he said. "I don't think I realized it back then. But what a chance, to be around all of those players and get to talk to them about baseball."

Vanden Berg earned a degree in finance from UWM last month and is working as an intern for Strong Funds, a Milwaukee-area financial services firm. He was sitting at his desk at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, when Brewers scout Harvey Kuenn, Jr. called with the good news.

"My boss pretty much looked at me and said, 'get out of here,' Vanden Berg said. "Which was good because my attention was zero at that point I was so excited."

His dad was already at "the office." He was almost as excited as his son.

"It was something I've always thought might happen," Gary Vanden Berg said before the Brewers took on the Cubs. "He grew up here. I remember him being 10 or 12 years old out in the outfield shagging balls in early BP.

"To go from there to being a professional baseball player -- that's unbelievable."

John began at Northern Illinois University with his twin brother, Joel. He transferred to UWM two years ago and in his senior season with the Panthers John hit a team-high .409 with six home runs and drove in 57 RBIs in 186 at-bats. The team won the Horizon League Tournament Championship and appeared in their second-straight NCAA Tournament.

Vanden Berg was named to the All-Horizon League First Team as a catcher and was named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team.

Three UWM Panthers have been drafted in the last three years. Scott Gillitzer was drafted in the 22nd round by the Dodgers last season, and Chad Sadowski was drafted by the Phillies in the 23rd round in 2000.

One round after selecting Vanden Berg, the Brewers took a pitcher from Yale University -- left-hander Craig Breslow -- for the second straight year. Last year the team took righty Jon Steitz in the third round.

Adam McCalvy covers the Brewers for MLB.com. This story was not subject to approval by Major League Baseball or its clubs.

	BREWERS 2002 DRAFT PICKS
	7	PRINCE G FIELDER	1B	EAU GALLIE HS
	48	JOSHUA A MURRAY	SS	JESUIT HS
	79	ERIC M THOMAS	RHP	U SOUTH ALABAMA
	109	NICHOLAS A CARTER	OF	CAMPBELL U
	139	JARRAD M PAGE	SS	SAN LEANDRO HS
	169	KHALID W BALLOULI	RHP	TEXAS A&M U
	199	THOMAS M WILHELMSEN	RHP	TUCSON HIGH MAGNET
	229	STEPHEN J KAHN	RHP	SERVITE HS
	259	EDWIN G WALKER	LHP	HIGHLANDS HS
	289	JEREMY FROST	C	U CENTRAL FLORIDA
	319	BRIAN H HERNANDEZ	C	JOHN I LEONARD HS
	349	CALLIX S CRABBE	2B	MANATEE CC
	379	LAGATILA M REYNOLDS	SS	U WASHINGTON
	409	KENNARD V BIBBS	OF	OKLAHOMA CITY U
	439	JUSTIN P BARNES	RHP	MANATEE JC
	469	DANA J EVELAND	LHP	HILL JC
	499	ADAM W MANNON	LF	HAMILTON HS
	529	STEVEN M WHITE	RHP	BAYLOR U
	559	JEREMY C HALL	RHP	U CENTRAL FLORIDA
	589	TYLER L SHEPPLE	RHP	U WASHINGTON
	619	JOSHUA W ALLISTON	RHP	CALIFORNIA ST U
	649	LENDEN E WILLIS	3B	MOTLOW ST CC
	679	KEITH BOHANAN	3B	OKLAHOMA CITY U
	709	ARTURO BRAVO	C	MONTGOMERY HS
	739	JOHN A VANDEN BERG	C	U WISCONSIN
	769	CRAIG BRESLOW	LHP	YALE U
	799	DALLAS P BATES	OF	CHANDLER HS
	829	ERIC A THOMAS	RHP	SOUTHERN U A&M
	859	STEVE J MOSS	CF	NOTRE DAME HS
	889	JUSTIN K GABRIEL	LHP	U LOUISIANA
	919	JASON L BAKER	RHP	GEORGE WASHINGTON U
	949	SIMON M BERESFORD	RHP	TYLER JC
	979	JEFF D HOUSMAN	LHP	CALIFORNIA ST U
	1009	TIM DILLARD	C	ITAWAMBA CC
	1039	EMMANUEL CIVIDANES	CF	COLEGIO SAN ANTONIO
	1069	DANIEL R CARTER	RHP	TALLAHASSEE CC
	1099	STEPHEN C BRYANT	C	WARREN CENTRAL HS
	1129	DAVID W HANCOX	RHP	PASCO HERNANDO CC
	1159	JUAN HERRERA	RHP	ARIZONA WESTERN JC
	1189	HUNTER A PENCE	LF	TEXARKANA CC
	1219	JONATHAN R SHAPLAND	RF	ST PETERSBURG JC
	1249	NEIL T AVERY	LHP	DARTMOUTH HS