Less than three years after making his major league debut with the Tampa Bay Rays, former Olivet Nazarene University Tiger Ben Zobrist has been named to the 2009 American League All-Star Team, which squares off against the National League All-Stars on Tuesday at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Mo.

Zobrist played each of his first three seasons (2001-2003) at Olivet Nazarene before transferring to Dallas Baptist University (Tex.) in 2004.

A utility player who has seen time at six different positions during his three seasons with the Rays, Zobrist has settled in as the starting second baseman this year, where he ranks second in the American League in both slugging percentage (.598) and on base percentage plus slugging percentage (OPS) (1.012). He is hitting .297 with 17 home runs and 52 runs batted in in 81 games played this year.

Zobrist is part of an entire Tampa Bay infield that has been named to the American League All-Star Team, which will be managed by Tampa Bay's Joe Maddon.

Zobrist made his major league debut on August 1, 2006 with the Rays after originally being drafted in the sixth round of the 2004 draft by the Houston Astros.

Both the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference and NAIA Region VII Player of the Year in 2003, Zobrist also captured NAIA First Team All-America honors that year. One year earlier, he was named to both the all-CCAC and all-Region VII First Teams, while gaining NAIA Honorable Mention All-America status.

Zobrist ranks fifth all-time on the Tigers' career charts in batting average (.376), home runs (18), hits (182) and RBI (145).