University of Northern Colorado junior pitcher Brennan Garr, who was drafted in the ninth round of this year's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, has signed a contract with the Texas Rangers organization and will report to the team's Class A team in Spokane, Wash. this week.

Garr, a native of Arvada, Colo., will join the Spokane Indians of the Northwest League. The Indians, the league's defending champions, open the 2006 season on Monday, June 19 when they host the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes at 6:30 p.m. PT.

Garr, who was also an infielder with the Bears but will only pitch in professional baseball, was the 268th overall pick of the draft on June 6. He was the 17th Northern Colorado baseball player selected in the draft while enrolled at Northern Colorado and the seventh Northern Colorado player selected in the top 10 rounds.

A two-time Division I All-Independent selection, Garr was the Bears closer the last two years and is the program's all-time leader in saves (12). In 2005, he set the school record for career saves (7) and added five saves this season as the Bears repeated as Division I Independent Invitational Tournament Champions and he repeated as the Tournament MVP. In his 13 appearances this season Garr had one poor outing, and had it not been for that game he would have had a 2.07 ERA. Opponents hit only .234 off of him and he allowed only two extra base hits on the year. Garr recorded 24 strikeouts in only 13.1 innings of work in 2006, giving him a 16 2/3 strikeouts-per-nine-innings ratio, and he had a stretch during the season where he recorded 12 of 13 outs by strikeout.

Garr was also the Bears top hitter the past two seasons (hitting .365 in 2005 and .348 in 2006) while playing third base. Garr hit in 69 of 79 games from the middle of his sophomore season until the completion of his junior year and reached base in 72 of his final 77 games. He had 48 multiple-hit and 23 multiple-RBI games in three years with the Bears. Garr hit eight home runs in each 2005 and 2006, and had three games in 2006 where he homered and later came in to record the save.

More information on the Spokane Indians can be accessed at their Web site: http://www.spokaneindiansbaseball.com.