BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- After hitting .277 with three home runs and 17 RBIs to go along with a .344 on-base percentage through the first 33 games of the season, former WKU star and current Bowling Green Hot Rod catcher Matt Rice was named to the Midwest League All-Star squad, the league announced on Monday.

Rice was one of a franchise-record eight Hot Rods named to the team and one of two players from Bowling Green that will serve as reserves for the Eastern Division All-Star Team.

Rice, WKU's all-time leader in hits (309) and RBIs (223), currently ranks fourth among Hot Rod players in batting average, while only committing one error on the season.

The Johnson City, Tenn., native is in his first full season with the Bowling Green Hot Rods - Class A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Rice was selected in the ninth round of the 2011 Major League Baseball First Year Players Draft and was one of six Hilltoppers selected in the 2011 draft, and one of 17 selections since 2009.

Rice closed out his career on the Hill with a .372 career average, earned a pair of All-Sun Belt Conference honors and was named the 2011 Capital One Academic All-American of the Year.

For more information on Rice and other former Hilltopper players at the professional level, visit "Toppers in the Pros."