Jason Ross' long and winding road with the University of Hawaii officially came to an end yesterday.

That's when the former Rainbows football and baseball player learned he had been picked in the 13th round of the major league draft by the Atlanta Braves.

Ross will report to Florida for a few days before heading to Danville, Va., to play for the Braves' rookie team in the short season of the Appalachian League.

Ross, who grew up in nearby Augusta, Ga., jokingly said he was never that big of a Braves fan while growing up, but added that will all change.

"I was pretty excited when they called me," Ross said. "Playing in an organization that just won the World Series feels good.

"What I like is they work with athletes, not just typical baseball players. I've got a good shot because I'll be working with good coaches and good people.

"This is what I was hoping for. It finally came through. I enjoyed my time at Hawaii, but now it's time to try something new."

Ross, who was the 382nd pick overall, has yet to negotiate a contract, but was told the Braves would pay for two years of his education so he could finish his degree here in Hawaii. He could earn a signing bonus of up to $20,000.

Ross hit .280 for the Rainbows this past season. The junior outfielder started 29 games in right field but missed several weeks with a broken hand. He bounced back fairly strong the last half of the season.

"He is an athlete with a lot of life in his body," Atlanta scout Alan Regier said in a UH press release of the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Ross. "He has great raw baseball ability.

"Last year, he was almost drafted on one swing of the bat when he hit a 500-foot home run onto the parking garage at Cal State-Sacramento.

"He really helped himself out in the last series of the season at Fresno State. Mark Johnson had a bad outing, but the scouts stayed on hand to watch Jason, and they saw a lot."

Ross first came to Hawaii nearly five years ago on a football scholarship, but decided to play baseball full time last August. The Florida Marlins drafted him so late last summer that he decided to come back for his junior season.

As has been the case since Ross first came to Hawaii, he wound up having an up-and-down season in 1996. As a freshman, he hit .288 and .331 as a sophomore, but his junior year wasn't quite as kind.

"I didn't have a great year, so I wondered what effect that would have on me in the draft," Ross said. "I didn't have a lot of opportunities on the road because of the broken hand.

"But it all worked out. I feel like I made the right decision to play baseball instead of football professionally. Now, it's up to me."

Ross and fellow junior Mark Johnson were the only UH players chosen during the first day. Johnson was the 19th player picked overall by the Houston Astros.

Incoming UH freshman Jared Sandberg was picked in the 16th round by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but UH pitching coach Carl Furutani said yesterday he felt comfortable that Sandberg would be here in August.

"He wanted to be picked in the first five rounds," Furutani said. "His family said if that didn't happen, he would most likely be with us this fall."

The 6-2, 183-pound high school senior played at Capital High in Olympia, Wash. He is the nephew of Chicago Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg.

The draft, which lasted 19 rounds yesterday, will continue for two more days. The only other Rainbows likely to be picked are pitcher Paul Ah Yat and infielder Jody Napuunoa.

No Hawaii high school players are expected to be drafted this year, according to scouts contacted last night.

Two of the more talented seniors, Punahou's Chris "Buster" Small and Kamehameha's Billy Pieper, have strong academic backgrounds and are committed to mainland colleges.

Small will attend Princeton and Pieper has accepted a football scholarship at the University of Southern California. The local scouts say teams may not want to use draft picks on players who are clearly collegiate material.

But there is one high school player on the mainland with Hawaii ties who could be drafted.

Ryan Suyama, a former Pearl City resident who was an all-state shortstop for Sprague High School in Salem, Oregon, has been getting feelers from the New York Yankees.

Suyama, who left Hawaii at age 7, batted .500 (47 for 94) in his senior year, hit six home runs, 11 doubles, and drove in 40 runs. He was 13-for-13 in stolen bases and had a .943 fielding percentage.

Suyama's brother, Lance, was a center fielder for the University of Hawaii-Hilo several years ago.