If there was any disappointment when he didn’t hear his name called among the first 32 picks Tuesday night in the 2009 major league baseball first-year player draft, it disappeared in a flash moments later for Kyle Heckathorn.

The Milwaukee Brewers chose the Ringgold High School graduate and Kennesaw State University junior pitcher with the 47th overall selection, a compensation-round pick sandwiched between the first and second rounds.

“I’m a happy man right now,” said Heckathorn, who watched the draft with 35 friends and family at his Kennesaw residence. “This is one of the best experiences of my life. It was pretty tense, but when I heard my name it was like a huge weight dropped off my shoulders.”

The Brewers drafted University of Tennessee center fielder Kentrail Davis 39th overall with their first compensation pick. They selected another power pitcher in the first round: Indiana University’s Eric Arnett, a 6-foot-5 right-hander who was the Big Ten co-pitcher of the year.

Heckathorn, a 6-foot-6, 240-pound righty, said he is optimistic a deal with the Brewers can get finalized soon. He and adviser Victor Menocal of Career Sports & Entertainment were scheduled to meet with Milwaukee officials this morning.

Clubs have until Aug. 17 to sign each draftee. If that doesn’t happen, the team loses its rights to that player and he has to wait to be drafted again.

“I want to sign as soon as I can so I can get started with my professional career,” Heckathorn said. “Milwaukee is a great organization and to me it’s still the first round. I don’t care where they send me; I just want to get started.”

Heckathorn, who had been projected to go as high as 19th overall, was 4-1 with a 3.44 earned run average and 98 strikeouts in 86 1/3 innings pitched for the Owls this season and ended his junior season with a 15-strikeout game against North Florida.

Heckathorn was the 26th pitcher taken in a pitching-heavy early portion of the draft. MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo expressed surprise that Heckathorn lasted so long.

“He has stuff that really jumps out at you,” Mayo said during MLB.com’s webcast of the draft. “A lot of people believed he would go in the first round. This is such a pitching-deep draft that some talented guys were going to be had after the first round.”

Heckathorn was the fourth Georgian selected Tuesday. High school stars Donovan Tate from Cartersville and pitcher Zack Wheeler of East Paulding went third and sixth overall to San Diego and San Francisco. Heckathorn’s fellow Kennesaw pitcher Chad Jenkins, whose parents are from the northwest Georgia area, was selected 20th by Toronto.