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RALEIGH — For months, juniors Dustin Ackley and Alex White have been focused on leading North Carolina to its fourth straight College World Series.

But Tuesday night, they got to take a few hours to look forward to their futures — beyond this weekend's trip to Omaha.

The hard-hitting first baseman and strong-armed right-handed pitcher became just the third pair of Tar Heels to be chosen in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft.

Ackley was picked No. 2 overall by the Seattle Mariners; White was chosen 15th by the Cleveland Indians.

"The draft is just a little extra bonus going into College World Series," said Ackley, who got the call as he watched the draft with friends and family at his house in Chapel Hill. " ... We're fortunate to be there, and I'm just real happy right now."

In addition, two other potential Tar Heels — Georgia outfielder Donavan Tate, and Missouri pitcher Jacob Turner — were taken in the first round. Tate, a football signee who also planned to play baseball, went No. 3 overall to the San Diego Padres. Turner, a member of next season's incoming baseball class, went No. 9 to the Detroit Tigers.

The major league teams have until Aug. 17 to sign draft picks.

As expected, the Nationals chose San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg with the first pick.

Next came Ackley, whose .410 career batting average is the best in UNC history. The ACC Player of the Year is hitting .412 for the season and holds school records for hits (338), runs scored (225) and total bases (535). The native of Walnut Cove is expected to play the outfield at the next level, but said he plans to put the signing process "on the back burner" until after the College World Series.

"I'm real excited about Omaha and getting out there, and after that, just getting ready to play for the Mariners," he said.

There had been speculation that White's impressive play in Saturday's super regional opener — when he struck out 12 in 81/3 innings against ECU — would boost him into the top 10.

"I was with a lot of friends and family, and they were just as excited as I was," White, a Greenville native who is 8-4 this season and 27-14 in three years at Carolina, said in a statement. "I'm looking forward to the opportunity when my time here is done, and it's a great honor to be a part of all these great players."

North Carolina's Kyle Seager was also drafted by the Mariners, the second pick in the third round (No. 82 overall). No other area players were selected in the first three rounds.

Ackley and White join B.J. Surhoff and Walt Weiss (in 1985) and current major leaguers Andrew Miller and Daniel Bard (in 2006) as pairs of UNC teammates to be picked in the first round the same year.

Ackley is the highest Tar Heels baseball player to be drafted since Paul Shuey, who went second in 1992. UNC has produced 11 first-round picks.

"It is every player's dream to have a chance to reach the major leagues, and we are thrilled for Dustin and Alex," UNC coach Mike Fox said in a statement.