The Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout Tour makes a stop in Tampa, Florida to the University of Tampa on Sunday, November 1st.

The University of Tampa is a private institution, located in downtown Tampa and home to the University of Tampa Baseball program and the UT Baseball Field, which has played host to numerous NCAA Division II South Regionals. The Spartans have won seven National Championships, including the 2015 NCAA II National Championship over Catawba.

Two of the three players highlighted today have had fathers who had long careers in Major League Baseball while the third has become one of the top players for the University of Miami.

Elliott Cary

Elliott Cary – Cary is a native of Niceville, Florida, attending Niceville High School for the first three years of high school before transferring to Clackamas High School in Oregon for his senior season in 2014. Cary’s father, Chuck, pitched eight seasons in the majors for the Tigers, Braves, Yankees and White Sox.

At Niceville, Cary was a three-year letterwinner for head coach Joe Nedoroscik and batted .438 with five doubles, three home runs, 22 RBI and 12 stolen bases as a junior, being named the Florida 6A Hitter of the Year in 2013. As a senior after transferring to Oregon, Cary hit .520 with eight doubles, 11 triples and 30 RBI as a senior, named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Oregon.

He was selected in the 32nd round of the 2014 MLB First-Year Player draft by the Washington Nationals but did not sign. Instead, Cary chose Oregon State University to play collegiately for the Beavers and the freshman outfielder saw action in 36 games (24 starts), hitting .258 with a double, triple, home run, 13 RBI and 17 runs scored.

Cary attended an Under Armour Baseball Factory College PREP event in Pensacola, Florida back in December of 2011 and later in the month at the Pirate City Christmas Camp & Tournament as well. In June 2012, he was invited to the USA Baseball 17U Championships and in 2013, was named an Under Armour Pre-Season All-American.

Nick Gordon during the 2013 Under Armour All-American Game

Nick Gordon – Gordon is from Windermere, Florida and the next baseball player to come from the Gordon family; father, Tom “Flash” Gordon, played 21 seasons in the majors (including eight seasons with the Kansas City Royals), winning 138 games and saving 158 more in his career. Nick’s older brother, Dee, is enjoying an all-star season with the Miami Marlins, where he is hitting .332, with 33 extra-base hits this season (22 doubles, eight triples, three homers) and 56 stolen bases.

A graduate from Windermere High School in 2014, Gordon was drafted fifth overall in the 2014 MLB draft by the Minnesota Twins, and as an 18-year old, for the rookie-level Appalachian league affiliate of the Twins – the Elizabethton Twins – hit .294 with six doubles, four triples, a home run, 28 RBI, 46 runs scored and 11 stolen bases in 57 games. This season at Single-A Cedar Rapids, Gordon performed even better over a full season in 2015, hitting .277 with 23 doubles, seven triples, a home run, 58 RBI, 79 runs scored and 25 stolen bases.

Gordon was a 2012 Team One Futures Series East selection and in 2013, played in the Under Armour Memorial Day Classic and named a 2013 Under Armour All-American that August where his hitting and fielding tools were “off the charts” according to scouts in attendance. He put up a heck of a stat line that day too – three hits in four at-bats, driving in two runs, stealing a base and scoring a run.

John Ruiz

John Ruiz – A 2013 graduate from Westminster Christian in Coral Gables, Florida, Ruiz attended a November 2011 Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Davie, FL and was named to the 2012 Under Armour All-America Pre-Season Tournament a few months later where he displayed solid offensive and defensive skills and ran a 6.85 60-yard dash time.

Making the jump to the University of Miami to play for the Hurricanes, Ruiz saw action in 45 games (38 starts) as a freshman. He batted .229 but had seven doubles with 11 RBI after taking over the starting third base job midway through the season.

This past season as a sophomore, Ruiz has contributed in the lineup and also off the bench as well, serving as Miami’s top bat off the bench for the second half of the year. Ruiz hit .315 (.364 in ACC action) with three doubles, a triple and 19 RBI.

The Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout Tour will be rolling into a town near you soon! Visit our tryout page to register and receive more information.