Nick Ciuffo

Career

Ciuffo attended Wando High School in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, for his freshman and sophomore years, and then transferred to Lexington High School in Lexington, South Carolina. As a freshman, Ciuffo was named to the All-Lowcountry team. Lexington won the state's Class 4A championship in 2013, and Ciuffo was named the South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year. In 123 cumulative high school games, Ciuffo had a .401 batting average, 11 home runs, and 93 runs batted in. He competed for the United States national baseball team, leading the United States to the gold medal in the 2011 World Youth Baseball Championship.

Ciuffo had been committed to attend the University of South Carolina to play college baseball for the South Carolina Gamecocks. He received the scholarship offer before playing a single high school game. However, he was also considered a likely first round pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft, and said that the chances of his signing a contract and forgoing his college commitment are "50-50". The Tampa Bay Rays selected him in the first round, with the 21st overall selection. Ciuffo signed with the Rays and reported to the Gulf Coast Rays of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League (GCL) to begin his professional career. He appeared in 43 games for the GCL Rays.

Ciuffo began the 2014 season in extended spring training, and was assigned to the Princeton Rays of the Rookie-level Appalachian League in June. He played with the Bowling Green Hot Rods of the Class A Midwest League in 2015, and with the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in 2016.

Personal life

Ciuffo grew up in Mount Pleasant, but moved to Lexington between his sophomore and junior years with his mother. His father, Tony, worked at the College of Charleston as their assistant athletic media relations director, which enabled Nick to observe the Charleston baseball team, and future major leaguers Brett Gardner and Michael Kohn.