Longoria played for the Long Beach State University baseball team, was the star CSN Bay Area Cape Cod League MVP, and was named the Big West Co-Player of the Year. He was drafted by the Rays in the first round as the third overall pick in the 2006 MLB draft. After two full seasons in the minors, he made his major league debut for the Rays in , and was named to the American League team for the 2008 MLB All Star Game. Longoria was also named the 2008 American League Rookie of the Year. Longoria has also made the All-Star team three times, being selected from 2008 to 2010. Longoria had one of the biggest hits in Rays history when he hit a 12th-inning walk-off home run in the last game of the 2011 season, snapping a tie with the Red Sox in the race for the American League wild card spot and sending his team into the postseason.