Evan Dempsey

Evan Francis Dempsey (born July 19, 2005) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Detroit Tigers organization. He played college baseball for the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles and won the John Olerud Award in 2025 and 2026.

Early life Dempsey was born on July 19, 2005, in Tampa, Florida. He started playing rec baseball at age five. Dempsey attended Newsome High School in Lithia, Florida, where he played baseball for the Wolves under head coach Dick Rohrberg. By his sophomore year, he was a starting pitcher and outfielder as well as the leadoff hitter. He earned first-team all-county honors for both hitting and pitching. Dempsey was also invited to play in the All-Star Classic. Outside of school, he played for Ostingers Baseball Academy.

Dempsey was ranked the 418th-best high school prospect in the class of 2023 by Perfect Game. On June 1, 2022, he committed to playing college baseball at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU).

College career As a freshman at FGCU, Dempsey started 46 of 50 games. Dempsey pitched in 15 games with 10 starts, compiling a 5–1 record with 75 strikeouts and a 1.97 ERA over innings. the College Baseball Foundation, D1Baseball.com, and Perfect Game. Dempsey won the John Olerud Award, which is given to the best two-way player in the nation; He also received an invite to the U.S. collegiate national team training camp in North Carolina, becoming the first player in FGCU history to do so.

Ahead of his junior season, Dempsey received "plenty of offers" from higher-profile programs to transfer out of FGCU, but decided to remain with the Eagles. He also gained of muscle during the offseason. During the season, Dempsey was named the D1Baseball.com Midseason Player of the Year. For the second straight year, he was a consensus (this time unanimous) selection to the College Baseball All-America Team as a utility player. The unanimous selection was the second in FGCU history after Chris Sale. He won the Atlantic Sun Conference's Pitcher of the Year award. He also repeated as the recipient of the John Olerud Award while advancing as a semifinalist for both the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy.

Dempsey was considered one of the top two-way prospects in the 2026 Major League Baseball draft. He was invited to attend the 2026 MLB Draft Combine at Chase Field.

Professional career Dempsey was drafted 69th overall in the 2026 Major League Baseball draft by the Detroit Tigers as a pitcher and signed for an under-slot signing bonus of $1.20 million.

Personal life Dempsey grew up in the Tampa area in a blended family with two brothers, two stepbrothers, and two stepsisters. After his childhood coach, legendary Tampa figure Rich Luppino, died in 2022, Dempsey said in a 2026 interview: "I've been playing for him since then." He has a tattoo of one of Luppino's mottos: "Repetition is the mother of success".