In his freshman season, Longoria earned first-team All-State honors and was offered a scholarship by Long Beach State University. He transferred to Long Beach for his sophomore year and hit .320, earning All-Conference honors. Because Long Beach State already had an established shortstop, Troy Tulowitzki (who became a four-time all-star over a 13-year MLB career), Longoria played third base. Following a successful MVP summer in 2005 in the Cape Cod League with the Chatham A's where he played second base, Longoria shared the Big West Conference Player of the Year honors (with Justin Turner) during his junior year at Long Beach State. When he first started attending Long Beach State University, he majored in kinesiology. However, he switched to the department of criminal justice because it was somewhat less time-consuming and, therefore, would not interfere with the baseball schedule as much. In just two years, Longoria transformed his thin stature into a 6-foot-2 and 210-pounds by the end of his LBSU tenure. Professional baseball career Longoria was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays as the third overall pick in the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. Longoria was called the "best pure hitter" among college players in the 2006 draft class by Baseball America. He was the highest draft selection in school history. Tampa Bay gave him a $3 million signing bonus. Minor leagues After signing with the Rays, Longoria tore through his first assignments in the minor leagues. In 2006, after just eight games with the short season Single-A Hudson Valley Renegades, Longoria was promoted to the Visalia Oaks and impressed the organization with his quick success, hitting .327/.402/.618 with eight home runs and 28 RBIs in 28 games. This earned him a promotion to the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits, where he hit .267/.266/.486 with six home runs through the end of the season, and hit .345 in the postseason, including a walk-off two-run home run in the Southern League Division Playoffs to put Montgomery into the championship. He was the 2007 Most Valuable Player with the Biscuits as well as a postseason all-star. On top of that he won a player of the week award. He was widely considered the top third base prospect in the minors and one of the top prospects at any position. Longoria followed up his successful debut with another stellar year in . Starting the year with Montgomery, Longoria hit .307/.403/.528 with 21 home runs