McCreery was a big time high school prospect coming out of Bonita High School in La Verne, California in 2011, projected at one point to go as high as the back end of the first round or beginning of the second round. Instead in his senior year, he injured his elbow and though he avoided surgery, it scared away teams, and he fell to the 14th round where the Minnesota Twins selected him.
McCreery chose to go to Arizona State, but after his freshman season led to injury that kept him out for over a month, he chose to leave ASU following his sophomore season to go to Azusa Pacific University in the NAIA.