Ellis begins his first season with the Ducks and ninth in professional baseball. The pitcher spent parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues, including time with the Kansas City Royals (2019), Tampa Bay Rays (2021) and Baltimore Orioles (2021-22). He combined to make 10 appearances (eight starts), going 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA and 25 strikeouts over 34.2 innings. The Alabama native tossed a scoreless inning of relief in his MLB debut on March 31, 2019, against the Chicago White Sox, and earned his first win with four scoreless innings and seven strikeouts out of the bullpen on August 17, 2021, against Baltimore.

The 31-year-old has reahed Triple-A with the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals organizations as well. He earned Texas League Mid-Season All-Star honors in 2018 with Springfield (AA, Cardinals) and was named a Southern League Mid-Season All-Star in 2016 with Mississippi (AA, Braves). The righty has made 180 appearances (120 starts) in the minor leagues, going 46-45 with a 4.89 ERA, three complete games, two shutouts, three saves and 669 strikeouts over 706.1 innings. Ellis was originally selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the third round of the 2014 amateur draft.