Ivey attended Rockwall-Heath High School in Heath, Texas.[1] As a freshman, he was on the 2012 4-A State Champion Rockwall-Heath baseball team that also included future major league pitcher Jake Thompson.[2] Ivey was undrafted out of high school in 2015 and enrolled at Texas A&M University to play college baseball for the Aggies.[3] He posted a 2–3 record with a 3.56 ERA in 43 innings over 11 games during the 2016 season.[4] During that season, he was involved in an incident that almost caused a post-game brawl vs. the University of Texas, when he taunted the UT dugout with a horns down gesture.[5] Ivey transferred to Grayson College in Denison, Texas for his sophomore season of 2017.[6] With Grayson, Ivey posted a 9–0 record with a 2.08 ERA in 78 innings over 12 games.[7] Ivey was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 3rd round, with the 91st overall selection, of the 2017 MLB draft and signed with them for a $450,000 signing bonus.[8][9]
Ivey did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Astros added Ivey to their 40-man roster after the 2020 season.[14] On May 21, 2021, Ivey was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[15] He made his debut that day as the starting pitcher against the Texas Rangers, drawing a no-decision while allowing 4 runs in 4.2 innings of work.[16]
On June 12, Ivey revealed that he had been pitching through elbow pain since suffering a grade one UCL strain in 2019 and that he would not pitch again in 2021. He stated “apparently I have the nerve endings of a 75-year old man in my elbow. That probably explains a lot”.[17] He was designated for assignment on April 7, 2022. On April 11, Ivey was sent outright to the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys.[18]
