Gorzelanny was drafted in the 38th round of the 2000 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox but chose to play college baseball rather than immediately pursuing a professional career. He redshirted in his first year at University of Kansas and posted 3–7 record with a 5.90 earned run average as a freshman with the Kansas Jayhawks. Gorzelanny was ruled academically ineligible prior to his sophomore season and transferred to Triton College, a community college in Illinois. He was drafted from Triton in the second round (45th overall) of the 2003 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
