Marco Gonzales grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado and played high school ball at Rocky Mountain High School.
In his Senior year, he was named the Colorado High School Baseball Player of the Year. That season he went 11-0 with a 2.20 ERA.
After getting drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 2010 MLB Draft, Gonzales opted to play baseball at Gonzaga University.
In the summer of 2010, Gonzales pitched for the Wenatchee AppleSox, an amateur baseball team in Eastern Washington. He led the West Coast League with 66 strikeouts and helped the AppleSox clinch their fourth league championship.