An accomplished performer on and off the field, Carris concluded his pitching career at NSU in 2008, earning Daktronics/D2CCA Second Team All-South Region honors with the program’s third-best career Earned Run Average (2.93) in a school record 75 career relief appearances. His record was 13-8 on the career, registering a program third-best 13 saves and striking out 114 in 132 career innings. In addition, Carris was named on the Sunshine State Commissioner’s List of Outstanding Achievement and was twice named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team.
Carris graduated with his Bachelors in Biology from NSU’s Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography in 2008, moving on to University of Florida, where he was summa cum laude with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2012.
Carris completed his pharmacy residency at Tri Star Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, followed by a two-year, postdoctoral fellowship in family medicine at UF – where he published numerous research papers and taught in the College of Pharmacy and College of Medicine’s physician assistant program.
Currently a widely-respected pharmacist and an assistant professor of pharmacy and medicine at the University of South Florida, Carris teaches multiple classes and has established a research program focused on preventing diabetes. He has also garnered attention for his work with a Tampa Bay Accountable Care Organization — a group of health care providers who coordinate to provide quality care for MediCare Patients — where he is helping to limit the use of high-risk medications.
With a growing list of accolades very early in his career, Carris was also a recipient of the 2017-18 Best Researcher Award at USF’s College of Pharmacy and was recognized as a Top Reviewer for the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in March 2018. He is an author of numerous articles, book chapters and publications, presenting frequently at national conferences.
He was also honored in the fall during NSU Homecoming, receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award from Halmos College.
“My experience at NSU has been an integral part of who I am today and it is quite an honor to be recognized as a Distinguished Alumni,” Carris said. “My Biology degree from NSU helped pave the way to me becoming an assistant professor of pharmacy. Even more special, NSU afforded me the ability to play college baseball simultaneously, equipping me with the skillset required to handle a demanding schedule with a consistent, focused effort.”