After graduating from high school, Elder played college baseball at the University of Texas at Austin, and was 10-6 with a 3.42 ERA.

[12][13] On April 12, 2022, Elder was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time to make a spot start.

[17][18] On September 26, Elder threw a complete-game shutout against the Washington Nationals, becoming the first Braves' rookie pitcher to do so since Paul Marak during the 1990 season.

In 2023, after impressive spring training performances by Jared Shuster and Dylan Dodd, Elder was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett to begin the regular season.

[25][26] Elder throws five pitches: a sinker, four-seam fastball, slider, changeup and curveball.