In high school, McGorty achieved success in state- and national-level competitions, including a second-place finish at the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.

He attended Stanford University from 2013 to 2018, where he won an NCAA title over 5000 m. Upon graduation, McGorty turned professional to compete for the Nike-sponsored Bowerman Track Club.

[6] McGorty also set the high school boy's mile meet record at the 2013 Penn Relays with a time of 4:04.47.

[10] McGorty also specialized in the 5000 m. On May 1, 2016, he fulfilled the qualifying standard in the event for the Olympics, with a personal best of 13:24.25 at the Payton Jordan Invitational.

[13][14] On July 14, 2018, McGorty competed for the first time in Europe at the Guldensporenmeeting in Kortrijk, Belgium, where he won the 1500 meters in a personal best of 3:36.61.

The following month, McGorty announced that he had joined the Bowerman Track Club, a Nike-sponsored group coached by Jerry Schumacher.

In June 2020, he set a personal best of 13:11.22 in the 5000 m.[15] McGorty began competing in the 3000 meters steeplechase in May 2021, with the aim of qualifying in the event for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

During the 2020 US Olympic Trials, held in June 2021, McGorty stopped mid-race in a preliminary round to fix a loose shoe, losing about 10 seconds.

In a post-race interview, he expressed disappointment and attributed his performance to negative thinking, stating, "I let myself get out of the race mentally.