Austin Nola Bio
Austin Kyle Nola, born December 28, 1989, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is an American former professional baseball catcher who currently serves as the bullpen coach for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). Across his MLB career he played for the Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, and Kansas City Royals, making his major league debut in 2019 after years of development in the minor leagues. Originally a shortstop, Nola reinvented himself as a catcher midway through his professional journey and went on to appear in two National League Championship Series with the Padres. He retired from active play in 2025 and transitioned into coaching later that same year.
Early Life and Background
Austin Kyle Nola was born on December 28, 1989, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he was raised alongside his younger brother, Aaron Nola, who later became a starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. Their father owns a remodeling and construction company and coached both boys in baseball throughout their childhood, while their mother worked as a part-time secretary. Nola grew up of Italian descent, with great-grandparents who had emigrated to Baton Rouge from Sicily. He took to the game early, frequently playing catch with his father in their backyard after school, which shaped his lifelong connection to the sport.
Nola attended Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, where he played shortstop for the school baseball team. He made the varsity roster as a freshman and led the team in hitting that year, then helped Catholic win a district championship as a junior in 2007. Over all four years of his high school career, Nola earned all-state shortstop honors, and as a senior in 2008, he was named the Baton Rouge Advocate Star of Stars, Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year, and Louisville Slugger Player of the Year. He batted .447 with 48 runs scored, 42 runs batted in, and 13 home runs during that senior season.
Path to Baseball
The Colorado Rockies selected Nola in the 48th round of the 2008 MLB draft, but he declined to sign, instead committing to play college baseball at Louisiana State University. As a freshman in 2009, he became the Tigers’ starting shortstop and helped LSU win the College World Series championship, batting .250 with a home run in the tournament and posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Returning for his sophomore year, Nola batted .320 with five home runs and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Southeastern Conference tournament as LSU captured a third straight SEC title.
Nola also played collegiate summer baseball for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod League during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. In 2011, both he and his brother Aaron were drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays, but the brothers chose to remain at LSU, with Austin returning for his senior year. He finished his college career in 2012 by batting .299 with four home runs and 43 runs batted in, and he received the Wally Pontiff Academic Achievement Award as the top student-athlete on LSU’s baseball team. The Miami Marlins then selected him in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB draft, and he signed for a $75,000 bonus to begin his professional career.
Austin Nola Career
Early Career (2012–2018)
Nola opened his professional career in 2012 with the Low-A Jamestown Jammers before a midseason promotion to the Single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers, where he batted .211 over 65 games. He spent 2013 with the High-A Jupiter Hammerheads, batting .232 in 489 at-bats, and returned to the Double-A Jacksonville Suns in 2014, where he hit .259 and helped Jacksonville win the Southern League championship. In 2015, he finally reached the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs, where his jersey uniquely displayed NOLA on the front alongside his surname on the back.
While at Triple-A, Nola grew concerned that his ceiling as a shortstop would prevent him from reaching the majors. Zephyrs hitting coach Paul Phillips encouraged him to transition to catcher, and Nola spent the 2016 Arizona Fall League learning the new position. He made the Marlins’ 40-man roster for the first time in 2017, splitting the year between Double-A Jacksonville and Triple-A New Orleans as a full-time catcher, and he posted a .279 average in 69 minor league games in 2018 before becoming a free agent that offseason.
Seattle Mariners Breakthrough (2019–2020)
Nola signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners on November 9, 2018, and opened 2019 with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers as a utility player. He was called up to the majors on June 16, 2019, and made his debut that same day at first base in a 6–3 victory over the Oakland Athletics, collecting his first major league hit in the third inning. He hit his first major league home run on June 28 against Wade Miley of the Houston Astros and finished his debut season batting .269 with 10 home runs and 31 runs batted in across 267 at-bats while splitting time at catcher, first base, and the corner outfield.
In 2020, Nola was named Seattle’s starting catcher after Tom Murphy fractured a metatarsal bone before opening day, which was delayed to July 24 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He produced five home runs, 19 runs batted in, and a .306 average over 29 games with the Mariners, quickly growing more comfortable behind the plate. On August 30, 2020, however, Seattle traded Nola, Dan Altavilla, and Austin Adams to the San Diego Padres as part of a deadline package built by general manager A. J. Preller to end a 14-year playoff drought.
San Diego Padres Era (2020–2023)
Nola joined the Padres in time for the 2020 National League Wild Card Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, where he became the first MLB catcher to backstop nine pitchers through a postseason shutout in a bullpen game. He then helped guide San Diego to the National League Division Series, where the Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Padres in three games. In 48 games caught that year, Padres pitchers posted a 2.50 earned run average, the lowest of any catching group in baseball, even as Nola played through a fractured foot suffered shortly after the trade.
The 2021 season was defined by injuries for Nola. He fractured the middle finger of his left hand on a foul tip during spring training, missed the first month, then returned briefly before a sprained knee and a thumb injury from a home plate collision with Brandon Belt of the San Francisco Giants required surgery and ended his year on September 24. Despite the setbacks, he played a career-high 110 games in 2022, batting .251 with four home runs and a career-best 40 runs batted in, and during Game 2 of the National League Championship Series, he and Aaron Nola became the first brothers in MLB postseason history to face each other as pitcher and batter.
Following a 2023 season in which a spring training pitch broke his nose and he was later diagnosed with oculomotor dysfunction after concussion-like symptoms, Nola was non-tendered by the Padres on November 17, 2023, becoming a free agent.
Kansas City Royals and Colorado Rockies (2024–2025)
Nola signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers organization in January 2024, was released in February, and quickly signed a one-year major league deal with the Kansas City Royals. He spent most of the year at Triple-A Omaha, batting .174 with five home runs, and was designated for assignment on August 31 before clearing waivers. On December 8, 2024, he signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies and was added to their active roster on July 1, 2025. Nola appeared in 14 games for Colorado, batting .184, before being designated for assignment on August 11 and electing free agency on August 15, 2025.
Driving Style and Strengths
Behind the plate, Nola was valued for his game-calling ability and rapport with pitchers, a skill set he traced back to private instruction from his brother Aaron on communication with a pitching staff. At the plate, he worked counts and produced extra-base damage in the middle of the Padres’ 2020 postseason lineup, and his versatility allowed managers to deploy him at first base, third base, and the corner outfield when not catching.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among the defining moments of Nola’s career were his record-setting catching of nine pitchers in a postseason shutout during the 2020 Wild Card Series, his and Aaron’s historic pitcher-versus-batter matchup in the 2022 National League Championship Series, and his role in guiding the Padres’ pitching staff to a 2.50 earned run average in the games he caught that same year.
Austin Nola Career Wins
Although primarily a position player rather than a pitcher, Nola’s most celebrated victories came as a member of two postseason Padres rosters and as part of the 2009 LSU Tigers who won the College World Series. In the majors, his postseason highlights include the 2020 National League Wild Card and Division Series runs and a return trip to the National League Championship Series in 2022, where his brother Aaron pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies.
MLB Highlights
Nola made his MLB postseason debut with the Padres in 2020, catching the club through the Wild Card Series win over the St. Louis Cardinals and into the Division Series against the Dodgers. In 2022, he played 10 postseason games and batted .225 with five runs batted in as San Diego returned to the National League Championship Series. Across his MLB regular-season career, he appeared with the Mariners from 2019 to 2020, the Padres from 2020 to 2023, the Royals in 2024, and the Rockies in 2025, finishing with a .247 career batting average, 24 home runs, and 137 runs batted in.
Other Wins and Performances
As a freshman at LSU, Nola helped the Tigers win the 2009 College World Series, their sixth national championship, while posting a perfect fielding percentage at shortstop. He later helped the Double-A Jacksonville Suns win the 2014 Southern League championship, scoring two runs and driving in another in the clinching victory over the Chattanooga Lookouts.
Austin Nola Family
Family Background and Baseball Lineage
Nola comes from a close-knit baseball family in Baton Rouge, where his father coached both Austin and his younger brother Aaron throughout their childhood. Aaron Nola went on to become a starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, and the brothers have shared several on-field milestones, including the 2022 National League Championship Series matchup and a January 2020 Strike Out ALS charity event in Baton Rouge benefiting their uncle, who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Personal Life
Austin Nola is married. He and his wife welcomed a son on March 26, 2020, the date that would have been MLB’s opening day had the season not been postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Their daughter was born on September 9, 2022. Nola is of Italian descent, with great-grandparents who emigrated to Baton Rouge from Sicily.
2025 Season Performance
Nola’s 2025 season began with a minor league contract signed with the Colorado Rockies on December 8, 2024. He impressed in the minor leagues, batting .330 with one home run and 20 runs batted in across 29 appearances split between the Arizona Complex League Rockies and Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes. That performance earned him a promotion to the Rockies’ active roster on July 1, 2025, though he struggled at the major league level, hitting .184 with one run batted in over 14 games before being designated for assignment on August 11.
After clearing waivers, Nola elected free agency on August 15, 2025, and on October 21 he signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves. He was released by the Braves on November 11, 2025, paving the way for his next chapter. On December 5, 2025, the Seattle Mariners announced that they had hired Nola as their bullpen coach, bringing his playing career full circle back to the organization that gave him his major league debut.