Austin Nola Bio
Austin Kyle Nola (born December 28, 1989) is an American former professional baseball catcher and current bullpen coach for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Mariners, San Diego Padres, and Colorado Rockies. He made his MLB debut in 2019. Nola was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he and his brother Aaron attended Catholic High School. After a successful college career at Louisiana State University, he was drafted by the Miami Marlins in 2012. Nola played several seasons in professional baseball, transitioning from shortstop to catcher, and had varied success with hitting and injuries throughout his career.
Early Life and Background
Nola was born on December 28, 1989, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His father owns a remodeling and construction company and is a baseball coach, while his mother is a part-time secretary. His younger brother, Aaron Nola, would become a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nola took to baseball from an early age, often playing catch with his father in their backyard after school. Nola’s father coached his and Aaron’s baseball teams throughout their childhood. Nola attended Catholic High School and played shortstop for the school baseball team. He made the varsity team as a freshman and led the team in hitting that year. As a junior in 2007, Nola was part of Catholic’s district championship team. During all four years of his high school baseball career, Nola was an all-state shortstop selection. As a senior in 2008, Nola was named the Baton Rouge Advocate’s Star of Stars in baseball and Louisiana player of the year by Gatorade and Louisville Slugger. He batted .447 that year with 48 runs scored, 42 runs batted in (RBIs), and 13 home runs.
Path to Baseball
The Colorado Rockies selected Nola in the 48th round of the 2008 MLB Draft, but he chose not to sign, instead committing to play college baseball for Louisiana State University (LSU). Seeking to improve an infield defense that went 40 games without a successful double play in 2009, LSU moved junior DJ LeMahieu to second base and made freshman Nola their starting shortstop. Nola played well at the position and batted .240 with 27 runs, 18 RBIs, and three home runs during the regular season. In the 2009 College World Series, Nola batted .250 with four runs and one home run. He had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage, making no errors in 24 chances as LSU won its sixth championship. Returning to LSU as a sophomore in 2010, Nola started all 63 regular-season games at shortstop, batting .320 with 50 runs, 52 RBIs, and five home runs. That year, LSU beat Alabama for their third straight Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship title, and Nola was named the tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP). Later that year, Nola played collegiate summer baseball for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He returned to LSU as a junior in 2011, starting as the shortstop in all 56 games. On April 10, while playing against Arkansas, Nola hit a grand slam in the sixth inning of an eventual 5–4 defeat. In addition to being the first grand slam of Nola’s career, it was the only one by an LSU player during that season. At the end of his college career, Nola was awarded the Wally Pontiff Academic Achievement Award as the top student-athlete on LSU’s baseball team. He batted .299 during his senior season, with four home runs and 43 RBIs in 64 games.
Austin Nola Career
Early Career (2012–2018)
The Miami Marlins selected Nola in the fifth round, 167th overall, of the 2012 MLB Draft. He signed with the team shortly thereafter for a $75,000 signing bonus. He was initially assigned to the Low-A Jamestown Jammers of the New York–Penn League, but after a few weeks there, Nola was promoted to the Single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers of the South Atlantic League. Nola played in 65 games his first professional season, batting .211 with 48 hits, one home run, and 18 RBIs. In 2013, Nola played with the Jupiter Hammerheads of the High-A Florida State League. In 489 at bats, he batted .232 with one home run and 40 RBIs. In 2014, Nola was assigned to the Double-A Jacksonville Suns of the Southern League. In 134 games as Jacksonville’s shortstop, Nola hit .259 with one home run and 53 RBIs. He helped take Jacksonville to their sixth Southern League championship, scoring two runs and driving in another in a 6–1 victory over the Chattanooga Lookouts to sweep the final series in three games. After the 2014 minor league season, Nola was assigned to the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League (AFL), alongside five other Marlins prospects. He played in 13 games for Salt River, batting .298 with six RBIs and nine runs. Although Nola had hoped to begin the 2015 season with the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs, the crowded Zephyrs infield meant that he returned to Jacksonville at the start of the year. He was called up to the Zephyrs on June 28, after infielder Miguel Rojas and outfielder Cole Gillespie received major league promotions. Nola returned to the Zephyrs in 2016, serving as the starting shortstop and the second batter in the batting order. Nola batted .261 with six home runs and 44 RBIs in 372 at bats. During the 2016 season, Nola worried that his career was stalling and that he was not on the way to the major leagues. Zephyrs’ hitting coach Paul Phillips suggested that Nola transition from shortstop to catcher, and he rejoined the AFL to learn the new position.
Breakthrough (2019–2020)
Nola signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners on November 9, 2018. He opened the season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League, who used him as a utility player. In his first 25 games, Nola played 15 at catcher, eight at first base, and two at third base. He was called up to the Mariners on June 16, 2019, and made his major league debut the same day. He started the 6–3 victory over the Oakland Athletics at first base, a position left vacant after the Mariners traded Edwin Encarnacion to the New York Yankees, and recorded his first hit in the third inning of the game. His first major league home run came later that month, a solo shot against Wade Miley of the Houston Astros on June 28. Nola finished the season batting .269 with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs in 267 at-bats. After Tom Murphy broke one of the metatarsal bones in his left foot prior to opening day, Nola was chosen as the Mariners’ starting catcher for the 2020 season, which began on July 24, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 29 games with the Mariners in 2020, Nola batted .306 with 19 RBIs.
San Diego Padres (2020–2023)
On August 30, 2020, the Mariners traded Nola to the San Diego Padres. That postseason, the Padres appeared in the National League (NL) Wild Card Series, where Nola became the first MLB catcher to backstop nine pitchers through a postseason shutout. Nola’s hitting cooled after the trade, batting .222 with two home runs and 9 RBIs in 19 regular season games with the Padres. Nola played in a career-high 110 games in 2022, batting .251 with 4 home runs and 40 RBIs, also the most of his career. On January 13, 2023, Nola agreed to a one-year, $2.35 million contract with the Padres, avoiding salary arbitration. However, he was optioned to Triple-A El Paso after batting .146 in 130 at bats. He was non-tendered and became a free agent on November 17.
Colorado Rockies (2025)
On December 8, 2024, Nola signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies. In 29 appearances split between the rookie-level Arizona Complex League Rockies and Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, he batted .330 with one home run and 20 RBIs. On July 1, the Rockies added him to their active roster. In 14 appearances for Colorado, he batted .184 with one RBI.
Austin Nola Award Nominations
Throughout his career, Austin Nola has not received any major award nominations.
Austin Nola Awards Won
Austin Nola has not won any significant awards during his professional baseball career.
Austin Nola Family
Austin Nola is married and has two children, a son born in 2020 and a daughter born in 2022.
Personal Life
Nola is of Italian descent; his great-grandparents emigrated to Baton Rouge from Sicily. He and his brother Aaron Nola hosted a charity event in Baton Rouge for their uncle, who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).