Austin Nola

Austin Kyle Nola (born December 28, 1989) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He has previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres.

Nola was born on December 28, 1989, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

He is the oldest son of A. J. Nola, a remodeling and construction company owner and baseball coach, and Stacie Nola, a part-time secretary.

His younger brother Aaron went on to pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Their maternal grandfather, Richard Barrios, once served as the sergeant at arms for the Louisiana House of Representatives.

Nola took to baseball from an early age, often playing catch with his father in their backyard after school.

A. J. also served as Austin and Aaron's baseball coach throughout their childhood.

While attending Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, Nola 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.

The Colorado Rockies drafted Nola out of high school in 2008, but he declined their offer, instead committing to play college baseball for Louisiana State University, where he helped the Tigers win the 2009 College World Series championship.

As a senior in 2008, Nola was named the Baton Rouge Advocate 's Star of Stars in Baseball.

He batted .447 that year with 48 runs scored, 42 runs batted in (RBIs), and 13 home runs.

The Colorado Rockies selected Nola in the 48th round of the 2008 MLB Draft, but he chose not to sign with the team, instead committing to play college baseball for Louisiana State University (LSU).

Seeking to improve an infield defense that had gone 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 boasted 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 was drafted after his junior year in 2011, this time by the Toronto Blue Jays, but chose to finish his college career.

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 the 2011 season.

Nola played for Harwich again during the 2011 season, batting .217 in 39 games with 15 RBIs and 17 runs scored.

Both Nola and his younger brother were selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2011 MLB Draft, but both brothers chose LSU over signing with the team.

Austin returned to finish his senior year, while Aaron was starting as a freshman.

The Miami Marlins then selected Nola in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB Draft, and he elected to sign with them for a $75,000 signing bonus.

He spent the next few seasons rising through the Marlins' farm system, reaching the Triple A New Orleans Zephyrs in 2015.

There, his career stalled, and Nola, worried that he would not make it to the major leagues, made the change from shortstop to catcher.

He learned the position while playing in the Arizona Fall League, then began starting behind the plate full-time in 2017.

A free agent after the 2018 season, Nola signed a contract with the Mariners.

He made his MLB debut in 2019 for the Mariners.

Nola was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he and his brother Aaron attended Catholic High School.

He made his major league debut with Seattle in June 2019.

At the 2020 trading deadline, the Mariners traded Nola to the Padres, with whom Nola had his first MLB postseason appearance.

He caught the Padres through the 2020 National League Wild Card Series, taking the team to the 2020 National League Division Series.