Austin Kyle Nola[1] (born December 28, 1989) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Colorado Rockies organization.

He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres.

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

[7] 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).

[8] 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.

He boasted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage, making no errors in 24 chances as LSU won its sixth championship.

[7] That year, LSU beat Alabama for their third straight Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship title, and Nola was named the tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP).

[7] LSU made it through several regional rounds of the 2012 NCAA Division I baseball tournament but fell to the Stony Brook Seawolves in their Cinderella run to the College World Series.

[21] In the postseason, Nola 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.

[25] He was called up to the Zephyrs on June 28, after infielder Miguel Rojas and outfielder Cole Gillespie received major league promotions.

The Zephyrs' hitting coach, Paul Phillips, suggested that Nola transition from shortstop to catcher, and he rejoined the Arizona Fall League in order to learn the new position.

His ability to control the game from behind the plate impressed coaches during spring training, and Nola began the season on the Marlins' 40-man roster for the first time in his career.

He started with the Double A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, playing 54 games with them before receiving a promotion to which had changed its name from the Zephyrs to the Baby Cakes.

[15] Although Nola began the 2018 season on the Marlins' roster, he was designated for assignment on March 29, and was placed on waivers in order to join the Baby Cakes.

He started the 6–3 victory over the Oakland Athletics at first base, a position that had been 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.

[36] His first major league home run came later that month, a solo shot against Wade Miley of the Houston Astros on June 28.

[38] 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.

[39] In the first month of the season, Nola was a consistently strong hitter for the Mariners, with five home runs, 17 RBIs, and nine multi-hit games in his first 25 appearances.

The trade was part of a larger series of deadline moves by Padres general manager A. J. Preller, who aimed to take the team to its first playoff appearance in 14 seasons.

[44] After the season ended, Nola revealed that he had fractured his foot on a foul ball about a week after the trade was finalized, but he had continued playing through the injury.

[46] During spring training in 2021, Nola fractured the middle finger of his left hand while attempting to catch a foul tip.

[47] He missed the first month of the season, with backup catchers Victor Caratini and Luis Campusano filling in behind the plate until Nola was reactivated on April 27.

[53] Nola's injury-ridden season came to an end on September 24, when he was shut down to undergo thumb surgery from an injury sustained in a home plate collision with Brandon Belt of the San Francisco Giants.

[59] However, he was released by the Brewers on February 22[60] and signed a one-year major league contract with the Kansas City Royals the following day.

[65] Nola and his wife Michelle have one son together who was born on March 26, 2020, which would have been opening day had the 2020 MLB season not been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.