About
Aaron Michael Nola (born June 4, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Nola was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and played baseball alongside his older brother Austin. His father, A. J., served as Nola’s Little League coach until high school. After struggling his freshman season due to stress fractures in his back, Nola spent three years playing varsity baseball for Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, including two state playoff appearances. At the end of his senior year in 2011, the Louisiana Sports Writers Association named Nola the state’s “Mr. Baseball”.
Drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2011, he instead attended Louisiana State University (LSU). In his three seasons as a weekend starter with the LSU Tigers, Nola was twice named the SEC Pitcher of the Year and won the National Pitcher of the Year Award in 2014. He also played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
The Phillies selected Nola seventh overall in the 2014 MLB draft, and he signed with the team that June. He advanced through the Phillies’ farm system throughout the 2014 and 2015 seasons, becoming…
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