Nolan Fontana

Nolan David Fontana (born June 6, 1991) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). Before he began his professional career, he attended the University of Florida, and played college baseball for the Florida Gators.

Early life Fontana was born in Richardson, Texas, Fontana played for the United States national collegiate baseball team in the summer of 2010. Fontana and Gators teammate Brian Johnson were the only two freshmen on the team.

In 2011, Fontana was a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award as the nation's top shortstop. He had a .289 batting average for the Gators, who were the runners-up in the 2011 College World Series (CWS). He was named to the SEC Tournament's All-Tournament team, and to the SEC All-Defensive team for his second consecutive year. Fontana was named a preseason All-American before the 2012 season. Fontana reached base six times in his professional debut. Though he only batted .225, he drew 65 walks in 49 games played, leading to a .464 on-base percentage. He spent the 2013 season with the Lancaster JetHawks of the High-A California League, where he had more walks (102) than strikeouts (100) in 104 games played. After the season, Fontana played in the Arizona Fall League. He opened the 2014 season with the Corpus Christi Hooks of the Double-A Texas League.

The Astros again invited Fontana to spring training in 2015. He played for the Fresno Grizzlies of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League (PCL) in 2015. After the 2015 season, the Astros added Fontana to their 40-man roster, protecting him from being eligible in the Rule 5 draft. In 2016, Fontana was hitting .195 through 73 games for Fresno. On July 14, he was demoted to Corpus Christi.

Los Angeles Angels On November 22, 2016, Fontana was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He began the 2017 season with the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees of the PCL, and was promoted to the major leagues on May 22. Fontana recorded his first major league hit, a home run, on May 26. Fontana made 12 appearances for Los Angeles during his rookie campaign, going 1-for-20 (.050) with one home run and one RBI.

Fontana made eight appearances for the Angels during the 2018 season, going 1-for-11 (.091) with one home run and one RBI. On September 4, 2018, Fontana was released by the Angels following the promotion of Joe Hudson.

Texas Rangers On December 19, 2018, Fontana signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers. He was assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds to open the 2019 season, where he batted .167/.311/.287 with three home runs and 10 RBI. Fontana was released by the Rangers organization on June 25, 2019.

Personal life Fontana is the grandson of Lew Burdette, who was a Major League Baseball pitcher and All-Star. Burdette lived with the Fontana family for the final years of his life.

Nolan married in 2020 to wife Kacey Fontana.