Two former Georgia baseball players sign pro contracts | Georgia Sports

Outfielder Nolan McCarthy and right-handed pitcher Brian Zeldin, both graduate students on the Georgia baseball roster last season, have inked minor league contracts to begin their professional baseball careers. McCarthy, a Michigan native, signed with his hometown Detroit Tigers, while Zeldin will join the Minnesota Twins organization.

McCarthy transferred to Georgia for his final collegiate season after three years with Kentucky and immediately became an impact player in the lineup. Taking the second-most at-bats on the team in 2025 as the starting left fielder, McCarthy recorded a .276 batting average with 11 home runs, adding eight stolen bases and having the second-fewest strikeouts of any Bulldog with over 150 plate appearances. McCarthy, now 24 years old, spent the summer with the Ottawa Titans of the Frontier League before signing with Detroit.

Zeldin, a Marietta, Georgia native who attended Pace Academy in Atlanta, previously pitched at the University of Pennsylvania, competing in the Ivy League for four years. In 2024, Zeldin transferred to Georgia, pitching 87.1 innings in 42 games across two seasons. Zeldin, a relief pitcher who sometimes filled the closer role for the Bulldogs, recorded six saves along with an ERA of 5.67 during his time in Athens. After spending the summer with the Lexington Legends of the Atlantic League, the 25-year-old will look to make a name for himself in the pros with the Twins.

Zeldin contributed to two of the most successful years in recent memory for Georgia baseball, while McCarthy contributed to one, as the Bulldogs went 43-17 and earned the right to host the regionals both seasons. Georgia especially made a run in 2024, as Zeldin made multiple strong postseason appearances, but the Bulldogs fell one game short of a trip to Omaha, Nebraska, for the College World Series.

With less than a month until the MLB season begins, McCarthy and Zeldin will have the opportunity to join a long list of former Bulldogs who have gone on to play at the highest level. Georgia currently has nine players competing at MLB Spring Training, including Emerson Hancock, who shined in the postseason as a key piece of the Seattle Mariners’ rotation, Charlie Condon, the third overall pick by the Colorado Rockies in the 2024 MLB Draft and longtime veteran infielder Kyle Farmer, who recently returned to Georgia, joining the Atlanta Braves organization.