ATHENS —–Former Georgia standouts Nolan McCarthy and Brian Zeldin recently signed minor league free agent contracts as 2026 Spring Training action continues in Florida and Arizona.

McCarthy, a 6-0, 196-pound native of Kalamazoo, Mich., signed with the Detroit Tigers organization. Zeldin, a 5-11, 196-pound pitcher from Atlanta, Ga., signed with the Minnesota Twins. 

McCarthy spent the 2025 season with the Bulldogs as a graduate transfer after an impressive career at Kentucky. He batted .276 with 10 doubles, 11 home runs and 42 RBI in 59 starts for the Bulldogs as they finished 43-17 and advanced to an NCAA Athens Regional as a No. 7 national seed. In his final season at Kentucky, McCarthy earned a finance degree and led the 2024 Wildcats to their first College World Series and final ranking of No. 3. He made 56 starts for UK that season and posted a .480 slugging percentage.

Zeldin, who earned a degree in healthcare markets and finance from the University of Pennsylvania in 2023, played two seasons for the Bulldogs as a graduate transfer. He appeared in 42 Georgia games and posted a 5-4-mark, 5.67 ERA and six saves in 87.1 innings. Zeldin was a part of two NCAA Regional teams including the 2024 squad that advanced to a Super Regional and the 2023 Penn squad that made it to the NCAA Auburn Regional.

Last summer after concluding their collegiate careers with the Bulldogs, McCarthy signed with the Ottawa Titans of the independent Frontier League while Zeldin signed with the Lexington (KY) Legends, an independent team in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.  McCarthy played in 29 games and batted .320 with 11 doubles, three home runs, 20 RBI and 15 stolen bases. Zeldin made 15 appearances and posted a 0-0 record and 2.61 ERA with 25 strikeouts in 20.2 innings for the Legends.

McCarthy is the first Bulldog to join the Tigers organization since shortstop Gordon Beckham played for them in 2019. Zeldin joins former 2025 Bulldog teammates and pitchers Eric Hammond and Kolten Smith in the Twins system. Georgia had 10 players selected in the 2025 MLB Draft last June and now there have been six additional players sign free agent contracts from last year’s club.

Currently, Georgia has nine former players in Major League Spring Training camps. Pitcher Jonathan Cannon (Chicago White Sox), pitcher Will Childers (Milwaukee), first baseman Charlie Condon (Colorado), infielder Kyle Farmer (Atlanta), pitcher Emerson Hancock (Seattle), pitcher Dylan Ross (New York Mets), infielder Aaron Schunk (Atlanta), pitcher Ryan Webb (Cleveland) and pitcher Cole Wilcox (Seattle).

The 2026 MLB season features Opening Night on March 25 (New York Yankees at San Francisco) and Opening Day on March 26 (14 games scheduled), which marks the earliest scheduled start in MLB history.  The 2026 Minor League Baseball (MiLB) opening dates vary by league beginning in late March and early April.