 Mottola attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, graduating in 1989.After leading all Broward County high school players in batting average (.573), home runs (14) and runs batted in (RBIs) (48) as a senior, Mottola was named to Florida's Class 3A All-State first team.Out of high school, the Baltimore Orioles selected Mottola in the tenth round of the 1989 Major League Baseball draft, with the 243rd overall selection.