Northville senior Nori earns top-20 prospect status for 2024 MLB Draft
There is a family photo of a pre-school-aged Dante Nori frozen mid-swing after rocketing a ball off a tee toward (and probably over) a snow fence set up in his backyard.
Although just 3 or 4 years old, Nori’s footwork looks textbook, his left-handed swing remarkably level — and his eyes are still glued to the rising sphere he just launched.
Fifteen years or so later, what’s ascending faster than that ball is Nori’s future as an elite baseball player.
In a recently-released Lindy’s Baseball 2024 Major League Baseball Preview magazine, Nori is listed as the 19th-ranked MLB 2024 Draft prospect (among both college and high school players) — a distinction that doesn’t surprise former Northville High School baseball coach John Kostrzewa, who watched Nori flourish during his first three years as a starting outfielder for the Mustangs’ varsity baseball team.
Love for game sets him apart
“Dante is fast, he can go get it in the outfield, he’s powerful and he has great baseball instincts,” Kostrzewa said. “He has all the tools.
“But what sets him apart is his love for the game and his discipline. There aren’t many kids — college or high school — who eat, sleep and work out at a level that allow them to maximize their skills set like Dante has.
“If you could create a model for incoming freshmen and say, ‘Hey, are you willing to do all these things that can help you become very successful in not just baseball, but anything, Dante would be the model.”
Committed to playing baseball and studying business and sports management at Mississippi State University beginning in the fall (Dante said he’d like to someday get into coaching like his dad), the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Nori is an MLB scout’s dream.
According to the description of Nori in Lindy’s, he’s possibly the fastest prospect on their top-50 list, he “has plenty of juice in his bat” and he had a phenomenal 22:4 walk/strikeout ratio in high-level summer circuit competition in 2023.
Baseball in his DNA
“My earliest vivid memories of playing baseball are probably 8U for a Northville team,” Nori said. “My dad (Micah) and grandpa (Fred Nori) both played college baseball, so they taught me how to hit.
“My speed didn’t really become a factor for me until a couple years ago.”
Nori is the son of two athletic parents (and his sister Mia, a sophomore at Northville, is a top-notch dancer).
Micah Nori played baseball for Indiana University and is currently a top assistant coach for the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves.
Melissa Nori is a widely-respected fitness instructor and former member of the Detroit Pistons dance team.
But his blazing speed wasn’t inherited from either parent, Nori quipped.
“My dad tells me I got my speed from my grandpa,” Dante said, smiling. “He jokes and says the speed skipped a generation. My grandpa could really fly, I’m told.”
Nori said he played basketball — the sport his dad now coaches at its highest level — until eighth grade.
“I could shoot,” he said, “but I couldn’t dribble with my right hand, so that kind of ended that.”
Nori’s character and communication skills are as notable as his achievements on the diamond, Kostrzewa said.
“My two daughters (who are 10- and 11-years-old) love Dante — and not from watching him play baseball,” Kostrzewa said. “The way he interacts with them — and with everybody from teammates to coaches to administrators — is just priceless.”
Nori’s top-shelf talent has provided him the opportunity to compete on a national baseball stage.
Last summer alone, he competed in a high school home run derby before the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Seattle (he finished fourth) and a Perfect Game Home Run Derby in Arizona, among other high-exposure events.
In addition to the long-ball competitions, he has embraced his chance to play in several MLB teams’ spring-training facilities.
“The home run derbies are a lot of fun, but tiring,” he said, flashing his ever-present smile. “I went into the Perfect Game derby just wanting to have fun, but once I got to the final four, my competitive juices kicked in and I really wanted to win it.
“I ended up finishing second (to a travel baseball teammate) when the winner hit a last-second walk-off. I was a little ticked off (smile), but at least I lost to a friend.
“Getting a chance to play on those beautiful MLB spring training fields is fun. Seeing how much they invest in their facilities just makes me want to eventually get to that level even more.”
While he admittedly had a blast last summer, his sights are currently set on helping Northville win a Division 1 state championship.
Ranked No. 1 in D1 for most of the 2023 season, the Mustangs were knocked out in the regional round last spring by eventual state champion (and KLAA West foe) Novi.
“I love this year’s team,” he said. “A lot of us seniors grew up together and played together the past six years or so.
“We have double-digit returners — and every position is returning except one, I believe — so we know what it takes to win at the varsity level. It’s just a matter of putting it altogether and seeing how far we can go.”
Nori said a high percentage of the credit for his amazing baseball journey should go to his parents.
“The support they’ve given me all these years has been unreal,” he said. “They are at all my games, they allow me to fly out to all these great national showcases and events. A lot of my motivation comes from wanting all their sacrifices for me to pay off.”
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
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