First-rounder Nori goes way back with this Phils slugger

PHILADELPHIA -- Shortly after the Phillies selected Dante Nori with the 27th overall pick in the 2024 Draft on Sunday night, an old friend texted.

It was Kyle Schwarber.

• Phillies 'unanimous' in decision to take prep OF Nori at No. 27

Nori and Schwarber have known each other since Schwarber’s freshman season at Indiana University in 2012. Nori, who just finished his senior season with Northville High School in Michigan, was just seven or eight years old then. Nori’s grandfather, Fred, was the Hoosiers’ assistant baseball coach. He recruited Schwarber to play there.

Nori remembers playing catch with the future Phillies slugger on the warning track in Bloomington, Ind.

“I’ve got an oversized uniform and everything on,” Nori told MLB.com on Tuesday morning.

It’s funny to think that both will be in the same organization in the coming weeks. Nori, 19, is expected to sign with Philadelphia and forgo his college commitment to Mississippi State. The Phillies are excited to get him to Clearwater, Fla. They see a top-of-the-lineup sparkplug in the 5-foot-10, 190-pound center fielder. They see somebody who can hit line drives from foul pole to foul pole. They see somebody with an excellent approach at the plate. They see somebody who knows how to get on base and wreak havoc once he gets there.

“I told every scout this year that he reminds me of Lenny Dykstra,” Northville baseball coach Dan Cimini said. “The first thing I said when he told me the Phillies took him was, ‘Oh my God, that’s the craziest thing.’ I had showed him a few videos of Lenny Dykstra. He was laughing because these kids don’t remember [Dykstra], but he plays the game just like him.

“[Nori’s] a winner. He’s going to do everything he can to help his team win a championship. That’s the type of kid he is. He’s going to be in the weight room as much as he can. He’s going to be in the batting cage as much as he can. He’s going to do everything he can to make sure his game is the best it possibly can be for the Phillies and himself.”

Nori, who helped Northville win its first state championship in the school’s 115-year history, knows what it takes to be an elite athlete because he has been around them his entire life. Nori’s father, Micah, is a longtime NBA assistant coach who currently coaches the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Nori has grown up knowing NBA stars like Anthony Edwards, Vince Carter, DeMarcus Cousins, Kyle Lowry and more.

“It really has shaped me, just being around and knowing how hard you have to work to get to where you want to be,” said Nori, who was born in Canada in 2004. “Recently, I fell in love watching Anthony Edwards. He’s a young kid. He’s taking the NBA by storm. But when I’m lifting up there [in Minnesota], I’m getting there at 6:30 a.m. and he’s already there. He’s already lifting. He’s the first person in there. I’ve seen all the effort, all the sacrifices -- it really rubs off on you.”

Cimini said that Nori is always working on his craft. If he is not hitting, he is lifting. If he is not lifting, he is doing something else to improve his game.

It is a year-round process.

“I’m not a big ‘go out’ guy,” Nori said. “You could ask my friends, my girlfriend. If it’s not going to help me, I don’t do it. In practice, in my head, if you’re working when everybody else is working, you’re getting just as good as them. You’ve got to work when others aren’t working.”

Nori spent about a week this winter hitting with Schwarber at his home.

It was an invaluable experience.

“It’s going to be a grind,” Nori said about his professional baseball career. “In my mind, I’m back at the bottom of the totem pole. You were just at the top, but now you’re at the very bottom. You’ve got to work your way up. So I’m going into it with that mindset. It’s a new chapter. I’ve got to work my butt off even harder now. Kyle tells me, ‘It’s a grind, but just keep playing. Keep playing your game.’”