What do you do the day after you are drafted in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft? In the movies, you would go “have a catch” with your dad, and that’s almost what Northville’s Dante Nori did after being selected with the 27th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft last month by the Philadelphia Phillies.

“I went to D-Bat with my dad to hit,” said Nori, the highest-drafted Michigan high school player since 2015. “Not only because I needed to be ready for when the Phillies sent me to Clearwater to get started, but selfishly I like going there to spend time with my dad.”

It’s been quite a year for Nori, who was named Mr. Baseball in Michigan after leading the Mustangs to a Division 1 State Title. After getting drafted, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound outfielder signed with the Phillies for $2.5 million and reported to the Clearwater Threshers, the Phillies’ Single-A team.

It’s also been a year of transition for the 19-year-old centerfielder – going from high school to the pros in the swing of the bat. But getting drafted certainly didn’t come out of left field.

“I worked out for about 12 teams leading up to the draft and most teams flew in to watch me work out and do in-person interviews,” said Nori, whose Plan B was to play at Mississippi State University. “I knew I had a very good chance of being drafted between picks 15 and 45 and I was in constant communication with the Phillies throughout the draft process and on draft day.”

And then the phone rang, and his life, goals, expectations and bank account changed forever.

“My agent called around pick 20 and said the Phillies wanted to take me at 27. He called back during pick 23 and told me I was going to Philly.”

Nori took that life-changing call at home with his mom and dad by his side.

“At that moment I broke down in tears and shared the news with both of them,” he said. “We had a house full of family and friends waiting in the living room.”

Dante is the son of Micah and Melissa Nori. Micah played college baseball at Indiana and is an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA.

You don’t get to be a first-round draft pick without a lot of help along the way and Nori has a diamond full of people to thank – too many to list.

“So many people have done so much to help me become the person and baseball player I am today,” he said. “My dad, of course, and my mom, who deserves the most credit. She has always been my biggest fan. And my sister Mia is the one who keeps me in check.”

Nori had two varsity high school coaches, John Kostrzewa for his first three years and Dan Cimini for his senior year. Aaron Wilson has been his hitting coach for the past five years.

It’s a team game and it was a team moment when the baseball commissioner called his name.

“The pure joy and excitement my family and friends had when my name was called showed me how much they all care and truly wanted this for me,” he said. “Playing baseball is all I ever wanted to do. I am literally living my dream every day. I am going to enjoy the process of getting better every day and the work it takes to be successful at this level and beyond.”