Canadian-born Dante Nori was selected in the first round of the MLB Draft on Sunday, with the Philadelphia Phillies scooping up the outfielder with their 27th overall pick.
Nori is the son of former Toronto Raptors assistant coach Micah Nori, who is now an assistant with the Minnesota Timberwolves after previous spells with the Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons, Denver Nuggets and Raptors for four seasons.
The 19-year-old has spent most of his life living in Michigan and entered Sunday’s draft as the highest-ranked Canadian-born player in the field on MLB Pipeline’s final rankings.
His 65-run rate is by far one of the highest showings out of the high school crop, with Nori already drawing MLB comparables to the likes of current speedy outfielder Alek Thomas.
The Mississippi State commit has displayed top-of-the-scale 60-yard dash times throughout high school and is easily the oldest high schooler in MLB Pipeline’s rankings.
Nori is the first Canadian-born player to be selected in this year’s draft and joins a list of recent draftees in Oakland’s Myles Naylor, drafted 39th overall in 2023, and Chicago Cubs’ Owen Caissie, selected 45th overall by the San Diego Padres in 2020.
