Nori Continuing Minor League Climb Boosted by World Baseball Classic Stardom
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
April 20, 2026
It wasn't until Dante Nori stood star-struck in the outfield grass at Houston's rollicking Daikin Park that he fully grasped the massive leap he had just accomplished.
Less than two years after helping Northville to its first Division 1 baseball title before a crowd of hundreds at McLane Stadium, Nori last month found himself playing before a partisan crowd of 38,653 against arguably the best club the United States has fielded for the World Baseball Classic.
It's a leap that few other WBC players have made and not only humbled Nori – a member of Italy's national team – but fulfilled a lifelong dream.
"You're sitting out there in left field and you look at your (defensive) shift card and you see names like Bobby Witt or Aaron Judge or Kyle Schwarber, and I was like a little kid," said Nori, who had turned 21 just five months before the start of the tournament. "You see those guys, the crowd is chanting 'USA, USA,' and it's so cool."
Nori's rapid progression from Michigan's Mr. Baseball Award honoree in 2024 to top Philadelphia Phillies prospect to the WBC could be the stuff of which movies are made. A MaxPreps All-American at Northville, Nori was the 27th overall player taken in the 2024 MLB draft. He promptly opened his professional career with 14 games at low Class A Clearwater to finish out the summer.
He began catching the eye of places like MLB.com, where he's ranked seventh among Phillies prospects, and Baseball America, where he's sixth, by sweeping across three levels of the minors in 2025 while hitting .261 with 18 doubles, 12 triples and 52 stolen bases in 62 attempts.
By the time the Phillies opted to send Nori to the prestigious Arizona Fall League last October, representatives from the Italy team scheduled to play in March's WBC were very much interested. Italy and then the Phillies okayed his participation and left the decision to Nori, who called it a no-brainer.
"Right away I said yes," he said. "I've always dreamed of that and when that dream finally comes true, it's great."
Whether it was spearheading Northville to a 2-1 win over Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice at the MHSAA Finals or helping Italy to one of the biggest upsets in WBC history – a stunning 8-6 win over Team USA – Nori said he long ago learned to deal with the pressure of the moment.
"I've always been the kind that the more pressure there is, the more I calm down," he said. "It doesn't matter if you're playing Salem High School in 30-degree weather or whether it's the WBC, it's still baseball.
"But if you told me that I'd be playing in a high school state championship game and then would be in the WBC, I wouldn't have believed you. The WBC was just great. I enjoyed the heck out of it. It's so nice when a dream comes true."
Nori admits the only time he ever got a bit antsy on a ballfield was when he caught the eye of Northville teammate Joey Broughton, now in the Milwaukee Brewers chain, during the team's 9-2 win over Bay City Western in the 2024 Semifinals. The pair, who combined to score three runs and drive in six that day, were transfixed on what the team was on the verge of accomplishing.
"I remember it was the most I've ever been hyped up," he said, "but it still wasn't about nerves."
Help for Nori in navigating a pressure-filled WBC came from an unlikely source. Italy's roster featured two other former Michigan high school baseball stars in infielder Jon Berti and center fielder Jakob Marsee, who like Nori are both from the Metro Detroit area. Berti, from Troy High School, was a Mr. Baseball finalist and all-stater in 2008 when he batted .467 with a school record 66 hits and 66 stolen bases. Marsee earned 11 varsity letters in three sports before graduating from Allen Park High School in 2019. He was taken by San Diego in the sixth round of the 2022 draft before being traded to Miami.
Nori said the pair provided a steadying influence.
"I knew they were both from Michigan, but I had never met either one," he said. "But my mom and Jakob's mom are friends, so it was kind of cool to bond with him. I had never played left field before, and he helped me with directions in playing out there. It helped me get a feel for playing."
Italy wound up being one of the WBC's best stories, winning its bracket and making the semifinals before finishing 5-1. The team was a combination of veterans such as Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and Aaron Nola of the Phillies, but also top prospects like Nori and infielders Andrew Fischer and Sam Antonacci.
"If you look at the roster with the prospects and major leaguers, absolutely," he said of making the semifinals. "It was a blend of everything – experience and young talent who worked so well together. We all believed the same way – that we could be in the championship game. We played with a chip on our shoulder."
Nori not only enjoyed the WBC, he excelled. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound speedster wound up leading Italy in hitting with a .400 mark while adding a pair of homers, six RBIs and two stolen bases. His tournament included going 3-for-3 with two runs, two RBIs, a double and a homer against Brazil, a pair of hits and an RBI against Great Britain, a key sacrifice fly against USA and an RBI single against eventual champion Venezuela.
But maybe the biggest honor came after Nori returned home and received a late-night phone call from his father. Nori joined USA's Roman Anthony and Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Dominican Republic on the WBC all-tournament outfield.
"I was asleep about midnight, and I was kinda groggy and the phone goes off," he said. "It's my dad and he never calls that late unless it's important. I'm half asleep and confused and my dad says, "Did you see that?' It still hasn't hit me. You look (at the outfielders), and you see names like Tatis and you're the only minor leaguer on that team. That's something."
With this WBC now in the record books, Nori can now turn his attention to playing for Double-A Reading (Pa.) this summer. He's off to a solid start through the team's first eight games with a .310 batting average, seven extra-base hits and six RBIs.
As for the prospect of playing in the next WBC, Nori finds himself in a rare position. He already has Italy qualification, but since he was born in Canada he could play for that country's national team. Or if his career blossoms, he could one day play for the United States. Actually, Nori said there is little doubt what choice he'd make.
"I thought about that, playing for one of the three," he said. "But with Italy, we created such a relationship and bond that I'm locked in for Italy. There is no way I would leave that group."
PHOTOS (Top) Dante Nori (6) stands in for the next pitch during an at bat for the Reading Fightin Phils this spring. (Middle) Nori watches the home run he’d just launched travel out of McLane Stadium during Northville’s 2024 Division 1 Semifinal win over Bay City Western. (Top photo courtesy of the Reading Fightin Phils.)
Family Ties Bind Verduzcos, Reigning Champ Hackett Catholic Prep
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
March 15, 2022
KALAMAZOO — When Nick Verduzco learned his grandfather applied for the baseball head coaching job at Hackett Catholic Prep three years ago, he could not believe it.
When he found out his grandpa got the job, “I was pretty shocked,” the current junior said. “I didn’t really feel like it would happen.
“Once he applied, I was like ‘Wow, he’s actually going to do this.’ He called me right away when he got the job and I was like really emotional, overcome with joy because I knew it was going to be a lot of fun.”
While Smiley Verduzco’s first season leading the Irish was scrapped because of COVID-19, his second was a definite success. Hackett is the reigning Division 4 champ heading into the new season.
Fun and family are the themes running through the Irish baseball program. While Smiley Verduzco is the head coach, his son Steve is one of four volunteer assistants.
And the Verduzcos aren’t the only family filling the Hackett roster. Assistant coach Daniel Backman has two sons, Isaac and Eli, on the team. Catcher Brice Brown’s dad, Steve, is also a coach, and the fourth assistant is Adam Hall.
“I think the thing we found is in small schools like this, we’re pretty tightly knit in our group,” Steve Verduzco said. “We had 12 players on our team last year and will be similar this year. You get to know these kids so well, you learn to love them. They’re all my sons when we’re out there.”
The coaching position also gives Steve Verduzco a bit of leverage over his son. “I can sit him on the bench if he doesn’t make his bed,” he joked.
But all kidding aside, nepotism is not a thing, Brice Brown said.
“The kids don’t treat any of us differently,” he said. “We’re all family.”
Generational Knowledge
The Verduzcos bring tons of experience to the team.
Smiley Verduzco, 78, a retired electrical engineer, has coached youth baseball teams since his son was young.
“He grew up in a poor area and got a football scholarship to go to college (University of Pacific),” Steve Verduzco said of his dad.
“This is who he is. He was captain of the football team, he was student body president, had injuries he played through, got a scholarship for his masters at Stanford, was CEO of companies for years out West.”
Steve added that it is that kind of leadership his dad brings to the team.
“He sets the tone in leadership for how we treat these kids, how we coach them, we encourage them, we love them, we challenge them,” Steve said.
Steve Verduzco played baseball at Notre Dame and was drafted by the Houston Astros in the fourth round of the 1993 amateur draft.
He played in their farm system for three years before leaving to raise a family.
At age 49, Steve Verduzco laughed: “I’m still young enough that I can throw batting practice and can run around a little bit. It’s getting less every year.”
Nick Verduzco said he is thankful for the opportunity to share the experience with both generations.
“To work with my dad and grandpa every day, especially having such a season like last year, and with all their baseball knowledge is great,” Nick said.
“They are also setting an example as a role model.”
However, the father-son coaching styles are not at all the same.
“My grandpa is more level-headed and calmer,” his grandson said. “He sets a really good tone, making sure we’re always keeping our faith and baseball intertwined.
“My dad does more the approach part of the game, coaches third base. He has a good feel as to what’s going on in game situations.”
Besides coaching, Smiley Verduzco is a spiritual leader of the team.
He borrows from the book “The Soul of a Team” by former NFL coach Tony Dungy.
“S is for selflessness,” Smiley Verduzco said. “O is for ownership; take ownership of what you do in school and on the field. U is for unity. We come together, and L is for the larger community.
“We play for the archdiocese, we play for Hackett, for all the teachers in school, all the students in school. We represent ourselves on the field for that community.”
He also said faith is an important component of the team.
“We pray before every practice and game, and afterwards,” he said. “It’s such a special place because there’s that element in faith and trust in Jesus that brings them together.”
Chips on the shoulder
Despite graduating four top players, the team is even more motivated this season.
“Last year, we were unranked in the preseason state rankings and ended up winning it all,” Nick Verduzco said. “This year, we’re ranked third in the state.
“It seems like we lost a lot, but we returned a lot, as well. No pressure, a lot of motivation, just fuel.”
Brice Brown backed up that feeling.
“We always have a chip on our shoulder and this year is no different, even after winning states,” he said.
Practice began Monday and the coaches will get a look at the new team during its first game March 23.
Steve Verduzco said the team will be built around four players beginning with senior Brenden Collins, who earned first-team all-state honors last year with a .537 batting average.
“He’s one of the best two-way players in all of West Michigan, pitching and hitting,” Verduzco said. “He drove in almost 60 runs in spite of missing two weeks. He’s unbelievable. He’s a returning captain.
“Nick had a big year last year and will bat in the middle of the lineup.”
The junior Verduzco drove in 36 runs and posted a .421 slugging percentage.
The Backman brothers round out the preseason top four.
“Senior Isaac Backman had a tremendous year and will be running track this year as well and had a great second half last year,” Smiley Verduzco said. “His little brother Eli is tremendous. Hit .330 as a freshman playing second base and really came through in the playoffs in some really big moments, so that should give him tons of confidence.”
Other returning starters are seniors Brown, Chris Bullard and Zack Johnson, junior Patrick Ogrin and sophomore Andrew Rann.
“We’ll count on some freshmen, too,” Verduzco said. “Small school. You’ve got to have freshmen.”
Nick Verduzco sums it up.
“I’m really appreciative of how much fun I have, not only with my dad and grandpa, but with all my teammates,” he said.
“The camaraderie we had, the state championship, all the lights, all the attention we were getting, was all cool. But at the end of the day, I’m just really grateful for the relationships I made, especially with my teammates.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Nick Verduzco, here during last season’s Division 4 Final at McLane Stadium, represents one of three generations from his family currently connected to the Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep baseball program. (Middle) From left: varsity assistant coach Steve Verduzco, son Nick, and his father Smiley Verduzco, the varsity head coach. (Below) Smiley and Nick share an embrace after last season’s championship game win. (Top photo by Hockey Weekly Action Photos; middle and below photos courtesy of the Verduzco family.)