On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Angels selected FAU outfielder Nolan Schanuel with the 11th pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. Schanuel becomes the highest selection and the 102nd player in the program’s history FAU entering the MLB Draft.
Last season, Schanuel finished second in the nation in batting average and led Conference USA in nearly every offensive statistic, earning All-American honors and a semifinalist finish for baseball’s Golden Spikes Award. USA
Although Schanuel likes to describe his style of play as that of a “ninja,” The Athletic’s Keith Law, who had him as the 11th ranked prospect in the class, described him as one of the most prepared prospects what “hit contact and power at exceptional rates.”
The Los Angeles Angels have had some bumps in the road leading up to the All-Star Break. Two of their biggest stars, pitcher Shohei Ohtani and outfielder Mike Trout, were injured last week. The Angels are under .500 with a record of 45-46.
Before FAU
From a young kid who taught himself to hit to being scouted by legendary Palm Beach Coach Larry Greenstein in high school, Nolan was always used to the spotlight.
When Nolan attended Park Vista Community High School in Lake Worth, Florida, he immediately wanted to try out for college and was able to make the team.
“Growing up, everyone dreamed of going to Park Vista High School and I was lucky enough to be in the county and I signed up,” Schanuel said. Playing for Greenstein was very exciting and beneficial for Schanuel, as Nolan grew up going to high school games and watching the Palm Beach County coaching legend and the Park Vista Cobras. Schanuel praises Greenstein as “one of the best I’ve ever played with.”
Greenstein talked about the young Boca Raton baseball phenom and how he compared to another Park Vista alumni, Trea Turner.
“I think Trea could do so many things because of her speed and she also had a great awareness. But Nolan was probably the best pure hitter I’ve ever had.”
In his senior year at Park Vista, Schanuel posted stats well above the national average. For MaxPreps, his batting average was .524; his on-base percentage was .676; he had seven hits, nine runs and 10 home runs.
Florida Atlantic
Joining the Owls in his freshman year, Schanuel has started every game he has played in during his three years there.
“I would say the biggest adjustment for me was the amount of games we played in high school our senior year compared to the amount of games I played my freshman year,” Schanuel said of the transition from playing a shortened season due to Covid to playing a full season. “But once I made that easy adjustment playing summer ball, the games got shorter, they didn’t feel as long, and it felt more normal as the years went by.”
Schanuel has gradually improved each season he has played – improving his home runs, RBIs and batting average. In his final year with the Owls, Schanuel had a career-high 19 home runs, 64 RBI, 88 hits, 70 runs, an .868 slugging percentage, 71 walks and a .615 on-base percentage. He also had a career-low 14 strikeouts.
“Once I got to college, I took on the leadership role and I would say I definitely progressed in hitting, unlocking that power. I had zero home runs in high school,” Schanuel said of his improvement high school to university.
Last baseball season, Schanuel led the nation in on-base percentage and OPS, and was second in batting average and slugging percentage.
Schanuel is the highest draft prospect from Florida Atlantic since Gabriel Rincones, Jr., who was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the third round of the 2022 MLB Draft.
“We have a collaborative coaching style that allows the youth to be part of the process and learn as players themselves,” said McCormack. “We give them permission to grow up, we don’t hold them back.”
McCormack says he saw a great batsman and “had an advanced approach for a young player”.
“He’s the best coach I’ve ever had, he tells me what I need to hear and not what I want to hear,” Schanuel said of Coach McCormack, who goes by the nickname “Coach Mac.”
Teammates have also praised Schanuel, including wide receiver Caleb Pendleton and Christian Adams.
“Nolan and I have been close friends for a long time growing up together,” Pendleton said. “He’s always been there for me and we’ve had a lot of fun throughout our years at FAU. He’s a guy who will do whatever it takes to help the team succeed.”
“As a teammate, he’s very determined and he’s a competitor. Someone on the team that everybody wants to be around,” junior outfielder Christian Adams said of Nolan as a teammate.
Schanuel will follow in the footsteps of last year’s 93rd overall pick, Gabriel Rincones, Jr., 2018’s 56th overall pick, Tyler Frank, and 2016’s 51st overall pick, CJ Chatham, as the players most recent Owls turned pro.
Above all of his monumental high school and college stats, Nolan would like to end his career being remembered as “a good person.”
Maddox Greenberg is the sports editor of the University Press. For information on this or other stories, please email [email protected] or DM via Twitter @MaddoxGreenberg and Instagram @maddoxblade04.
