BIOGRAPHY
Nolan Schanuel was born February 14, 2002, in Boca Raton, Florida. He is an infielder in the MLB.
Schanuel enrolled at Florida Atlantic University, 14 miles from his hometown, to play college baseball for the Owls ahead of the 2020–21 academic year. Prior to beginning with the Owls, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Boynton Beach Buccaneers of the South Florida Collegiate Baseball League, where he batted .269 with five RBIs in 23 games.
In his freshman season at FAU, Schanuel played first baseman for the first time in his career. He aided in an opening weekend series victory over the nationally ranked UCF Knights by going 8-for-15 (.533) with a home run and eight RBIs; he later was named Conference USA (C-USA) Hitter of the Week. Schanuel had a two-home run game on two occasions, first against the Seton Hall Pirates on February 27 and later against the Charlotte 49ers on April 4. He finished his first season batting .343 with 11 home runs and 56 RBIs. He batted .409 with runners in scoring position and walked (28) more than he struck out (21). At first base, Schanuel committed only two errors and posted a .996 fielding percentage, the second-highest in FAU history. Following the season, he was named a freshman All-American by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Perfect Game USA. Schanuel was also named to the all-conference second team. He spent the summer with the Bethesda Big Train of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, batting .333 with three home runs and 24 RBIs in 24 games.
Prior to his 2021–22 sophomore season, Schanuel was named a preseason All-American by Perfect Game USA. On April 5, he was named to the Golden Spikes Award midseason watchlist, awarded annually to the best player in college baseball. Schanuel finished the season batting .369 with 16 home runs and 56 RBIs. He was named to the all-conference first team. In 2022, Schanuel played collegiate summer baseball with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he batted .200 with a home run and 11 RBIs in 36 games.
Schanuel was named the C-USA preseason player of the year ahead of his 2022–23 junior season. On February 28, he had a two-home run game against the Miami Hurricanes. On March 7, he hit three home runs in a game against the Florida Gators, the eventual 2023 Men's College World Series runners-up, at Condron Ballpark in Gainesville. Schanuel reached base safely in 54 consecutive games, the longest streak in all of NCAA Division I that year. He finished the season batting .447 with 19 home runs and 64 RBIs. Following the season, Schanuel was selected as a first-team All-American by five different publications, including Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America, and the American Baseball Coaches Association. He was selected to the all-conference first team and was named the C-USA Player of the Year. Schanuel was one of 25 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award. His 71 walks was a new school record and his .615 on-base percentage (OBP) was a new conference record.
The Los Angeles Angels selected Schanuel in the first round of the 2023 Major League Baseball draft with the 11th overall pick. He was the highest draft pick in Florida Atlantic baseball history and also was the first student-athlete in school history to be selected in the first round of a professional sports draft. On July 13, Schanuel agreed to a slot-value signing bonus with the Angels, worth $5.253 million. On July 21, he was assigned to the rookie-level Arizona Complex League Angels. He made his professional debut that day, going 2-for-3 with an RBI double, a run scored, and a stolen base against the ACL Diamondbacks. On July 25, Schanuel was promoted to the Class A Inland Empire 66ers of the California League. He was promptly promoted to the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas of the Southern League on July 28.
On August 18, 2023, Shanuel was promoted to Los Angeles Angels active roster directly from Double-A.
