Prior to Owens: Manis played baseball, football and basketball at Port Huron Northern. As a member of the baseball team for coach Bob Kearns, he hit .440 as a senior with 33 hits, 20 runs scored, 11 doubles, 26 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. On the mound, in 32.1 innings, he went 3-1 with a 3.25 ERA. Accolades during his senior year as a baseball player included First Team All-MAC, First Team All-District and First Team All-Region. Academically, Manis was a member of the National Honor Society and the conference's All-Academic team.

Personal: Nate is the son of Tom and Jana Manis. His father was a two-year member of the Western Michigan University baseball team as an outfielder. He is an education transfer - multi age major at Owens.