Pace Academy Student-Athletes Sign with Division I Schools

On Feb. 5, National Signing Day, three Pace Academy student-athletes signed letters of intent to continue their athletic careers at Division I schools.

Senior safety and running back Denzel Franklin will play football for the Stanford University Cardinal. Senior hurdler Kenny Selmon will become a Tar Heel when he joins the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill track team. Senior Kameron Uter, a multi-sport standout, will play football and baseball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. All three students have had outstanding careers at Pace Academy.

Franklin led the Knights in interceptions during the 2013 football season. He was one of two All-Region Defensive Players of the Year, and was named to the All-State Class A First Team and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution All-Metro First Team. He participated in the 2013 Georgia Athletic Coaches Association North-South All-Star game as a member of the winning North squad.

A three-year veteran of Pace Academy’s varsity basketball team, Franklin also has seen success on the track. He was a member of the 2012 state-championship 1600-meter relay team and was Class A’s 2012 state runner-up in the long jump. In addition, he serves as a mentor to ninth-grade students through the school’s peer leadership program, volunteers with Habitat for Humanity, My Sister’s House and the Atlanta Food Bank and is an avid potter, receiving an Award of Merit for best thrown pottery form in the 2013 Georgia High School Ceramic Arts Awards. 

“I am so proud of Denzel,” says Pace Academy football coach Chris Slade. “He’s worked hard and has been an incredible role model for his younger teammates. He’s humble, and I know he’ll do well athletically and academically at one of the top universities in the world. It’s been an honor to coach him.”

Kenny Selmon is a four-time state-champion hurdler and currently holds state titles in the 110 and 300 hurdles. During the summer of 2013, he traveled to Ukraine to compete in the IAAF World Youth Championships and placed third in the world in the 400 hurdles. Selmon was a High School All-American at the 2013 New Balance Outdoor Nationals and a member of the 2013 American Family Insurance All-USA Boys Track & Field team. In addition, he participated in the 2013 Golden Classic, where he was the 400 champion and the 110 Emerging Elite Champion.

Selmon played three years of varsity basketball. He serves as a ninth-grade peer leader, manages the varsity volleyball team, established an early-morning volleyball club and breast cancer fundraiser and has worked as a counselor for Pace Summer Programs since 2011. Selmon also is active in Pace Academy’s theatre department and earned the 2013 Technical Director’s Award of Excellence.

“Kenny is a great, easy-going teammate,” says Pace Academy track coach Jolie Cunningham. “Everyone loves Kenny, and he absolutely loves his team. He is supportive of everyone out there regardless of ability level. He will be greatly missed next season, but it is going to be so much fun to watch him develop at the next level.”

A four-year member of the varsity football team, Kameron Uter led the Knights with 39 receptions and 636 yards this season. He was named the 2013 MVP and was the 2012 Offensive Player of the Year. Uter received 2013 First Team All-Region honors and was named to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution All-Metro First Team.

Uter also is a four-year member of the varsity baseball team and received First Team All-Region honors in 2013. Perfect Game, the world’s largest amateur scouting service, named him to its list of top 500 players in the Class of 2014. At the state level, Perfect Game ranked Uter 24th overall and sixth among right-handed pitchers. In addition, he was a Perfect Game USA Pre-Season All-American, High Honorable Mention, and in 2013, participated in the East Coast Pro Showcase and Perfect Game National Showcase.

Uter also plays varsity basketball for the Knights and received the Jim and Lesley Wheeler Scholar Athlete Award in 2011. He is a self-taught pianist, plays trombone in the Pace band and volunteers for the APEC Senior Citizen Food Project.

“Kameron is a unique student-athlete,” says Slade. “I’m proud that he plans to take on the challenge of playing two sports at an academically challenging school. Kameron’s college choice is indicative of his dedication to success.”

Franklin, Selmon and Uter join classmates Raphael Ramirez and Jared Datoc in their decisions to participate Division I college athletics. In November 2013, both student-athletes committed to play college baseball, Datoc for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and Ramirez for the North Carolina State Wolfpack.

“To have five of our 107 seniors commit to play at this level of competition is exciting,” says Pace Academy Athletic Director Kris Palmerton. “It demonstrates our school’s commitment to outstanding academics and athletics, and to developing well-rounded young men and women.”