Coming out of Detroit Edison High School, the world was Greg Pace Jr.’s oyster. Being the fifth overall prospect in the state of Michigan, teams from every corner of the country were trying to claim the now-senior outfielder for the Michigan baseball team.
Courtesy of Laquitta Dixon.
Beginning in his sophomore year of high school, collegiate programs came out of the woodworks to spectate his games. As he racked up more notoriety in the field, this trend persisted throughout his secondary education.
“Scouts were now involved, agents and scouts,” Pace Jr. told The Michigan Daily. “Traveling from Michigan to Alabama or Florida, bouncing around different places. It was new to me.”
His escapades into the next level of baseball didn’t halt at the collegiate level; scouts for professional teams were showing up to his games as well. Introduced to the Major League world through an East Coast Pro tournament at Fenway Park, he picked up an agent ahead of his senior year of high school. Twenty-six of the 30 MLB teams discussed his future with their program through house meetings, extending his options further.
Pace Jr. was selected in the 20th round of the MLB draft in 2022 by the Toronto Blue Jays. While they were the ultimate selectors, other professional teams pursued him throughout high school as well. A scout from the Kansas City Royals stood in the stands for several innings of one game, the Miami Marlins offered him a deal and the Washington Nationals sought to recruit him as well — yet all fell short to the Canadian metropolis.
And while the Blue Jays appeared to be successful in signing him, they too would fail in short time.
Courtesy of Greg Pace Sr.
Throughout the chaos of the teams clamoring for his skill, Pace Jr. knew none would come to fruition. Before any of those calls came into his line, one particular recruiting call following a Prep Baseball Tournament in Pennsylvania enticed him. It was his very first recruiting call following a hectic year of COVID, fractures and travel, yet it sealed the deal for the future of his baseball career.
“I ended up getting a call from Michigan when their recruiting opened up,” Pace Jr. said. “ … I love the team culture, I love the baseball part and academics, obviously. And that’s why I made my decision to come to Michigan.”
With all these different opportunities beckoning Pace Jr., the strain of choice was placed on his shoulders. But the deal was sealed the moment the Wolverines dialed his phone. On that day in 2021, he made a commitment to his historic, choice university and hasn’t looked back with regret since. Because for him, it’s always been Michigan.
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Pace had his heart set on baseball from the onset of his life, fielding balls in tandem with learning to speak.
Courtesy of Laquitta Dixon.
“(It) started when he was about 3 years old,” Pace Jr.’s father, Greg Pace Sr., told The Daily. ”His mom purchased him a glove and we tossed the ball back and forth. It started from there.”
While his foray into the game was anything but professional, his commitment evolved at a rapid rate. Pace Jr.’s first team was the Detroit Police Athletic League, a youth team located in downtown Detroit that calls the location of the former Tiger Stadium home. His stint with the team encompassed the formative years of his baseball career, yet the steadfast nature of his Michigan tenure was not reflected in his youth. From PAL, he branched out to his local community center where he eventually met Mike Wilson, coach of a 7U travel baseball team.
At 6 years old, Pace Jr. began to venture with Wilson’s team, whether it be against local Michigan opponents or further, out-of-state programs. The team offered training for all avenues of the sport, which he built up through his four years on the team. Through these endeavors, he picked up steam in the local southeastern Michigan community. Private schools began reaching out to fill in the gap that his current middle school left, as they didn’t have a large enough demand for a baseball team to maintain one.
“Principal Blaine told me that if I keep him (at his middle school), don’t send him to (University of Detroit Jesuit) in the sixth grade,” Pace Jr’s mother, Laquitta Dixon, told The Daily. “He said he’ll have a baseball team by the time Greg gets to high school.”
This promise was fulfilled, as a Detroit Edison baseball team was open and waiting as Pace Jr. ascended to ninth grade. On this team, he found himself as a starting varsity player, and his horizons began to expand with this new role. For Christmas, he let his father know that he wanted to go to a training camp, called Perfect Game, to further hone his skills. While Pace Sr. was initially uncomfortable with it, the impetus ultimately lay with Pace Jr. — a fact his father knew all too well.
As the next level of baseball play for him began, it coincided with the first of his many choices and opportunities throughout his career. Even with ballooning options, his committed nature shone through, demonstrating it for the sport before the team.
Courtesy of Laquitta Dixon.
Pace Jr. began high school as a dual-threat athlete, playing both baseball and basketball. His father initially wanted him to play multiple sports, and while he was a talented basketball player, the passion that drove his game on the diamond didn’t dictate the court nearly as much. Ultimately, his parents learned that they needed to leave his athletic life up to him.
“I just kind of asked him,” Pace Sr. said. “‘(Do you) want to play (baseball) that year?’ We didn’t want to force him into anything.”
And while his vigor for basketball died down, the answer to this question was easy for Pace Jr.:
Absolutely.
From that point on, his prestige in the baseball world began to climb higher and higher. The scouts began to appear at all his games as he entered the national stage for baseball. Yet through it all, his choice was certain, and that decision he made sophomore year brought him to the streets of Ann Arbor just two years later.
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Pace Jr.’s time at Michigan did not begin with the flashiness that currently defines his upperclassmen years, nor with the coverage his high school career ended with. The grind began slowly, but his talent did not slip under the radar to those on the team.
“When I showed up on campus not knowing the roster, I didn’t know Greg was coming,” Wolverines coach Tracy Smith told The Daily. “I saw him for the first time physically and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, this guy’s (got) first-round tools, he really does’ ”
Alum Ellie Vice/DAILY. Buy this photo.
Smith began coaching Michigan in the middle of Pace Jr.’s time as a student. Therefore, he oversaw the injury that forced Pace Jr. to redshirt in his sophomore year. The start to his collegiate career was slightly muted, tallying just 18 runs as an underclassman — yet Smith would also bear witness to the birth of Pace Jr.’s stardom.
In his redshirt sophomore year, his performance for the Wolverines reached new heights. During a single year, Pace Jr. nearly doubled his runs as well as proficiently maintained control of the outfield, a true example of the talent the MLB sought to draft. In this season, he flourished alongside future MLB draftee and former infielder Mitch Voit and former infielder Benny Casillas. While the developing performance was a great benefit, Pace Jr. sought deeper goals through the Wolverines after his commitment all those years ago.
“(The goal) is to make you a better man than you are a baseball player,” Pace Jr. said. “… (Casillas) was the perfect example of that Michigan man.”
Mindset was tantamount to his development as both a player and person. He continued to excel with the 2025 roster and began to further his bond with them off the diamond as well. Living with players like Voit, the ideals of the team were furthered throughout all aspects of his life.
The development of team chemistry has been monumental in the development of Pace Jr.’s talent. Coaches like Smith, as well as trainer Eric Baccus, in tandem with the depth of synergy Michigan offered, propelled Pace Jr. to new heights.
His choice led him to this position, and consequently expanded his opportunities and changed the course of his future.
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When asked what he wanted his Wolverines career to be defined by, as one word, he had a simple answer to give, just as he had given his father before.
Courtesy of Greg Pace Sr.
“A journey,” Pace Jr. said. “Everybodys journey isn’t the prettiest, everybody’s journey isn’t the best … but I continue to trust myself.”
Ironically, the overarching characteristic of his journey is the destination itself. He remained constant in his commitment to Michigan, his commitment to bettering himself as a player and person, and his commitment to showing up for the team. Through this dedication, Pace Jr. defines himself as an example for all players on the team.
Pace Jr. chose the Wolverines all those years ago, and that choice by the 15-year-old has defined his life to this day. A product of Ann Arbor and himself, Pace Jr.’s unwavering commitment personifies that supposed “Michigan Man” he chose to be.
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