AJ Franklin

Photo by: Maggie Bean

Position:
Forward
Height:
6-3
Weight:
175
Class:
Redshirt Sophomore
Hometown:
Streamwood, Ill.
High School:
St. Edward Central Catholic HS

Honors and Awards:
BIG EAST All-Academic (2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22)

2021 (R-So.): 2G-0A-4 Points ... Played in 14 games, starting in four ... Scored game-winning goal in 86th minute against No. 1 Georgetown on Senior Night (Oct. 30) ... Tallied other goal against Butler (Oct. 20) ... Added four shots against Kansas City (Sept. 3) ... Played season-high 77 minutes against St. John's (Oct. 23).

2020-21 (RSo.): 1G-0A-2 Points ... Played in 12 games, starting in two ... Franklin played 36 minutes in each of the first two games against Loyola Chicago (Feb. 3) and Northern Illinois (Feb. 7) ... Played 35 minutes against Saint Louis (Feb. 13) ... Had three shots, including one on goal against Creighton (Feb. 20) ... Played 53 minutes at DePaul and picked up a yellow card (March 6) ... Appeared off the bench against Xavier (March 17) ... Came off the bench and had a shot in 45 minutes against DePaul (March 24) ... Registered two shots, including one on goal, while earning his second start of the year in an overtime win over Butler (March 27) ... Played 35 minutes in the BIG EAST tournament semifinals against Seton Hall (April 15) ... Had two shots, with one on goal, in 78 minutes in the penalty-kick victory over Loyola Marymount (May 2) ... Scored the team's goal in the 2-1 Sweet 16 defeat to Indiana, his first career goal (May 6).

2019 (RFr.): 0G-1A-1 Point ... Franklin has played in 13 games in 2019, coming off the bench in each game ... Came off the bench in both the UAB (Aug. 30) and UC Davis (Sept. 1) games to play a combined 43 minutes ... Tallied one shot against UC Davis ... Notched 47 minutes off the bench against Northern Illinois (Sept. 13), tallying two shots ... Played 39 minutes and notched three shots at Wisconsin (Sept. 24) ... Tallied two shots in 33 minutes at Xavier (Sept. 27) ... Posted one shot against Saint Louis in a season-high 48 minutes of action (Oct. 1) ... Played 42 minutes in a 6-1 victory over Green Bay (Oct. 8) ... Tallied two shots (one on goal) in seven minutes at Villanova (Oct. 19) ... Played 31 minutes at Georgetown (Oct. 26).

2018 (Fr.): Redshirted

Prior to Marquette: Lettered in soccer and basketball at St. Edward Central Catholic High School ... Served as a three-year captain ... Ranks in Illinois' Top-10 list for career goals (139) and ranks second all-time for goals in a single season (70) ... Led team to a conference title, two regional and sectional titles, a super sectional title and an IHSA Class 1A state third place finish ... Was named Conference Player of the Year, IHSCCA All-State, Daily Herald/Chicago Tribune Player of the Year ... Four-time all-conference selection, three-time all-area (Daily Herald/Chicago Tribune), Chicagoland All-State and All-Sectional selection ... In basketball, served as a one-year captain, twice named all-conference, and once named all-area and honorable mention all-state ... Awarded the PepsiCo Showdown MVP for his outstanding play during the 16th Annual PepesiCo Showdown, the largest high school soccer tournament in the U.S. ... Was given the award on June 10, 2018 in a surprise presentation at Wrigley Field before the start of a Cubs-Pirates game.

Personal: Born in Schaumburg, Illinois and the son of Jim and Tracy Franklin ... Father played Division I soccer at Illinois State ... Has one younger brother, Aidan ... Plans to study computer science.