Aqua Franklin - Women's Basketball - Kansas Jayhawks

Aqua Franklin

TITLE Associate Head Coach
PHONE 864-7394

Bio

Aqua Franklin returned to the sidelines of Allen Fieldhouse as the associate head coach for Kansas women’s basketball. In her second stint with the Jayhawks, Franklin is now in her fourth season as the Jayhawks’ Associate Head Coach and fifth overall in Lawrence.

Franklin guided yet another KU guard to All-Big 12 honors during the 2017-18 season after junior Christalah Lyons earned an honorable mention nod for her work on the hardwood during her debut season. In five season, Franklin has mentored three KU guards to all-league accolades.

During the 2016-17 season, Franklin mentored Jessica Washington to new heights in the Crimson and Blue. Under Franklin’s guidance, Washington became the first Jayhawk to garner Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors after averaging a league-best 19.3 points per game in conference play.

Prior to returning to KU, Franklin spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Mississippi State, where she helped the Bulldog women’s basketball program to a historic season in 2014-15.

In 2014-15, Franklin helped lead Mississippi State to the most overall (27-7) and SEC (11-5) wins in a season in program history, as well as the second round of the NCAA Tournament. She was also instrumental in helping the Bulldogs compile one of the top recruiting classes in program history, with a Top-20 national ranking in 2013.
Franklin, known for her strength in developing point guards, mentored Mississippi State point guards Katia May and Jerica James, who made tremendous strides under her guidance. In 2013-14, the duo dished out 114 more assists, while committing 29 fewer turnovers than the 2012-13 campaign. After claiming 95 assists as a junior, May capped her senior campaign by dishing 175 assists, the second-most in MSU single-season history.

During her first stint with the Jayhawks in 2011-12, Franklin helped Kansas to one of its best seasons in recent history, highlighted by the Jayhawks’ trip to the NCAA Sweet 16. On the sidelines of Allen Fieldhouse, Franklin coached Angel Goodrich to a banner season after she paced KU with 23.3 points per game and shattered the single-season school record with 250 assists. Goodrich was named All-America Honorable Mention by both the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and the Associated Press, and was one of the four finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award, given annually to the top point guard in the nation.

Franklin spent the 2010-11 season at Stephen F. Austin. With the Ladyjacks, she tutored Tammara Marion to All-Southland Conference Second Team accolades after Marion became the 25th SFA player to score 1,000 points and set a school mark for three-pointers made in a season.

Returning to her roots, Franklin served as a graduate assistant for Texas A&M during the 2009-10 season. Her collegiate and professional experiences were a valuable asset to the Aggies as she helped guide the team to the Big 12 Championship and the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Franklin was selected with the 38th pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft by the Sacramento Monarchs. In her rookie season in the league, Franklin helped lead the Monarchs to the opening round of the 2008 WNBA playoffs. The following season she signed with the Seattle Storm before going on to begin her coaching career at her alma mater.

She concluded her four-year playing career at Texas A&M as one of the most-decorated guards in program history, ranking in the top three in assists with 627. Her final season with the Aggies was a memorable one for the program, as the team made its first run to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. Franklin capped her career by claiming honorable mention All-America accolades from the Associated Press to go along with All-Big 12 Second Team honors.
Her junior season also included a milestone for Texas A&M, as the Aggies won the school’s first Big 12 regular-season championship. Franklin was tabbed All-Big 12 First Team and Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention, as she led the squad to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Franklin was also named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention as a sophomore. In all, Franklin led the Aggies to three NCAA Tournament trips, including one journey to the Elite Eight.

Franklin, a 2009 Texas A&M graduate with a degree in recreation park and tourism science, was named Aggies’ 2014 SEC Legend. Last summer, she was inducted into the second class of the Tyler ISD Hall of Fame, one that included NFL legend Earl Campbell in the inaugural class.

THE FRANKLIN FILE
Alma Mater: Texas A&M, 2009
Hometown: Tyler, Texas

COACHING EXPERIENCE
2015-Present, Kansas (Associate Head Coach)
2012-15, Mississippi State (Assistant Coach)
2011-12, Kansas (Assistant Coach)
2010-11, Stephen F. Austin (Assistant Coach)
2009-10, Texas A&M (Graduate Assistant)

PLAYING EXPERIENCE
2004-08, Texas A&M