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Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Hutchinson Community College redshirt freshman Aaron Franklin was named the Jayhawk Conference Freshman of the Year on Thursday as well as being named to the first-team All-Jayhawk Conference and All-Region VI teams.
Franklin, a 6-foot-5 freshman from Kansas City, Missouri, is the first Blue Dragon to be named Freshman of the Year since Josh Baker in 2020. His inclusion on the first team means the Blue Dragons have had a first-team All-KJCCC selection for the eighth-straight season.
Franklin is the second-straight Blue Dragon to lead the Jayhawk Conference in scoring. Last season Angelo Stuart was the KJCCC's leading scorer.
Franklin led the Blue Dragons and the KJCCC in scoring at 22.0 points per game. That mark ranked 10th in the NJCAA in 2022-23.
Franklin became just the 12th Blue Dragon in program history to surpass the 700-point mark of the season with 703 points. His 80 3-point field goals were the third most in program single-game history.
Franklin shot 49.3 percent overall, hitting 32.8 percent from 3-point range and 62.8 percent from the free-throw line. Franklin was the Blue Dragons' leading rebounder and sixth-leading rebounder in the KJCCC with 8.2 boards per game.
Franklin posted 10 double-doubles this season and scored in double figures in all 32 games played. Franklin had 19 games of 20 or more points and five games with 30 or more points, including a career-high 38 points against Pratt on January 25.
Franklin is the only Blue Dragon to earn postseason honors. Hutchinson finished the season 20-12 and tied for fifth in the Jayhawk Conference.