BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – One of the first former Hilltopper student-athletes to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, WKU Softball's Larissa Franklin will represent Team Canada on the diamond from July 21-27. A 2015 Western Kentucky University graduate, Franklin is the program's first-ever Olympic qualifier.
Franklin, a native of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, is one of 15 athletes selected to represent Canada at the 2020 Games.
Softball returns to the Olympic Games after being left off at London 2012 and Rio 2016. Canada narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place finish the last time the sport appeared at Beijing 2008. Entering the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Canada is ranked third in the world behind USA (1) and Japan (2) while ahead of Mexico (5), Australia (8) and Italy (9).
Canada qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at the 2019 WBSC Softball Americas Qualifier held in Surrey, B.C. by finishing in the top two of the 12-team event along with Mexico in late summer 2019.
Franklin and Team Canada locked up one of six team spots in the 2020 Olympics with a run-rule win over Brazil. Canada was the fifth qualified team for the Olympic softball competition, joining Japan (host team), USA (World Champion) Mexico (Americas Qualifier) and Italy (winner of the Europe/Africa Qualifier). The last Olympic spot was filled by Australia, the winner of the WBSC Asia/Oceania Qualifier.
Franklin played for WKU Softball during the 2015 campaign that saw the Hilltoppers clinch the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles. She was a First Team NFCA All-Region selection and earned a First Team All-Conference nod as well from the league. Additionally, during her season on The Hill, Franklin tied the program's longest hitting streak at 15 games while posting the team's second-best single-season batting average at .417. She notched 70 hits on the campaign while posting 22 multi-hit outings – the third most by a WKU player in a single season.
Franklin's first action with the national team was at the WBSC Junior Women's World Championship in 2011 where the team finished fifth. She joined the senior team in 2013, competing in the World Cup of Softball and the WBSC Americas Qualifier where Canada won a silver medal. Since then, she has been a mainstay in the outfield for Canada, competing in multiple international events including the 2014, 2016 and 2018 WBSC Women's Softball World Championships, helping to bring home bronze at the latter two events.
Franklin was also part of the gold medal winning team at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto and silver medal finishing squad at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima.
How to Follow Hilltopper Softball: For complete information on WKU Softball, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUSoftball, Instagram @WKU_Softball and Facebook /WKUSoftball.
Western Kentucky University Athletics
- Champions Climb Here
- WKU Athletics
- Athletic Director
- Academic Services
- Annual Report
- Athletic Communications
- Athletic Hall of Fame
- Athletic Training
- Big Red
- CLIMB Program - NIL
- Compliance
- Facilities
- Financial Reports
- For Students
- Student Employment
- Forms/Requests
- Book Big Red
- Donation Requests
- Site Feedback
- For Fans
- Hilltopper Highlights
- Gameday Promotions
- Alumni Tailgates
- Big Red's Rascals
- Basketball Gameday
- Football Gameday
- Mobile Tickets
- Travel Center
- Tickets
- Give
