Sarah Franklin (volleyball)

Last updated

Sarah Franklin
LOVB Salt Lake at LOVB Madison IMG 4842 (Sarah Franklin 1).jpg
Franklin playing for LOVB Madison in January 2025
Personal information
Born (2002-02-27) February 27, 2002 (age 23)
Hometown Lake Worth Beach, Florida, U.S.
Height6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
College / University Michigan State (2020–2021)
Wisconsin (2022–2024)
Volleyball information
Position Outside hitter
Current club Flag of Italy.svg Savino del Bene Scandicci
Number13
Career
YearsTeams
2025 Flag of the United States.svg LOVB Madison
2025– Flag of Italy.svg Savino del Bene Scandicci

Sarah Franklin (born February 27, 2002) is an American professional volleyball player who currently plays for LOVB Madison. An outside hitter, she played college volleyball for the Michigan State Spartans and the Wisconsin Badgers. She was named the AVCA National Player of the Year in 2023 and Big Ten Player of the Year in 2023 and 2024.

Contents

Early life

Franklin was raised in Lake Worth Beach, Florida, the daughter of engineers Todd and Michelle Franklin, and has three siblings. [1] [2] She played soccer as a goalkeeper before taking up volleyball at age 11, which her mother played collegiately at Virginia. [3] [4] She played high school volleyball for Lake Worth Christian School beginning in eighth grade, winning state championships in 2015 and 2019, and was named the Sun Sentinel player of the year in 2019. She played club volleyball for Palm Beach Juniors. [1] [3]

College career

Franklin spent two seasons with the Michigan State Spartans. In her sophomore year in 2021, she led the team with 3.96 kills per set on a .224 hitting percentage, receiving first-team All-Big Ten Conference honors. [1] [5] Following that season, she transferred to the reigning NCAA champion Wisconsin Badgers. [6] [7] Franklin led the Badgers with 3.51 kills per set on .246 hitting in the 2022 season, helping the team earn a number-one seed in the 2022 NCAA tournament, where they fell to Pittsburgh in the regional finals. [1] [8] Later that school year in June 2023, Franklin underwent seven-hour surgery for blood clots caused by quadrilateral space syndrome, recovering before the fall season. [2] [7] [9]

Franklin recorded 4.15 kills per set on a career-high .298 hitting in the 2023 season. [1] [9] She led the Badgers to a number-one seed and the Final Four of the 2023 NCAA tournament, where they lost to eventual champions Texas. [9] [10] Franklin received multiple honors, including Big Ten Player of the Year, AVCA first-team All-American, and AVCA National Player of the Year. [1] [11] She was nominated for the Best Female College Athlete ESPY Award. [12] She had a fifth season of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [9] In her fifth season, Franklin hit a career-high 4.46 kills per set on .289 hitting as Wisconsin reached the NCAA tournament regional finals. She repeated as the Big Ten Player of the Year and first-team All-American. [1] [13]

Professional career

Franklin joined LOVB Madison ahead of LOVB Pro's inaugural 2025 season. [14] She will play with the Italian Serie A1 team Savino del Bene Scandicci for the 2025–2026 season. [15]

International career

Franklin debuted with the senior U.S. national team at the 2025 Volleyball Nations League, where she was the team's leading scorer with a total of 143 points. [15] [16] She was then named to the 14-player roster for the FIVB Women's World Championship later that summer, placing fifth with Team USA. [17] [18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Sarah Franklin | Volleyball". Wisconsin Badgers . Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Punzel, Dennis (August 25, 2023). "'Freakishly perfect' timing saved Wisconsin volleyball star from dire situation". BadgerExtra. Archived from the original on December 3, 2024. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Curreri, Gary (December 21, 2019). "Palm Beach 5A-2A girls volleyball player of the year: Sarah Franklin, Lake Worth Christian senior". Sun Sentinel . Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  4. ↑ Punzel, Dennis (November 3, 2023). "Inside Sarah Franklin's ride from possible career ending to national player of the year candidate". BadgerExtra. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Sarah Franklin – Volleyball". Michigan State Spartans. Archived from the original on January 24, 2025. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  6. ↑ Nordstrom, Diane (February 9, 2022). "Sarah Franklin joins Wisconsin volleyball". Wisconsin Badgers. Archived from the original on January 24, 2025. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  7. 1 2 Temple, Jesse (December 23, 2023). "How Wisconsin volleyball's Sarah Franklin has thrived after career-threatening health scare". The Athletic . Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  8. ↑ Stewart, Mark (December 11, 2022). "Pitt outlasts Wisconsin volleyball in five sets to win 2022 NCAA Tournament regional final". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Archived from the original on December 11, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Berman, Marc (December 24, 2023). "Sarah Sensational: Lake Worth Beach's Franklin goes from blood clots to volleyball pinnacle". The Palm Beach Post . Archived from the original on January 5, 2024. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  10. ↑ Polzin, Jim (December 15, 2023). "Polzin: Ugly Final Four loss for Wisconsin volleyball doesn't mean a 'lost season'". BadgerExtra. Archived from the original on August 29, 2024. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  11. ↑ Stewart, Mark (December 15, 2023). "Wisconsin volleyball's Sarah Franklin named the national player of the year. Here are three reasons why". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Archived from the original on December 16, 2023. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  12. ↑ Marotta, Karley (June 26, 2024). "UW volleyball star Sarah Franklin nominated for ESPY". WKOW . Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  13. ↑ Punzel, Dennis (December 18, 2024). "Wisconsin volleyball's Sarah Franklin earns All-American honors for 2nd consecutive season". BadgerExtra. Archived from the original on December 23, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Sarah Franklin to continue volleyball career with LOVB Madison". WISC-TV. December 20, 2024. Archived from the original on December 23, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  15. 1 2 "Sarah Franklin details how Wisconsin Badgers volleyball is different than other parts of the country and world". Wisconsin Badgers On SI. July 11, 2025. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  16. ↑ volleyballworld.com. "VNL 2025 - Women's best scorers statistics". volleyballworld.com. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  17. ↑ "2 ex-Wisconsin Badgers stars dominate to send USA Volleyball to World Championship knockout round". Wisconsin Badgers On SI. August 24, 2025. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  18. ↑ "U.S. Women End World Championship Run with Loss to Türkiye". USA Volleyball. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
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