UBC Reports | Vol. 48 | No. 6 | April 4, 2002

Athlete of the Year

UBC pitcher Jeff Francis was named the Sport BC University Athlete of the Year at the 36th annual awards gala in Vancouver on March 14.

Last season, Francis was named the NAIA Region I Player of the Year and an NAIA All-American after going 12-3 with a 0.92 ERA. He then played in the Alaska Baseball League (ABL) for the Anchorage Bucs and was named ABL Player of the Year.

Francis was picked up by the Anchorage Glacier Pilots for the National Baseball Congress (NBC) World Series, where he was named World Series MVP and won the Top Pro Prospect Award. He finished the summer winning a gold medal with Team BC at the Canada Games.

Earlier this year, Baseball America made Francis the first ever player from a Canadian institution to be named to their Preseason All-American Team. He is one of four Thunderbirds hoping to be selected in the upcoming June MBL draft.