Thomas Francisco

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

Height:
6-0
Weight:
211
Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
Abingdon, Va.
High School:
Abingdon
Major:
Business Management

Career: Started 103 of 126 games (27/LF, 40/1B, 2/3B, 34/DH) … Owns a .348 career batting average (134-for-345) with 18 home runs and 81 RBI … Scored 82 runs while drawing 49 walks and striking out just 47 times … Hit by a pitch 15 times … Slugged at a .532 rate while reaching base 43.4 percent of the time … Tallied 41 two-out hits and 29 two-out RBI … Ten of his 18 home runs came against AAC opponents … Registered nine career game-winning RBI … Collected 41 multi-hit and 21 multi-RBI games … Hit home runs in consecutive at-bats twice in his career (Monmouth on Feb. 24, 2019, Tulane on May 9, 2021) … Named AAC Player-of-the-Week on Feb. 17, 2020 ... Also a two-time AAC Honor Roll selection ... Helped the Pirates to 104 wins over his two-plus years … Won a pair of AAC Regular season titles (2019, 2021) … Part of a club that won an AAC-best 20 league games in 2019 and 2021 … The Pirates hosted back-to-back NCAA Regionals in Greenville earning national seeds (No. 10/2019, No. 13/2021) … Member of two Regional Championship clubs (2019, 2021) … Fielded at a .986 clip with 324 putouts, 30 assists and committed just five errors … Earned two letters as a member of the baseball team (2019, 2021).

2021: Selected in the 19th round by the St. Louis Cardinals (pick 571) ... Second-Team All-American Athletic Conference selection as a first baseman … One of three players to start all 61 games (31/1B, 27/LF, 3/DH) … Stood second on the team and in The American in batting average (.354) and hits (87) … Tied for the team lead with Connor Norby in at-bats (264) and runs (64) … Hit 13 home runs while lacing 11 doubles – both third on the club … Drew 23 walks and struck out 23 times … Named to AAC Honor Roll on March 22 … Tallied five game-winning RBI (Tulane, Cincinnati twice, UCF and Norfolk State) … Hit home runs in consecutive at-bats against Tulane (both solo shots) on May 9 … Belted home runs in consecutive games in the AAC Championships (Memphis and UCF) … Registered three different 10-game hitting streaks on the season (March 17 to April 2, April 3 to April 30, May 1 to May 16) … Also added a nine-game streak from Feb. 27 to March 13 … Tallied at least one hit in 51 of 61 games played … Scored at least one run in 39 contests (multiple 23 times) … Touched home in nine straight games from May 1 to May 15 … Credited with game-winning RBI in the first game of the Greenville Regional against Norfolk State with his three-run homer in the sixth inning … Started all 10 postseason games (AAC Championships/5, Greenville Regional/3, Nashville Super Regional/2) … In league play, batted .393 (44-for-112) with seven home run, 23 RBI and scored 31 runs … Tied for first in runs scored … Stood third in The American in batting average, hits and total bases (72), while ranking fifth in home runs … Ranked nationally in hits (14th), runs (14th), toughest to strikeout (35th/10.7), total bases (38th/137) and runs per game (55th/1.05) … On ECU’s single-season charts he is tied for ninth in runs with Connor Norby, while also ranking 11th in hits … Batted .300 (6-for-20) with a pair of home runs in AAC Championship games … Tallied 25 two-out hits and 20 two-out RBI … Successfully advanced runners at a 53.1 percent rate (77-for-145) … Hit at a .500 clip (20-for-40) when leading off an inning … Primarily hit in the second (35) and third (19) spots of the order … Stood second on the team with 28 multi-hit games … Led the club with 13 multi-RBI contests … Had 31-game on-base streak snapped at Wichita State (April 30/Game 2), which ranks as the 15th longest since 1998 … Seven of career-high 13 home runs came against AAC opponents … Hit two home runs in a game twice (Illinois State/March 19 and Tulane/May 9) … Helped turn 14 double plays … Posted a .993 fielding percentage committing two errors in 274 chances … Registered 257 putouts and 15 assists … Preseason All-AAC selection by leagues head coaches and Perfect Game.

2020: One nine players to start eight games or more during the shortened COVID-19 pandemic season … Member of a squad that posted a 13-4 record and finished ranked nationally in a pair of polls … Started eight of nine games played (6/1B, 2/DH) … Missed chunk of the season due to injury (last played vs. Ole Miss (Feb. 29) in the Keith LeClair Classic … Batted .423 (11-for-26) with a home run, seven RBI and scored five runs … Drew six walk (tied for third on team) while striking out just twice … Tallied one sac fly, which came in the season opener against William & Mary (Feb. 14) … Did not commit an error in 38 chances (1.000 fielding percentage) tallying 35 putouts, three assists and turning one double play … Hit at a .545 clip (6-for-11) with runners on and reached base three times when leading off an inning … Tallied five 2-out hits and four 2-out RBI … Advanced runners at a 66.7 percent success rate (10-for-15) … Registered four multi-hit and two multi-RBI contests … Closed out season having reached base in four-straight games … Hit clean-up in all eight games played … Blasted lone home run against Georgia Southern (Feb. 23) in the first inning of a doubleheader – a two-run shot … Opened season with a four-game hitting streak where he batted .546 (6-for-11) with four RBI and a run scored … Earned AAC Hitter-of-the-Week accolades on Feb. 17 … Collected at least one hit in seven of nine games … Plated at least one run in five contests … Drew multiple walks in a game twice … Prior to the start of the season was listed as the 29th-best first baseman and 91st-best collegiate hitter by D1Baseball.

2019: One of 11 players to appear in 50 or more games (56) … Started 34 games (3/1B, 2/3B, 29/DH) … Stood fifth on the team with a .319 batting average (36-for-113) … Hit four home runs with 26 RBI and scored 13 times … Laced four doubles and one triple … Drew 20 walks while striking out 22 times … Ranked fourth on the team in hit by pitches (eight) … Tallied nine multi-hit and six multi-RBI games … Closed out season riding a five-game hit streak (June 1-8) and an eight-game on-base streak (May 22-June 8) – both season-highs … Named to AAC Honor Roll on May 20 … Hit home runs in consecutive at-bats against Monmouth (Feb. 24) in game two of a doubleheader (third and sixth frames) … Also belted homers against Utah (March 3) and USF (March 30) … Tallied four game-winning RBI (Cincinnati, Maryland, Memphis and UNCW) … One of two players to record multiple hits for the Pirates in the Louisville Super Regional (other: Spencer Brickhouse) … Registered at least one hit in 25 of 56 contests … Scored at least one run in 11 games (multiple twice) … Drove in a career-high three runs against Western Carolina (March 3) … Plated at least one run in 19 contests … Hit at a .316 (31-for-98) with four home runs and 24 RBI as a starter … Off the bench, he batted .333 (5-for-15) with a pair of RBI … In league play, started 16 of 22 games where he batted .314 (16-for-51) with a home run and 12 RBI … Appeared in nine postseason games (five starts) ranking second on the team with a .421 average (8-for-19), while driving in two runs and scored three … Batted .429 (3-for-7) with a pair of RBI in four games at the Greenville Regional … Pirates sported a 20-9 record when he was penciled in as the designated hitter … Hit primarily in the fifth to seventh spots in the order … Reached base at a 36.7 percent rate when leading off an inning (11 of 30) … Tallied five two-out RBI … Advanced runners at a 61.4 percent rate (43 of 70) … Posted a .936 fielding percentage committing three errors … Registered 12 assists, 32 putouts in 47 chances … Tallied six or more putouts in a game three times … 2019 Summer: Played for the Charlotte Tom Sox of the Valley League … Helped the Tom Sox to the league title … Earned All-Valley League First-Team honors as the designated hitter … South Team All-Star selection … Participated in the Prospect Showcase … Set the Tom Sox and Valley League record for games with a consecutive hit (23) … Batted .409 (61-for-149) with a pair of home runs and 36 RBI in 34 games … Laced 10 doubles, one triple and scored 34 runs … Drew 11 walks while striking out 14 times … Was a perfect 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts … Tallied at least one hit in 32 of 34 games.

Abingdon High School: Three-sport athlete who earned nine letters (baseball 4, basketball 4, football 1) … Helped the Falcons to an 85-18 four-year record under coach Mark Francisco (father) … Four-time all-conference and all-region selection … Three-time Virginia All-State honoree (2016-18) … Three-time first-team All-Prep Baseball Report selection … Three-time All-Bristol Herald Courier (2016-18) … Named to All-Kingsport Times News (2018) … Member of three Mountain 7 District championships (2016-18) … Team captain … During four-year career, belted 13 home runs, tallied 150 hits, 122 RBI and scored 123 runs … As a freshman, batted .388 (27 hits) with a home run, 15 RBI and scored 21 runs on his way to all-region and all-conference accolades … Followed rookie campaign hitting at an impressive .527 clip (46 hits) with 26 RBI and 35 runs scored earning consecutive all-conference, all-region and his first all-state selection … During junior season, batted .411 (39 hits) with four home runs, 28 RBI and 32 runs taking home all-conference, all-region and all-state honors … Named Bristol Herald Courier Player-of-the-Year as a senior after hitting .457 with eight home runs and a single-season school record 53 RBI … Helped Falcons to a 23-3 record in final season, which included a regional championship and a state runner-up finish … Set Virginia High School League (VHSL) career hits record (150) on May 31, 2018 in Abingdon’s 15-2 win over Northside in the Region 3D baseball championship game … Won the TN vs. VA FCA Home Run Derby as a member of the FCA Virginia All-Star squad … Played travel ball for Andy Partin of the Dirtbags All Blacks … Named Underclass Honorable Mention (2016), Underclass High Honorable Mention (2017) and Rawlings-Perfect Game Honorable Mention All-America (2018) … Also claimed All-Atlantic Region Honorable Mention honors by Perfect Game … Rated as the third-best third baseman and 25th-best prospect in Virginia by Perfect Game … Tabbed as the 57th-best third baseman nationally and a Top 500 national recruit by Perfect Game … Participated in several showcase events including 2014 14U BCS Finals (Fort Myers, Fla.), 2015 WWBA 2018 Grads/15U National Championship (Cartersville, Ga.), 2016 WWBA Underclass World Championship (Fort Myers, Fla.), 2016 16 U PG Evoshield Classic (Marietta, Ga.), 2016 WWBA 2018 Grads/16U National Championship (Cartersville, Ga.), 2017 WWBA World Championship (Jupiter, Fla.), 2017 WWBA 2018 Grads/17U National Championship (Cartersville, Ga.) and 2017 18U WWBA Memorial Day (Cartersville, Ga.) … Named to four all-tournament teams in Perfect Game events (2014 14U/BCS Finals, 2016 16U PG Evoshield Classic, 2017 WWBA 2018 Grads/17U National Championship, 2017 WWB World Championship) … Scored 1,000 career-points on the hardwood as a shooting guard/small forward … Played one year of football (safety) on the varsity team registering 38 tackles (29 solo) with two TFLs and three interceptions (62 yards) as a freshman … National Honor Society member … Named valedictorian at Abingdon.

Personal: Full name is Thomas Michael Francisco … Born in Bristol, Tenn. … Son of Tammy and Mark Francisco … Has two siblings (Andrew and Luke) … Intended major is business management … Father played collegiate baseball at University of Virginia-Wise … Brother Andrew is currently playing baseball at Emory … Three-time AAC All-Academic Team selection (2019-21) ... Six-time ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll member (F19 to S21).