By: Joey Mullins
Samford Athletics
 
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Bradley Franklin has already made an impact on the national track and field scene this season, and he hopes to make even more of a mark at the NCAA Championships later this week.
 
At the Southern Conference Indoor Championships in February, he ran the fastest time in the nation in the 60-meter hurdles in the preliminary race with a time of 7.45 seconds. The following day, he bested his own time in the finals of the event, running the race in 7.41 seconds. He also set the SoCon Championships record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.63 seconds.
 
Franklin will compete in the men's 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., Mar. 13-14. The semifinals of the event are scheduled for Friday, Mar. 13, at 6:55 p.m. and the finals will be held on Saturday, Mar. 14, at 6 p.m. Live results will be available for the NCAA Championships at the following link: LIVE RESULTS.
 
If Franklin can win the title this weekend, it would be the second NCAA Division I national championship in school history, as Karisa Nelson took home the title in the women's indoor mile in 2017.
 
Franklin talked about his goals for this weekend's championships.
 
"My mindset, first and foremost, is to win," Franklin said. "Obviously, I would love to bring an NCAA title to Samford's name. And I would like to lower my time to a 7.39 or lower, because 7.39 is the holy grail and that is what I would like to be able to achieve."
 
For his performance at the SoCon Championships, Franklin was named the Heath Whittle Most Outstanding Athlete Award winner after scoring 20 points and helping the Samford men's team to a seventh-straight title. Franklin said he knew right away that he had run the nation's best time once he finished the finals race at the conference meet.
 
"I actually immediately knew, that's the fastest time in the country," Franklin said. "When I did it the first time, obviously, I was very surprised because I set a personal record by over a tenth of a second. But when I did it again the next day, I was actually a little disappointed because, 7.41, obviously that's a very, very great time, but that means I am right on the precipice of running 7.3, which is elite level. Only a few dozen people in the world have ever run 7.3."
 
Franklin came to Samford from nearby Thompson High School where he was named the Shelby County Male Athlete of the Year. He said it was a member of his family that got him started competing in the sport he now loves.
 
"I got involved in track because of my dad," Franklin said. "Occasionally, he would just take me out to the track in the town we used to live in (Demopolis) and just have us walk around the track a little bit and then somedays he would take me out into the long jump pit, and he would just get me to jump in it for a while. Eventually, that led to me competing in track in the seventh grade, where I was doing the 400 and the long jump. But then eventually when I moved over to this area, that's when I began to do the hurdles."
 
Franklin's farther, Byron, who is now an Associate AD for Development at Samford, was a star on both the football and track and field teams at Auburn University from 1977 to 1980. He was an indoor and outdoor All-American in track and field and he spent seven seasons as a wide receiver in the NFL. Bradley said his father being an athlete helped him in his growth as an athlete himself.
 
"Obviously he has experience, and that experience has given him, a bit of an edge over how most parents would be," Franklin said. "A majority of parents don't actually participate in the sport that their children participate in, so he knows what I've been through and what I'm going through. He knows ways to help me out with that, he knows how to cheer me on, how to help me analyze stuff and I'm very appreciative of that help that he has been able to give me."
 
When Franklin was deciding where to continue his education and his athletic career, he chose Samford for several reasons. The success of the track and field program and how close it is to his home were two reasons, but a third factor was a certain major the school offers.
 
"One aspect was the major that I'm in," Franklin said. "So, Samford is unique in that it has a program specifically for 3D animation and game design, which is a very specific major. The fact that, not only is the campus so close, but they have a major that specific that already pertains to me so specifically, that's amazing and probably God ordained."
 
Franklin came to Samford as a freshman in the 2024-25 season. That season, he won the 60-meter hurdles at the SoCon Indoor Championships. He then won the 110-meter hurdles at the SoCon Outdoor Championships. Franklin credits God for the success he has experienced in just his first two seasons as a collegiate athlete.
 
"I was expecting to do well eventually, but for me to have gotten as far as I have now, only God could have done that," Franklin said. "It's like all the work that I've put in and all of the help that I've gotten from my teammates and my coaches has done so much to get me to where I am now. And I wouldn't trade it for anything else, really."
 
Franklin looks to add even more to his already impressive list of accomplishments by winning a national championship in the 60-meter hurdles at this weekend's NCAA Indoor Championships. To follow the results online, click on the following link: LIVE RESULTS. To watch the action, click on the following links: WATCH FRIDAY, WATCH SATURDAY.
 
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