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Torin J. Francis ’02

Torin J. Francis '02 Tabor Hall of Fame, action shot of him taking a shot, with inset small headshot
Torin J. Francis ’02
Athlete:
  • Basketball
  • Track

Torin Francis came to Tabor as a transfer student from Boston Latin School in 1999. A Boston native and first-generation Jamaican, he fell in love with the School by the Sea, not only for its athletic program and facilities, but also for its academics. At 6’11” the powerhouse center was instrumental in defending Tabor’s New England Class B Championship title in 2000. As co-captain his junior year, the boys varsity basketball team enjoyed an exceptional season, winning twenty-seven games for the first time in school history, and receiving recognition early on for being one of the top teams in the country. Despite advancing to the finals for the fifth time in as many years, the team lost to Proctor. Francis received the Richard Roller Award for most improved varsity player. His senior year, again as co-captain, the team finished the season 25-6-0, spending ten weeks ranked in the USA Today top 25.  

Francis’s success was not limited to the court or the track. He was a proctor in Baxter his senior year, staff writer for The Log, and senior class Vice President for the Tabor Academy Student Council (TASC). He recorded a triple jump of 49’9” in spring track, contributing to the team’s fourth place ISL finish. 

Francis is the only McDonald's All-American to come out of Tabor Academy. The annual showcase of the country’s top high school basketball talent was nationally televised on ESPN and, in the winter of 2002, heavily viewed from campus common rooms. In addition, he was named the 2002 McDonald’s National High School Boys Basketball Player of the Year and received the Morgan Wootten Award, given annually to the top scholar-athlete selected among McDonald’s All Americans. He was also invited to play in the Roundball Classic at the United Center in Chicago, the original high school all-star game.  

One of the most highly recruited juniors in America, Francis committed to Notre Dame where, as a freshman he started all 34 games, averaging 11.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots. That season, Notre Dame reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1987 and Francis received Big East all-rookie honors. His sophomore year he withdrew from the NBA draft due to a lower back injury that ultimately kept him from an NBA opportunity. Upon graduating, he became the first player in school history to lead the Irish in rebounds in all four seasons. He started all 113 career games, played over 3,200 minutes, and averaged 11.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. The two-time team captain was one of only 10 players in program history with at least 1,000 points (1,280) and 800 rebounds (969). 

He went on to have a 15-year professional basketball career internationally, playing in Greece, Israel, Germany, Turkey, Belgium, and Italy. After 9 seasons in Europe, he then relocated to Argentina, a transition made easier thanks to his Spanish classes at Tabor, where he played for 5-seasons—3 with La Union de Formosa and 2 with Quimsa of the Argentine Basketball League. After 5 seasons there, he decided to walk away from the game in 2020 to transition into life after basketball. He resides in New York with his 4 children. Maliya (18) who is a sophomore at Yale, Kaden (14), Tristan (12) and Anaya (10). He is currently working in finance and real estate.