Former All Saints standout Aston Francis, now playing at Wheaten College, has been named a preseason Street & Smith All-America honorable mention. Photo courtesy of Wheaton College

Tyler native and standout basketball player Aston Francis, who was all-state in high school and an All-American in college, has signed a professional contact to play in the Republic of Georgia.

Francis, who was a star at All Saints Episcopal School, Tyler Junior College and Wheaton College, inked with the Basketball Club Mega of Tbilisi, Georgia. Mega plays in the Georgian A-League and their season runs from January through April.

Following Christmas, Francis is scheduled to depart for Tbilisi on Dec. 27. The team’s first game is scheduled for January 10. Mega advanced to the league semifinals in 2019 and were the season runner-up in 2020.

“I’m excited about the opportunity,” Francis said. “I was originally scheduled to play with the Mavericks G-League team (Texas Legends) but they opted out of season. My backup was Milwaukee’s team (Wisconsin Herd) and they decided not to play.”

Francis’ agent Mike Naiditch, who is based in Chicago, started looking for other teams.

After considering playing in Lithuania, Francis decided on Georgia. Former teammate at All Saints Sean Phillips, who now plays basketball at St. Edward’s, had some information on Georgia. Phillips’ girlfriend, who played tennis at St. Ed’s before the school dropped the sport, told Francis about the country.

Georgia, a former Soviet Union republic, is a country that is at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is bordered to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the east by Azerbaijan, and to the south by Armenia and Turkey. The Caucasus Mountain range is in Georgia.

Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city (1.5 million) in Georgia and is on the banks of the Kura River.

Francis said he has been researching about the country. He said he is looking forward to playing in the league, but not the some 18-hour flight.

As a senior at All Saints, Francis averaged 21.7 points per game, leading his team to the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools 4A title game.

Francis was named 2015 Tyler Morning Telegraph Player of the Year and ETFinalScore.com All-East Texas Most Valuable Player.

After a season at TJC, he decided to transfer to NCAA Division III program Wheaton College, located just outside of Chicago.

He played college basketball for three seasons at Wheaton College, averaging an NCAA-leading 34.3 points per game in his senior season.

As a senior, Francis led Wheaton to its first Final Four in the NCAA Division III Tournament. In the clinching game on March 9, 2019, Francis scored an NCAA tournament-record 62 points, including 12 3-pointers, to go with 12 rebounds in a win over Marietta.

Francis finished the tournament averaging 44.8 points per game, setting a new record. In his senior season, he averaged 34.3 points per game, which led all NCAA divisions, and scored a Division III-record 1,096 points.

Also, Francis was the Division III leader in three-pointers, field goals and free throws. He averaged a team-high 7.9 rebounds and ranked second on his team with 3.1 assists per game.

Francis was honored with the Bevo Francis Award and was named D3hoops.com Player of the Year.

The Bevo Francis Award recognizes the top small college basketball player in the United States. The award is named after the late Bevo Francis, who earned national acclaim and All-American status for Rio Grande College in the 1950s.

Additionally, Francis was a first-team All-American by D3hoops.com and a second-team Division III All-American by NABC. Francis won CCIW Most Outstanding Player for his second straight season. He left Wheaton with the second-most points in program history and as its all-time leader in three-pointers.

Francis also won the Jostens Trophy, which recognizes outstanding student-athletes in Division III basketball for excellence in the classroom, on the court, and in their respective communities.

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