Western Carolina University

Note: Has one season of eligibility remaining from the COVID exemption ... Recorded 214 career strikeouts over 196.2 innings of work for the Catamounts.

2022 (Redshirt Junior): Made 16 appearances on the season including 10 in relief before converting to a starting role for his final six appearances … Finished the year with a 5-1 record with three saves and a 2.06 collective ERA over 56.2 innings of work … Finished second on the WCU squad with 70 strikeouts which ranked just outside the Top 10 in the SoCon … Posted at least one strikeout in all 16 appearances and recorded three-or-more Ks 10 times … Recorded 59 ground ball outs – the third-most on the team – with 33 fly ball outs ... Induced a team-high tying eight double plays ... Named first-team All-Southern Conference as a starting pitcher … Scored victories in five of his six starts on the season, exiting his final appearance in the SoCon Tournament against VMI (May 25) with an injury after striking out six through 2.2 innings of one-hit, scoreless work … Matched a career-long by pitching 8.0 innings at The Citadel (April 22), striking out seven in the 4-2 win … Struck out a career-best 10 in a commanding seven-inning start in the victory over league runner-up Mercer (May 6), limiting the Bears to a run on just two singles with three walks ... Eclipsed the 200-career strikeout mark in his effort against Mercer.

2021 (Redshirt Sophomore*): Made 18 appearances including 15 out of the bullpen and three starts, his first starts since 2019 … Tossed 45.1 innings with a 4.96 ERA, pitching at least two-thirds of an inning in each appearance … Pitched two-or-more innings in 14 of his 18 appearances … Finished the year with a 7-4 overall record, fourth in the SoCon with seven victories … Added two saves out of the bullpen … Was fourth in the SoCon with 14 games finished … Made his first start at UNCG (May 1), matching a career-high with seven strikeouts without issuing a walk in tossing a season-long 6.0 innings earning Southern Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Week (May 3) … Made his second appearance of the SoCon Tournament, tossing 5.2 innings in a starting role against top-seeded Wofford (May 29), striking out two in the winning effort … Was selected first-team preseason All-Southern Conference as a reliever by the league's head coaches ... Named to the 2021 Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll and was named Academic All-Southern Conference; Summer 2021: Pitched in four games with a pair of starts for the Yarmouth-Denis (Mass.) Red Sox in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League ... Posted a 1-1 overall record over 10.2 innings of work with a 5.06 ERA ... Struck out 10 against just three walks.

2020 (Redshirt Sophomore): Returned from injury, making five relief appearances – each of two innings or more … Tossed 11.1 innings limiting foes to one run on just eight hits, posting a 1-1 overall record while recording three saves matching his single-season career-best from his freshman season … Had a team-best 0.79 ERA … Struck out 14 batters against just five walks and one hit batter – recorded at least one K in each of his five appearances … Tossed a season-long three innings of one-hit, scoreless relief in the win against Illinois (Feb. 21), earning his first save of the season … Struck out a season-best five in tallying his second save in the victory over Big XII-foe, Kansas (March 1) in tournament action at Fluor Field ... Named 2020 Spring Academic All-Southern Conference and to the 2019-20 Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll … Received the Southern Conference Commissioner's Medal ... Season shortened because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of spring sports in mid-March.

2019 (Sophomore): Made seven appearances, six in relief with one start all before being sidelined with a throwing arm injury … Was granted a medical redshirt to reclaim his second full season on the mound … Posted a 2-1 record with a 4.00 ERA prior to injury, striking out 32 against 15 walks with four hit batters … Struck out a season-high six three times including against Oakland (Feb. 16), Elon (March 15), and at ETSU (March 22) … Recorded 36 ground ball outs and 30 fly ball outs … Limited Oakland to one hit over 5.1 innings with six strikeouts in recording his first win of the year … Matched a career-long with seven relief innings in scoring a home win over Elon (March 15) ... Named to the 2018-19 Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll.

2018 (Freshman): Made 23 appearances including 20 out of the bullpen with three starts … Finished with a 1-4 overall record with a 3.23 ERA and three saves … Pitched a combined 47.1 innings … Recorded 50 strikeouts against 24 walks, surrendering 49 hits with just 12 going for extra bases – eight doubles and four home runs … Limited the opposition to a .254 batting average against … Made his collegiate debut in a weekend start at East Carolina (Feb. 18) … Struck out a career-high seven in his second career start against Canisius (Feb. 24) … Earned his first career save in striking out two in an inning of relief out of the bullpen in the victory over The Citadel (March 24)  … Collected his second career save in tossing 2.1 innings in game one of a doubleheader against Samford (May 12)  … Saved WCU’s first win in the 2018 Southern Conference tournament, tossing a perfect ninth against The Citadel (May 22) that started WCU’s postseason run … Tossed a career-long 7.0 innings in just his third career start in the SoCon Tournament with the Catamounts facing elimination against ETSU (May 25), matching his career-high with seven strikeouts in securing his first collegiate victory … Named to the 2017-18 Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll.

Prior to Western Carolina: A Western North Carolina product that was the Mountain Athletic Conference (MAC) 4A/3A Pitcher of the Year as a junior ... Posted a 4-4 record with two saves, tossing a no-hitter in a tough-luck loss to A.C. Reynolds ... Finished his junior year with a 1.53 ERA with 93 strikeouts in 59.1 innings while limiting opponents to a .170 batting average ... Earned a spot on the District 8 PowerAde State Games team.

Personal: Full name is Zach Aaron Franklin ... Is the son of Holly and Jody Franklin ... Has an older sister ... Got married prior to the 2021 season.

Career Game Highs:

• Innings Pitched: 8.0, twice (MR: at The Citadel, 4/22/22)
• Strikeouts: 10, MERCER (5/6/22)
• Walks: 5, twice (MR: vs. Wofford, 5/29/21)