Kelsey Franks enters her second season as the head coach of the La Salle women's rowing team in 2023-24.
In her first season, Franks led the Explorers to a sixth-place finish overall as a team at the Atlantic 10 Championship to help the program earn its highest finish there since 1998 and third-highest finish overall. During the conference championship regatta, La Salle had all four boats — Varsity 8+, 2nd Varsity 8+, Varsity 4+, and 2nd Varsity 4+ — place in the Grand Finals at the A-10 Championship in the same year for the first time in program history. The Varsity 8+ boat made its first A-10 Championship Grand Final appearance in school history and earned its first top-six placement in conference championship history after it took sixth in 8:04.24. In addition, the Explorers' 2nd Varsity 8+ boat placed fifth in the Grand Final in 8:33.99 to earn its highest finish ever at the conference championship regatta. The Explorers also received a fifth-place finish from its 2nd Varsity 4+ boat (10:19.24) and a sixth-place finish from its Varsity 4+ boat (10:02.37).
Franks was named the head coach of the women's rowing program in 2022, after serving one season as an assistant coach. During her time as assistant coach, Franks led the women’s rowing team to the best Atlantic-10 Conference team finish since 2003, and the best Varsity 8+ performance in over a decade.
Before arriving to La Salle, Franks served as the head rowing coach at Tampa Preparatory School, where she led the team to four Florida State Championships in the Men’s Varsity 4+, Women’s Lightweight 1x, Men’s Freshmen 4+, and Women’s Freshmen 4+. She then moved to the role of rowing director from 2018-2021, leading all major operational and budgetary changes.
Franks is a 2016 graduate of Temple University, where she was a four-year member of the women’s rowing program and four-year Varsity 8+ coxswain. She was an integral part of Temple’s finish at the 2016 American Athletic Conference, placing third – the highest in program history. At the event, Franks grabbed a bronze medal in the Varsity 8+ and was named All-Conference Second Team. During her 2016 season, Franks helped her crew earn two American Athletic Conference Boat of the Week awards.
While at Temple, she was also a member of Vesper Boat Club, working with the entire U23 Heavyweight Women’s Program as coxswain, winning the 2014 US Rowing National Championship in the Women’s Senior 8+, as well as the Women’s Team Title, and Overall Team Title.
A standout student who completed her Bachelor’s degree in English with a Criminal Justice Minor, Franks was also a multi-year fellow from the College Rowing Coaches Association.
Franks is an alum of Mainland Regional High School (Class of 2012) in South Jersey, and was coached by Jeff Garbutt, who is now the head coach at the University of Iowa. With Franks as coxswain and Garbutt as coach, their Women’s Senior 4+ gained national attention during a season-long win streak, taking home the 2012 New Jersey State Championship and Philadelphia City Championship -- the streak only being broken by a second-place finish at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta and runner-up at the SRAA National Championship.
Franks lives in the Roxborough area of Philadelphia with her boyfriend Tom (also a rower), and their two cats.
