Bio

Tyler Francis enters his fifth season as an assistant coach with the Kirkwood Community College men’s basketball program in 2023-24.

During his first five years as an Assistant at the junior college level, Francis has coached and helped develop 21 All-Region Players and 5 NJCAA All-Americans.

The past four years with Francis on staff the Eagles have accumulated 86 wins and won two regular season conference titles (2020 & 2022). Kirkwood has appeared in back to back Region Championship games in 2022 & 2023 during that time as well. Along with the team success, Tyler has had the opportunity to coach and develop multiple talented players (18 All-Region & 4 All-Americans), including 5 players that have moved on to play at NCAA DI schools and 11 that have signed with NCAA DII schools.

During the 2018-19 season, Francis served as assistant coach alongside current Kirkwood Head Coach, Tim Sandquist, at Rock Valley College in Rockford, IL. The Golden Eagles finished the season with a record of 25-7, as NJCAA Region 4 Champions, NJCAA District 2 Champions, and Runners-Up at the NJCAA DIII National Tournament. 

Prior to Rock Valley, Tyler was a Graduate Assistant for the women’s basketball team at Wichita State University (Wichita, KS). While at Wichita State, some of Tyler’s duties within the program involved video operations, scouting, assisting with player skill development, and graphic design for recruits and social media. During this time, he received a Masters of Education in Sport Management through Wichita State.

Tyler received his Bachelor's degree in PreK-12 Physical Education from Wichita State University as well. During his undergrad, Francis coached for two high school boys’ basketball programs. One of which being under Iowa City native, Joe Auer, who is the Head Coach at perennial power Wichita Heights High School (Wichita, KS).

Francis played basketball at Dodge City Community College (Dodge City, KS) in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference from 2011-2013. His first year as a Conquistador the team posted a 20-12 record and were ranked in the NJCAA Top 25 for a period of time. Francis' sophomore year he played in 29 games, while starting in three of those games.

Francis was born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas, where he attended Manhattan High School. Tyler and his wife Maggie, who is an Admission Advisor for Kirkwood, live in Cedar Rapids. Tyler is the son of Terry and Heidi Francis, and has two siblings, older sister Lindsay and younger brother Zach, who all reside in Manhattan.