By Loyd McIntosh
Francie Morris’s road to March Madness has come full circle. The Mountain Brook native and freshman phenom helped lead the Samford Lady Bulldogs to a Southern Conference title and a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 14 years.
Part of a talented group of freshmen and sophomores, Morris was an important part of the team’s success throughout the 2025-26 season, averaging 25 minutes, 8.4 points and four rebounds per game. Just one season into her college career, Morris already has a conference championship—Samford’s first since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season—and a trip to “The Big Dance” under her belt.
While the Lady Bulldogs didn’t advance into the tournament—they lost in the play-in game to Southern University, 65-53—Morris says March Madness was an “incredible experience,” especially considering a rough patch during the season where they went 1-6 during conference play. Morris says she and her teammates, who all came from successful high school teams, started to click and were on their way to a historic and thrilling run. “A bunch of us were like, ‘okay, we’re not used to losing this much,’” she says.
In February, the Lady Bulldogs caught fire, winning five of the last seven regular-season games, then won three straight games to capture the Southern Conference championship, punching their ticket to the NCAA Tournament in Greenville, South Carolina. “This has been the craziest experience ever, but it just made it so fun,” Morris adds. “It was hard at first; we just got rewarded for working super hard and then coming together as a team. I think we all just came together as a team and started playing for each other and not just for ourselves.”
Morris adds, “Just getting to play on that floor, and just knowing all these incredible players have played there was an incredible experience. Being able to play in March Madness was truly a dream.”
Morris’s journey to Samford began in Mountain Brook among a family full of athletes and adrenaline junkies. Her twin brother, John, is a basketball player at Hillsdale College in southern Michigan. Her older brother, Duncan, is a pilot in the U.S. Marines, and her grandfather, the late Mike Kolen, was a linebacker for the Miami Dolphins in the 1970s. Nicknamed “Captain Crunch,” Kolen was a two-time Super Bowl champion and was on the Dolphins’ team that went 14-0 in 1972.
While Morris may not slam unsuspecting quarterbacks to the turf, she certainly inherited her grandfather’s competitive spirit. She excelled in youth basketball while a student at Brookwood Forest Elementary School. In junior high, Morris was a standout with her club team in the Over The Mountain (OTM) basketball league as well as Mountain Junior High.
Morris’ talent on the hardwood caught the attention of Mountain Brook High School Head Coach Sara Price, who put the talented point guard on the varsity squad as a ninth grader. However, Morris moved with her family to Montgomery following her freshman year, where she blossomed at Trinity Presbyterian. During her three years at Trinity, Morris led the Wildcats to three consecutive state championships (3A, 2023 and 2024, and 4A, 2025), and rose to the No. 5 player in Alabama by her senior year.
Now a standout for Samford, her basketball life has come full circle, literally. As a young player with OTM, she had a chance to play at the Pete Hannah Center several times and appreciates the opportunity to help lead the Lady Bulldogs to new heights close to home. “I’m thankful that God has given me the opportunity,” says Morris. “I’m super excited for the upcoming years, and to just keep playing for Samford.”
