‘Our hearts are heavy’: UM mourns loss of basketball player Kaiden Francis

The University of Mobile is mourning the tragic death of freshman basketball player Kaiden Francis, who died Tuesday (Nov. 19).

Francis, a graduate of South Plantation High School in Broward County, Florida, collapsed that morning and did not recover, the university said in a statement. No further information on the cause of death is available at this time. The campus canceled Wednesday classes and plans to hold a special time of prayer and mourning.

‘Heartbroken’

See full statement below from UM President Charles Smith:

“Kaiden Francis, a freshman basketball player from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, collapsed on campus this morning. Despite the quick and heroic efforts of students and medical professionals, Kaiden never recovered and passed away earlier today. Our hearts are heavy as we process this tragedy.

“Wednesday’s classes have been canceled to give our community time to mourn and pray.

“My family and I had the privilege of watching Kaiden play just last week. He was profoundly gifted and clearly loved by his teammates. As you can imagine, Kaiden’s family, coaches, and teammates are heartbroken and need our prayers.

“As we walk through this together, I want to encourage you to remember where our help and hope come from. You may recall the first chapel of the semester began with a simple, but profound question: “Who is God?” Psalm 23 reminded us that even in the darkest valleys, we can trust that God is good, God is in control, and God is working all things — including this unspeakable tragedy — together for His glory and the good of His people. That doesn’t answer all our questions, nor does it bring our friend back, but it does point us to our deepest need: faith in The One who has always been, and will always be, faithful. As we grieve together, let’s do so with eyes fixed squarely on Jesus.”