Aston Francis ’19 makes basketball look easy. The Texas native led Division III in three-pointers per game in both his junior and senior seasons and he leads the NCAA in average points per game in a season. He was named the 2018 and 2019 CCIW Most Outstanding Player and D3hoops.com’s Central Region Player of the Year. In 2019, he became the first Wheaton basketball player to win the prestigious Jostens Trophy.

“Aston is the best pure scorer that I’ve coached in 26 years,” says Head Men’sBasketball Coach Michael Schauer. “He simply finds ways to put the ball in the basket.”

The hardest part about basketball for Aston? Maintaining his Christian identity while competing. “As Wheaton College students, we want to always be good image-bearers for Christ,” says Aston. “This means we have to keep our composure and, in some manner, show love to our opponents.”

Aston believes a person’s true character is revealed during competition, and he struggled with his on-court demeanor in high school.

“Playing basketball at Wheaton helped me learn to carry myself in more of a Christ-like manner on and off the court,” says Aston. Now, it’s “a tough but wel-come challenge.”

Aston finds his encouragement in “the brotherhood of the Wheaton basketball community.” Connecting with teammates through devotions has helped him grow spiritually, and he turns to alumni regularly for life advice. The strong Christian friendship she’s made at Wheaton help ground him.

A business major, Aston aims to carry the same Christlike composure he’s learned on the court into the front office of an NBA team someday. For now, though, the cheers from King Arena are still ringing in his ears.