BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU women’s track and field program is signing Skyler Franklin, Head Coach Dennis Shaver announced on Monday.
Reigning from Miramar, Florida, Skyler Franklin will add much-needed help to the 400-meter group as soon as she steps on campus. She was ranked as the No. 1 recruit for the Class of 2026 according to MileSplit, before reclassifying to the Class of 2025.
Franklin currently attends Rise Preparatory Academy, located in the heart of Cutler Bay, Fla. She has dual-citizenship between the USA and Jamaica, and chose to represent Jamaica last season as she heads forward with her career on the track.
The 400m star made waves across the world this past season, notably clocking the top-U18 time in the world of 51.01 seconds. Her time made her the fastest sophomore in US history and the third-fastest 400m runner in US history. Forty-four times an All-American as she looks to open up her junior season of high school, Franklin heads into 2025 with not even the sky as her limit.
Not only did she make waves on the high school scene in the US, she made it on the national level as she competed at the 2024 Jamaican U20 Championships. Franklin clocked a time of 51.99 seconds to win the Jamaican U20 title across 400m, and also took silver in the 200 meter with a time of 23.16 seconds. Keeping it the realm of Jamaica, Franklin sits at second all-time in Jamaican U20 history with her 400m PR of 51.01 seconds, just behind Sandie Richards who clocked 50.92 seconds in 1987.
In the states this past season, Franklin was crowned the National Champion at the Nike Indoor Nationals where she ran 53.44 seconds in the 400m. She also claimed the 4×400-meter relay title at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals with Montverde Academy with their time of 3:31.68.
Franklin holds a stellar list of personal-best times that even graduating seniors wish they could have at least one of. After her sophomore season, Franklin holds PRs of 7.46 seconds (60m), 11.44 seconds (100m), 23.00 seconds (200m), 37.56 seconds (300m), and 51.01 seconds (400m) at the age of 17.
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