INDEPENDENCE, Ky. — The Simon Kenton High School baseball team is competing with a special purpose in mind this season.
Before each game, the Pioneers think of former player Brad Franzen, a 2013 Simon Kenton graduate who has stage 4 colon cancer.
“We get them (the teammates) huddled up in the dugout and we send a prayer to him,” said 2027 outfielder Nathan Barth.
Brad, 29, is the son of junior varsity coach Mark Franzen, a longtime staffer in the program. It’s the second time Brad has been diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer since November 2020.
“Now that he is going through it again — we just felt like as a program we had to come behind that family and do everything we could to support them,” Simon Kenton varsity baseball coach Brady Smiley said.
This Saturday, the team plays host to Beechwood at 1 p.m. in the Stand Up To Cancer game. Donations will be accepted at the concession stand for The Franzen Colon Cancer Research Fund. Simon Kenton also has shirts adorned with “Family” and the cancer awareness ribbon across the front with the Franzen name.
Hear more about Franzen's fight and how the team is supporting him:
“There are times that life reminds you that we are playing a game and there are things bigger than baseball,” Smiley said. “So when you get an opportunity for two teams who usually are Northern Kentucky rivals, really competitive with each other. When you get a chance to come together and show each other that love and support that baseball allows you to have, I think you got to take advantage of that moment to show these kids that there are things bigger than baseball.”
Carol Franzen, Brad’s mother and Mark’s wife, is the Simon Kenton boys and girls swimming coach. Carol is grateful for how the baseball program and school community has reached out to show love and support for her family.
“It’s been incredible; I kind of start to tear up when I talk about it,” Carol said. “But, the first time Brad was diagnosed the outpouring was just — I can’t even describe it. When everybody heard that Brad had a re-occurrence, they just stepped up again. They did so much the first time — it’s hard to expect them to do the same thing the second time. But, the outpouring of love and support for us and for Brad has just been incredible especially with this game.”
Brad grew up in Independence and graduated from the University of Louisville after high school. He and his wife, Abbey, along with the couple’s son and daughter live in Bloomington, Ind.
“He is still so amazed at how many people still rally around him,” Carol Franzen said. “Every time he comes home people are coming up to him and saying, ‘Hey Brad we’re praying for you. We love you.’ It just shows kind of the effect it’s had on people here.”
Brad underwent 11 rounds of chemotherapy and two surgeries after initially being diagnosed at the age of 25 in November 2020.
In March 2025, it was discovered he has stage 4 colon cancer again. The family said since Brad's cancer was initially in stage 4, there was a 90% chance it would return.
“He now has a tumor in his pelvis,” Carol said. “Thankfully that’s the only place it is. But, he has restarted chemotherapy last week. And hopefully to shrink the tumor so they don’t do another surgery.”
In addition to Saturday’s game, the Franzen Colon Cancer Research Fund has a number of fundraisers this year including a motorcycle charity ride at High Stakes Harley-Davidson in Florence June 28 along with a golf outing at Kenton County Golf Course June 29.
The family also asks for prayers for Brad’s recovery. Coach Smiley and the Pioneers are certainly helping with that aspect.
“People are gathering baskets for the golf outing that we’re having,” Carol said. “Just this game and the fact that people are willing to go out, push people to give donations. What (Smiley has) done to raise awareness to other communities, to other coaches, other teams – it just means the world. Can’t thank him enough.”
Smiley said the season is a teaching moment for the players in the Simon Kenton program, too. It’s a life lesson beyond the diamond.
“We take everything so seriously which I’ll always do,” Smiley said. “But, it’s just a good reality check. Wins and losses in reality mean nothing. It’s really what you do with the relationships that you create that matters.”
