
By HockomockSports.com Staff
Franklin senior Caden Sullivan has been selected as the HockomockSports.com Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, for March 10 through March 16. Sullivan is the 27th athlete chosen as Player of the Week for the 2024-25 school year and 13th in the winter season.
Sullivan capped off his career by leading the Panthers to the program’s first ever state championship. The Hockomock League’s leading scorer and Kelley-Rex division MVP, who earlier in the playoffs reached the 1,000-point mark for his career, scored 31 points in a 55-52 win in the Div. 1 final against Newton North at the Tsongas Center. That ranked in the top 30 all-time for a player in a state title game. He is the first boys basketball player to be selected as Player of the Week twice in the same season.
“What an unbelievable leader he’s been,” said Franklin head coach CJ Neely. “Obviously we wanted the ball in his hands down the stretch, simple as that. You saw all the plays he made. Sometimes as a coach, you just have to get out of the way and not over-coach. Just get the ball to your best player and let him do some work.”
Sullivan has been dominant throughout Franklin’s playoff run. The Endicott-commit scored 35 points (including 19 in the second quarter alone) in a blowout win against Shrewsbury in the opening round. In a tough Sweet Sixteen matchup against North Andover, Sullivan scored 28 points (including the 1,000th of his career), pulled down 10 rebounds, and had six steals. In the quarterfinal against Bridgewater-Raynham, he added 24 points and 10 rebounds and sank crucial free throws to hold off the Trojans down the stretch. In the Final Four against Central Catholic, Sullivan scored a game-high 20 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter as the Panthers broke open a tie game and clinched a spot in the program’s fourth state title game.
On Sunday night in Lowell, Sullivan was once again in control for the Panthers. He scored 15 of his game-high 31 points in the first half, helping Franklin rally from an early deficit to take a three-point lead at the break. His three-point play late in the third quarter answered a big run from Newton North and kept the Panthers in the lead (42-37) going to the fourth. Sullivan kept finding ways to score in the fourth, sinking an elbow jumper and finishing a put-back to keep the lead. He went to the line with six seconds left and sank a pair of clutch free throws, his final high school points, to put the Panthers up three.
Click here for a recap and photo gallery from Franklin’s win over Newton North in the D1 state title game.
The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at 8:00 PM. There may be a poll posted on Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision.
Caden Sullivan
Caden Sullivan The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Caden Sullivan The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Caden Sullivan The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Caden Sullivan The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Caden Sullivan The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Caden Sullivan The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Caden Sullivan The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the decision. Caden Sullivan The Player of the Week, presented by Morse Insurance, is selected by the HockomockSports.com staff. Nominations can be submitted throughout the week up until Saturday night at
midnight. There may be a poll posted on every Sunday with the nominations. The results of the poll influence the selection but do not strictly dictate the
decision.