Ryan Francis was an American athlete, and basketball player for the USC Trojans. He managed to start all 30 games in his freshman season, averaging over 7 points per game (fourth highest on the team) and ranked seventh in the Pacific 10 Conference in assists, fifth in steals, and was a Pacific 10 Conference all-freshman honorable mention selection. His 111 assists and 47 steals were the fourth highest ever tallied in those respective categories by a University of Southern California freshman. In his freshman year with the USC team, the Trojans finished 17-13, making it their first winning season in four years.

The starting point guard was the 2004-05 Louisiana Class 4A Player of the Year from Glen Oaks High School in Baton Rouge. At 5-foot-11, Ryan was a tad short for a basketball player, but averaged 22 points as a senior at Glen Oaks. He led the Panthers to a 36-0 record and the state's 4-A championship in 2004-05 season.

Francis, who was in his hometown visiting his mother Paulette Francis for Mother's Day, was killed after being shot multiple times at close range while sitting in the back of a friend's car in the northern part of the city. While waiting at a stoplight at the intersection of Winbourne Avenue and North Acadian Thruway, the driver of another car pulled alongside Francis and his friends. The driver of the adjacent vehicle exited his car wielding a firearm and opened fire. The 19-year-old former Glen Oaks High School basketball star was on his way home from a graduation party at the time of the shooting. Police report he was the unintended victim of a dispute between two other young men.

Full or original name at birth: Ryan LeChanc Francis

Date and place of birth: March 17, 1987, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.A.

Date, time, place and cause of death: May 13, 2006, at 3:40 a.m., Baton Rouge General Medical Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.A. (Murdered - Gunshots)

Burial site: Southern Memorial Gardens, 3012 Blount Road, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.A.