Hall of Fame
The longest tenured and most successful head coach in the history of Hobart soccer, Shawn Griffin just wrapped up his 25th season with the Statesmen, sporting an impressive 263-148-63 record with the Purple and Orange. He has directed Hobart to five Liberty League regular season titles, five Liberty League Tournament Championships and nine NCAA tournament appearances.
This past season, Griffin and his staff were named the United Soccer Coaches Region III Coaching Staff of the Year after guiding the Statesmen to a 13-1-5 overall record and securing the Liberty League regular season and tournament championships. The 13 wins are tied for eighth on Hobart’s single season wins list.
An outstanding motivator and recruiter, Griffin was also tabbed the 2008 National Soccer Coaches Association of America Northeast Region Coach of the Year and is a four-time Liberty League Coach of the Year.
That magical 2008 season, saw Griffin’s Statesmen win 11 straight to start the season, entering the NCAA tournament with a 16-0-3 record. Ranked fourth in the nation, Hobart shutout Cabrini 2-0 and Cortland 1-0 on the first weekend of the national championship tournament, advancing to the round of 16 for the first time in program history. While the team’s unbeaten run ended in the third round in Dubuque, Iowa, the 18 wins are the high-water mark for Hobart soccer.
In his 25 years at Hobart, Griffin has mentored 122 All-Liberty League selections, including four players of the year and four rookies of the year. Griffin coached his seventh All-American in 2025 as sophomore Brady Leitner earned first team honors, marking Hobart’s first All-American since 1992. Griffin’s charges have also excelled in the classroom earning 164 Liberty League All-Academic selections. His student-athletes have earned four Academic All-America awards.
Building Hobart soccer into a national power, Griffin’s recruiting efforts and contacts have attracted players from across the United States and countries such as Chile, Guatemala, France, Germany, Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland, and Sweden.
Before joining the Statesmen, Griffin coached eight seasons at his alma mater, Plymouth State, where he guided the Panthers to three NCAA tournament appearances and three ECAC tournament appearances. Griffin coached six All-Americans and seven Little East Conference Players of the Year while at PSU. He was named the Little East Conference Coach of the Year four times and was selected the NSCAA’s New
England Region Coach of the Year in 1998.
Griffin’s overall head coaching record across 33 seasons is 355-193-72. He ranks ninth in career wins among active Division III coaches.
A 1988 graduate of Plymouth State, Griffin played on three NCAA tournament teams, including the 1983 Division III national semifinalists’ team, helping the Panthers amass a 52-14-16 record. After his successful playing and coaching career at PSU, Griffin was inducted into the Plymouth State Hall of Fame in October of 2019.
