The Thomas B. Poole '61 and Family Head Coach of Hobart Soccer Shawn Griffin and his assistant coaches - Rob Brandell, Jacob Fox '16 and Joe Kennedy – have been named the United Soccer Coaches Region III Coaching Staff of the Year. This is the third time that Griffin and his assistants have been honored with a regional award.
 
Griffin was named the Northeast Region Coach of the Year in 2008 and the New England Coach of the Year in 1998, while serving as the head coach at Plymouth St.
 
Griffin and his staff guided Hobart to a 13-1-5 overall record. It was the most wins in a season by the Statesmen since 2019, when they won 14 games. The 13 wins are tied for eighth on Hobart's single-season wins list. The Statesmen entered the NCAA tournament unbeaten (13-0-5) for the first time since 2008.
 
For the first time in program history, Hobart started its season with three straight shutouts, beating Kean 2-0, Drew 1-0 and St. John Fisher 2-0. The Statesmen made it four straight victories with a 2-1 win over Utica. After a 1-1 draw with Rochester, Hobart beat Brockport 4-1 to improve to 5-0-1 entering league play.
 
The Statesmen went 6-0-3 in Liberty League play on their way to capturing their fifth conference regular season title and home-field advantage in the conference tournament. Hobart beat Union 1-0 and Vassar 2-1 in the Liberty League Tournament to claim its fifth tournament title and its 10th trip to the NCAA tournament.
 
Hobart's magical season came to a heartbreaking conclusion in the first round of the NCAA tournament when it was edged by Messiah 1-0 in overtime.
 
Griffin and his staff also earned Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year recognition. Senior goalie Tommy Chyzowych was named the Defensive Player of the Year, highlighting a program record nine players that earned All-Liberty League recognition. The Statesmen put six players on the first team. Five Hobart players went on to earn United Soccer Coaches All-Region III honors. Sophomore Brady Leitner highlighted that group, becoming Griffn's first United Soccer Coaches All-American during his tenure as head coach of the Statesmen.
 
In 25 seasons, Griffin has guided the Statesmen to an overall record of 263-148-63. He has led Hobart to nine of its 10 NCAA tournament appearances and all five of its Liberty League titles. Griffin has mentored 122 All-Liberty League selections, including four players of the year, and 47 United Soccer Coaches All-Region selections.