Shane Griffith May Be Back For The 2024 NCAA Season
Shane Griffith May Be Back For The 2024 NCAA Season
2021 NCAA Champion and 3-time All-American Shane Griffith's dilemma on returning for a final season of college wrestling.
Immediately after Shane Griffith defeated Dean Hamiti for 5th place at the NCAA Tournament, the questions shifted to the future. What’s next for Shane Griffith?
Will Shane Griffith Wrestle Next Season?
In his post-match interview above, Griffith admitted to not knowing the answer to that question, “I was planning on this being the last match of my career, but obviously not the way I wanted to go out so I’m probably going to take a couple of weeks off…get my head right.”
Griffith was noticeably conflicted about a number of things concerning wrestling. He feels college wrestling has taken a toll on his body and admitted, “having a tough time getting to (his) offense” and not being the wrestler he once was. Griffith also shared his dilemma for wrestling at Stanford next season saying, “I just kinda want to move on…I’ve expunged my academic options at Stanford so even if I wanted to (wrestle)...I might have to leave.”
Now just a week later, Griffith seems a little more optimistic about returning for his final year of eligibility - posting on his Instagram, “Did someone say one more?”
Does this mean Griffith will be back next year? Will he wrestle at 165 or 174? Will he stay at Stanford or enter the transfer portal? We’ll likely have the answers to those questions in the coming weeks but it's certainly a more positive note that Griffith left us with in Tulsa. Regardless of the uncertainty on all of the above questions, if Griffith does return, he’ll be a title threat at whatever weight and at whatever school he wrestles.
Shane Griffith was the face of the “Keep Stanford Wrestling” movement in 2021 when Stanford announced they would cut the wrestling program along with 10 other sports at the institution. That year, Griffith went on to win an NCAA title at 165 pounds as the 8-seeded wrestler in the bracket. Many attribute Griffith’s title-winning performance as the final piece to the puzzle that saved the wrestling team and every program from being cut.
Highlights of Shane Griffith's win over Jake Wentzel in the 2021 NCAA finals:
In 2022, Griffith again made an unlikely run to the finals when he defeated Evan Wick in the semi-finals after losing to Wick three times in the regular season. Though Griffith lost to O’Toole in the finals last year, Griffith constantly wrestles his best in March at the NCAA tournament and was only a few seconds away from upsetting David Carr this year in the quarter-finals. Again, if Griffith returns, he'll be a huge factor in the national landscape next season and a wrestler fans everywhere would love to see take the mat for one final year.
Shane Griffith's win over Dean Hamiti in the 5th place match at the 2023 NCAA Tournament:
