Lock Haven Hires Gavin Hoffman as a Volunteer Assistant

Lock Haven head coach Scott Moore made a strong addition to his coaching staff today as the school announced the hiring of former Ohio State All-American Gavin Hoffman as the team’s volunteer assistant for the 2024-25 campaign. 

Hoffman saw his Ohio State career end prematurely in 2023-24 as he suffered a season-ending injury and didn’t compete after early January. Ironically, Hoffman’s final win came at the Collegiate Duals against Lock Haven’s Colin Fegley. His Buckeye career ended with a 66-43 record; highlighted by an incredible run at the 2022 NCAA Tournament. As the 21st seed, Hoffman’s tournament started with three straight wins over higher-ranked opponents (#12 Tanner Sloan, #5 Nino Bonaccorsi, #13 Jake Woodley) and it landed him in the NCAA semis. He would end up dropping that match to Max Dean of Penn State and settling for sixth place. 

Hoffman qualified for the NCAA Championships on two occasions, both coming at 197 lbs, and his best Big Ten finish was an eighth-place showing in 2022. He came to Columbus after a remarkable high school career, winning three PIAA AA state titles for Montoursville and earning the #10 overall ranking in the high school Class of 2018. 

Lock Haven in 2024-25 will feature a squad that sent three wrestlers to the 2024 NCAA Championships, led by third-place finisher Anthony Noto. They have also added another national qualifier from Buffalo via the transfer portal. 

The move to Lock Haven will bring Hoffman close to home as Montoursville is just over 30 miles away from Lock Haven’s campus. 

Adding a young upperweight coach seems like a smart move for Moore who has an incoming freshman class that features a couple of excellent 184-197 lb prospects. According to MatScouts’ recently released final Big Board for 2024, Tucker Hogan (Daniel Boone, PA) comes in at #27 and Cole Bartram (Northern York, PA) is #112. The two actually met in the AAA 189 lb state finals in each of the last two years, with Hogan winning both matchups. 

Here is Lock Haven’s full Class of 2024.