PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A pair of highly decorated Plymouth State University men's soccer alumni have been selected as part of the Little East Conference's (LEC) Hall of Fame Class of 2026, the league announced on Thursday.
 
Paul Andrew '96, a three-time All-LEC First Team selection and three-year captain who claimed a pair of LEC major awards, and Shawn Griffin '88, who guided the Panthers to more than 90 wins, three NCAA Tournament appearances, and three ECAC Tournament appearances in his eight years as head coach from 1992-99, were among a group of ten individuals and one team to be enshrined.
 
First established in 2012, the LEC Hall of Fame now includes 147 individuals (76 men, 71 women) and seven teams. Andrew and Griffin are part of a class that features nine former student-athletes, one former head coach and one team. Induction ceremonies will take place on each inductee's respective campus during the upcoming academic year.
 
The LEC's 12th Hall of Fame Class includes:

• Paul Andrew (Plymouth State) – Men's Soccer
• Shawn Griffin (Plymouth State) – Men's Soccer (Coach)
• David Nicholson (Eastern Connecticut) – Men's Track & Field
• Katie Bradford (Keene State) – Women's Soccer and Softball
• Charles Lai (UMass Boston) – Men's Tennis
• Kevin Cutler (UMass Dartmouth) – Men's Track & Field
• Dayna (Reilly) Kitterick (Rhode Island College) – Women's Tennis
• Jamie Ruginski (Southern Maine) – Men's Track & Field
• Jess Williamson (Southern Maine) – Women's Volleyball
• Lauren (Post) Manzi (Western Connecticut) – Women's Tennis
• 1998 Southern Maine Women's Basketball Team

 
 
About the Inductees:
 
Paul Andrew '96
 
Paul Andrew was a standout midfielder as a member of the Plymouth State University men's soccer team from 1992-95, helping re-establish the Panther men's soccer program as one of the best in New England. He served as captain for three seasons while earning a pair of Little East Conference major awards and three consecutive First Team All-LEC selections his sophomore through senior years.
 
A native of Paisley, Scotland, Andrew made an immediate impact at PSU and within the LEC in 1992 as a freshman, earning Little East Rookie of the Year honors after scoring five goals with a league-best 18 assists for 28 points.
 
Andrew's sophomore season was his most decorated, as he was named the LEC Co-Player of the Year, alongside teammate and 2016 LEC Hall of Fame inductee Brett Scaccia '98, and earned the first of two consecutive NSCAA Second Team All-Region honors. Despite missing the first half of his senior season with an injury, Andrew as named First Team All-LEC for the third straight year and was selected to participate in the New England Senior All-Star game.
 
Andrew helped lead the Panthers to a four-year record of 44-24-3, with three consecutive postseason appearances in an era prior to the establishment of LEC tournaments. Plymouth State went 13-5-0 in both 1993 and 1994 while qualifying for the ECAC Division III New England Championship Tournament. PSU went 12-6-1 in Andrew's final season in 1995, and made its return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1989 campaign, falling 2-0 to eventual national champion Williams.
 
Andrew earned Academic All-America and Academic All-District honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as a junior and a senior. He earned Third Team Academic All-America in 1993 and First Team Academic All-America in 1994. He ranks second in career assists (34), and his single-season mark of 18 assists in 1993 stood as the standard until 1997 and is still the second-most in a season today.
 
Andrew earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Plymouth State in 1996 and was inducted into the Plymouth State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.
 
 
 
Shawn Griffin '88
 
Shawn Griffin's association with the Plymouth State University men's soccer team spanned nearly two decades as a player and coach from 1983-99. He began his storied coaching career as an assistant coach in 1987, then enjoyed an eight-year span of incredible success as the program's head coach from 1992-99. He was part of seven NCAA Tournament teams and four ECAC Tournaments at PSU, earning induction into the Plymouth State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019.
 
Over his eight years as head coach, Griffin led the Panthers to a 92-45-9 mark, including a 41-8-1 record in the Little East Conference. PSU topped the LEC standings in five of his eight years as head coach with three undefeated league seasons, going 6-0-0 in 1993 and 7-0-0 in 1997 and 1998. His teams made three NCAA Tournament appearances (1995, 97, 98), three ECAC Tournament appearances (1993, 94, 99) and competed in the first-ever Little East Conference Championship Tournament in his final season in 1999, advancing to the title match.
 
Griffin mentored five National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA, now United Soccer Coaches) All-Americans, 18 NSCAA All-Region selections, five LEC Player of the Year winners and five LEC Rookie of the Year recipients. Under his guidance, a total of 45 Panthers garnered All-LEC honors, while he was LEC Coach of the Year four times (1993, 95, 97, 98).
 
The 1998 campaign was one of the most impressive seasons in program history. Griffin's Panthers posted 11 shutouts during an unbeaten regular season (16-0-2), just the second in the then 42-year history of the program, which resulted in the team earning the No. 3 national ranking. Plymouth State hosted that year's NCAA Division III Championship New England Regional, which saw the Panthers post a 1-0 victory over Amherst before being edged by Williams in the regional final, 3-2. PSU concluded the year with a 17-1-2 overall record, matching the program-record for wins in a season. At the conclusion of the season, Griffin was named NSCAA New England Region Coach of the Year.
 
Griffin's success has continued at Hobart College, where he's posted a 263-148-63 record in 25 seasons. His teams have made nine NCAA Tournament appearances and captured five Liberty League tournament titles (2009, 17, 19, 23, 25). The Statesmen have been named the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year five times (2003, 06, 17, 23, 25) and were named the United Soccer Coaches Region III Coaching Staff of the Year in 2025. Griffin was also named the NSCAA Northeast Region Coach of the Year in 2008. He has mentored 122 All-Liberty League selections, including four Player of the Year honorees and four Rookie of the Year recipients.
 
In total, Griffin has compiled a career record of 355-193-72 (.631) in 33 years as a head coach. He has mentored 67 United Soccer Coaches All-Region recipients and 166 all-conference selections.
 
During his four years as a student-athlete, Griffin helped the Panthers to a 52-14-16 record (.732) with three NCAA Tournament appearances. He was a member of perhaps the best Plymouth State team ever – the 1983 team that was enshrined in the PSU Hall of Fame in 2000. After dropping the first game of the season, the team ran off a 20-game unbeaten streak which included winning the New England Regional and national quarterfinal games. Plymouth State was nipped in the national semifinals by North Carolina-Greensboro, 1-0, on a game decided by penalty kicks. Three years later, the Panthers were again New England Regional champions before losing in the national quarterfinal.