Oftentimes in sports, and in life, the best bet you can make is on yourself. Hofstra men’s lacrosse player Griffin Turner took that bet and is now living out his dream as a Division I athlete.
Like most top-flight high school players, Turner was receiving attention from Division I programs across the northeast. His first offer came earlier than most other student-athletes today.
“My sophomore year, I got my first offer from a Patriot League school, so that’s kind of where my recruiting started,” Turner said. “That was right before the rule change. There was a rule change where [the NCAA] wouldn’t allow any contact until your junior year.”
Through his junior year of high school, Turner had about a half-dozen Division I offers, including from Hofstra. However, as the Danville, California native was ready to cross the country to begin touring interested schools, his plans joined the mountainous pile of postponements due to the start of the pandemic.
“Senior year, with COVID starting, it kind of messed up the recruiting process for me and not being able to go and see other schools and visiting them, so that’s kind of why I ended up going to [Texas Christian University],” Turner said. “I didn’t want to make a quick commitment to a school I hadn’t seen yet and use a year of eligibility at a school I didn’t see a future with.”
With the school not offering a varsity men’s lacrosse team, Turner played for the club lacrosse team, but knew he wanted more.
“While I was at TCU, I really enjoyed my time.” Turner said. “I enjoyed school there. The one thing I didn’t really enjoy as much was the commitment level that the club program offered and me playing my whole life, it was just something that I wanted. I decided I want that commitment, so I got back into contact with some coaches and [Hofstra head] coach [Seth] Tierney and Kyle Harrison, who used to be a player for Coach T.”
Harrison played at Johns Hopkins University when Tierney was an assistant and associate head coach there, between his stint as an assistant at Hofstra and his current head coaching role with the Pride. Harrison played 17 professional seasons after graduating and has earned a respectable reputation in the lacrosse community, including with both Tierney and Turner.
“He’s a great guy,” Turner said. “He’s a great mentor. He strongly recommended Hofstra and spoke very highly of [Tierney], saying he’s the best coach he’d ever played for, and that was big for me and a big reason for why I ended up coming here.”
While Harrison spoke highly of Hofstra to Turner, he also made sure to advertise Turner to the Pride.
“I got a phone call from Kyle Harrison, and he was coaching and he saw this kid play and he didn’t have any place to go,” Tierney said. “We reached out [to Turner]. I have a pretty good relationship with Kyle Harrison, and I got a chance to watch some film. Griffin ended up going to another school, and then he called us back and said, ‘I’d like to come to Hofstra if the offer or the chance to try out is still there,’ and one thing led to another and now he’s a midfielder for us that gets a pretty good amount of playing time for, technically, a freshman.”
Before Turner made his commitment, he was able to take the campus tour that was robbed of him in high school.
“It was the summer,” Turner said. “I came out and then I toured the campus with coaches, and I really liked it. They took a chance on me, and I took a chance on them.”
That chance for Turner came in the form of betting on himself. When he showed up on campus, there were no guarantees that he would be a part of the team which was the reason he was here.
“The risk was all on Griffin,” Tierney said. “I’m sure he got some academic money; he’s a pretty intelligent guy but, financially, it was on him … At that time in the recruiting process, we didn’t have any scholarship money, and he knew he wasn’t necessarily guaranteed a spot on the team with a roster cap. But he was also confident enough and he was going to work hard enough that [he] was not going to make it easy for us not to take him.”
Although COVID-19 challenges reared their ugly heads again, Turner worked through them and made the team, becoming a part of a brotherhood.
“When we got back, it wasn’t crystal clear with the whole COVID stuff still,” Tierney said. “He wasn’t really living with our guys; that was the biggest hurdle. He has now fallen into a family that loves him, and he loves them.”
When the season started, Turner made an immediate impact. In the Pride’s opener against Merrimack College, he recorded an assist. In the second game against Sacred Heart University, Turner scored a hat-trick. Since then, he’s continued to see playing time as he adjusts to the new environment.
“It was definitely a little bit rocky at first; that was expected coming into a new place where I didn’t really know what I was getting into,” Turner said. “It’s gone well so far. I love all the guys. I love all the coaches. Playing in the games so far and the atmosphere, it’s great.”
Turner continues to earn his playing time with the traits that made him a hot commodity in high school.
“I liked his persistence, his desire and his dream to play Division I,” Tierney said. “I liked his skills, and I liked how focused he was when we spoke … This was his opportunity to make a Division I lacrosse team, and he worked really hard over the summer.”
With his early success, Turner still has room to grow and a chance to become a contributor for the Pride over the next few years.
“He’s very steady,” Tierney said. “There’s another level to Griffin’s game that we need to get him to and sometimes, it takes a little bit of time. He’s got a really good first step, good lacrosse IQ [and he] shoots the ball well. His future is bright.”
Photo courtesy of Evan Bernstein/Hofstra Athletics
