Caleb Henson, a standout athlete in Virginia Tech Athletics history, will redshirt for the 2025-2026 wrestling season. The announcement was made by Hokies Wrestling head coach Tony Robie.
Henson joined the lineup as a true freshman in 2023 and has since become a national champion and three-time All-American. He retains one year of eligibility with the Hokies.
Robie commented on the decision: “Everyone knows what Caleb brings to our program in terms of wins and losses and the way that he competes, how he represents us on and off the wrestling mat; he’s really been the face of the program for the past three years. But we’ve made the decision that we’re going to redshirt Caleb this year.”
With several younger athletes on the team and a highly ranked recruiting class joining, Virginia Tech is focusing on building for future success when Henson returns.
“We’re not graduating anyone this year so looking ahead to next year, we could have a really special team, perhaps the best team we’ve ever had here at Virginia Tech so for us not to take advantage of that opportunity, we’d be missing the boat on that. Caleb’s going to focus on developing his freestyle ability and compete throughout the year… He’s excited about the plan; he obviously had to be on board with this when we floated it to him. Team goals are important to Caleb. Virginia Tech wrestling is important to Caleb. His legacy is about a lot more than himself here I think he feels like. He wants to have a legacy that he can look back and know that we did everything we could to put our team in the position to do really well at nationals,” stated Robie.
Henson is recognized as only the second national champion in program history and its first back-to-back national finalist. He also holds two ACC championships and has twice been named ACC wrestler of the year. During his redshirt season, Henson will focus on freestyle competition while continuing training with teammates.
“I’m excited for the year ahead. I look forward to continue working with my brothers and helping prepare them however I can throughout the season. This decision was not taken lightly; a decision I fully trust in my coaches and the people around me. Our goals as a team as well for me personally remain the same – continue to be the best versions of ourselves on and off the mat and represent Virginia Tech Wrestling to the best of our ability,” said Henson.
The Hokies’ next competition will take place at Roanoke College during Sunday’s Southeast Open in Salem, Virginia.