BLACKSBURG -- One of the most credentialed athletes in program and Virginia Tech Athletics history, Caleb Henson, will be utilizing his redshirt for the 2025-2026 season, announced Hokies head wrestling head coach Tony Robie. After entering the lineup as a true freshman in 2023, the 2024 national champion and three-time All-American has one more year of eligibility remaining for the Hokies.

“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” said Robie.

With a young lineup and a top four recruiting class already on campus, the Hokies are putting stock into the future and making a strong run upon Henson's return to the lineup.

“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.

Just the second national champion and the first back-to-back national finalist in program history, the two-time ACC champion and ACC wrestler of the year will be looking to focus on freestyle aspirations while continuing to train with his teammates throughout the upcoming season.

Henson mentioned, “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.”

Tech returns to action next weekend at the Southeast Open in Salem, Virginia on Sunday, November 2 at Roanoke College. Follow Hokies Wrestling on X and Instagram for the latest Virginia Tech Wrestling news and updates.