Griffin Benedict, class of 2005.

At St. Pius, Griffin was a multisport athlete, playing both varsity football and varsity baseball and he was captain for BOTH Teams.

As a quarterback, Griffin threw for two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and was named to the Dekalb County touchdown club. He still holds the record for the single game passing yards, pass completions and pass attempts.  Coach Standard likes to say “people do not believe that I coached a QB that threw for over 1,000 yards two years in a row!”

However, baseball was Griffin’s main sport. After playing for the Golden Lions, he played four seasons at Georgia Southern.  His junior year he hit 12 home runs and 65s RBI in 57 games and was named second-team All-Southern Conference. As a senior he hit 14 home runs, scored 67 runs and drove in 65 RBIs in 58 games. He was named a First Team All-American in 2009.

After graduating from Georgia Southern, Griffin continued his baseball career in the San Diego Padres organization, playing for several of their affiliates, including the Class A Eugene Emeralds, Class A Fort Wayne TinCaps, and Class AAA Portland Beavers. 

After his playing career, Griffin transitioned into coaching. He spent ten years with the San Diego Padres as a bullpen catcher, where he gradually expanded his role to include advanced scouting and player instruction. In 2021, he joined the Iowa Cubs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, as a bench coach, where he once again contributed in multiple areas of player development and game prep. In 2023 the Miami Marlins brought him on as their quality assurance coach, and when the team’s third base coach suffered a mid-season injury, Griffin stepped in to fill the role and retained the position for the 2024 season.

We are proud to induct Griffin into the Athletic Hall of Fame