Wake Forest Athletics
Garrison Tubbs Caps Successful Debut Season As Wake Forest Male Freshman of the Year
6/22/2021 9:47:00 AM | Men's Soccer, Les Johns
The Georgia native became an immediate starter as a freshman and helped the Demon Deacons advance to the Elite Eight.
Despite battling through Covid-19 and injuries, Garrison Tubbs worked his way onto nearly every All-Freshman list across the college soccer landscape and was named Wake Forest Male Rookie of the Year as part of the 2021 Virtual Black & Golden Globes.
"Garrison was very important for us," Wake Forest men's soccer head coach Bobby Muuss said. "Garrison decided to come not knowing if Michael DeShields was coming back for a fifth year. He commits, but then Michael decides to come back. We knew Garrison was going to come in and compete.
"I knew he was going to make people's lives difficult, because of the quality person and player he is. When Garrison got here, we played him in an exhibition a little bit as a center back and right back. He showed what he could do there and showed that he was too good not to use."
Tubbs in his debut season claimed a spot on the All-ACC Freshman Team and the TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI First-Team.
"I had a lot of ups and downs," he said. "I have to give it to the coaching staff at Wake Forest and my teammates. They really pushed me to become a better player. To be honest, without them, I couldn't have had success."
Because of Covid-19, the NCAA spread the college soccer season over both the fall and spring semesters for the first time, and the Demon Deacons lost several players to the professional ranks after the fall, leaving a young and inexperienced group affectionately dubbed the "Baby Deacs" by Muuss.
But the team persevered, going through the spring without a loss until the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight — just one win shy of a second-straight trip to the College Cup.
"I mostly think about the success we had in the season," Tubb said about the highlights of his freshman season. "Just hearing the talk in the soccer community, there were a lot of people who doubted our ability to make a run in the tournament because of how young our team was collectively. It shows how competitive we are and how much we want to win. That's what sticks out to me about the past season.
"I wouldn't say I was surprised at all. I work with these guys every day. To see the determination that every guy had coming into training every single day, and how the coaches pushed us every day, I wasn't surprised at all."
After a 7-1-0 fall regular season record, the Deacs were set to square off against Virginia in the first round of the ACC Tournament that had been truncated from its normal 12 teams to just eight. Then Tubbs, along with a host of Wake Forest players, had to miss the game because of Covid-19 testing and contact tracing — the first time all season the team had been impacted.
"When I tested positive, I didn't have any symptoms, so I was shocked," Tubbs said. "Two days later, I started feeling sick. It definitely was quite a struggle, but the worst part was missing being out there with the guys fighting for a championship. Watching them on TV battling it out was hard."
Tubbs was in a hotel in complete isolation for more than 10 days, and the Deacs lost 2-0 to UVA.
"It was pretty rough," he said. "I just tried to stay on top of getting a little workout every day, as much as possible in the hotel — push ups and sit ups. I stayed in touch with the other guys in isolation, which was key to our sanity."
When Muuss picked Tubbs up from the hotel, he noticed he was shaking.
"It was difficult on these kids mentally," Muuss said. "It was tough for them to watch their team play, when they've helped them get to that point — they saw them fall short, when they knew they could help. It wasn't easy on any of them."
Tubbs moved to Atlanta in the summer of 2018, and ended up signing an amatuer contract to play with Atlanta United 2 in the United Soccer League.
"I got a good bit of professional games under my belt before I came to Wake Forest," he said. "Now that I'm at Wake Forest, I'm not allowed to play anymore. I come in for training every once in a while. I just try to stay involved as much as I can."
He returned home shortly after the NCAA Tournament loss to North Carolina, and will be back on campus and in camp with his teammates in early July.
"It'll be good to be back after it with the guys," Tubbs said. "I'm prepared and focused, and I know the guys are as well. I can tell you for sure all the guys are ready to get back after it. We know we're going to have a target on our back. We're not the Baby Deacs anymore, and I'm excited.
"Going into the fall, we're not expected to be the young guys anymore. We have that experience under our belts. It was good to get that experience and hopefully it will pay dividends in the future."
Selecting a college destination became an easy choice for Tubbs, who at one time was also considering places like Notre Dame, Clemson, Georgetown and Temple.
"The number one difference I'd say was the culture here at Wake Forest," he said. "On my visit, I went to an end-of-year ceremony. I got to see all the families and fans from across the community. It's one of those things where you could feel the difference in the culture. The sense of family we have here at Wake Forest is like none other. That's the thing that drew me to Wake Forest, and it definitely hasn't disappointed."
Tubbs hasn't disappointed his coach, either.
"He's a great kid," Muuss said. "As a teammate, you want to play with him. He's humble and hungry, and an incredible student. As a coach, it's easy to see he's the complete package."
And the accolades he's piled up the last few months?
"It's nice, but I just go out every night trying to help the team win," Tubbs said. "My focus is mostly on winning championships and trying to bring more trophies back to Wake Forest. That will be my goal in the fall, just trying to do everything to get some wins."
