Worley eager to continue in Jolly’s footsteps at Carolina Forest

From afar, Joey Worley kept an eye on the Carolina Forest baseball program, taking a particular liking to the job head coach Jack Jolly had done.

“The stability, his ability to keep the program working and going was particularly impressive to me,” he said. “To have talent and keep churning out Division I, Division II and MLB draft picks year after year ... that doesn’t just happen everywhere. The talent pool was amazing.”

So when Jolly announced he was leaving to take on the job as head baseball coach at Dorman High School, Worley was swift to throw his name in the hat of candidates to replace the local coaching legend.

Worley – who most recently coached at West Johnston High School in Benson, N.C. – last month was selected as Carolina Forest’s second baseball coach in school history. During his final season with the Wildcats, he led them to a Greater Neuse River 4A title and a trip to the playoffs.

According to the new Panthers head man, family and familiarity played a big role in his accepting what is one of the area’s most high profile coaching positions.

“The fact my in-laws have a place in North Myrtle Beach allowed me to get a bit acquainted with the area,” Worley said. In that time, I fell in love with the area and also the program. It is a great program, a great area and great kids.”

Though yet to have fully packed his belongings and moved to the Grand Strand, Worley said his coaching philosophy is one built to travel.

“The biggest strength of mine is that I am young enough that I can adapt to what the kids bring to the table,” the Carolina Forest baseball coach said. “If we’re fast, we’re going to steal a lot of bases. On the other hand, if we have power up and down the lineup, we’ll play the power game.

“All in all, though, we have to throw strikes, field and hit. Baseball is baseball ... there may be some rules that are different depending on where you go, but no matter how you slice it, the simple things are what will determine who wins a baseball game.”

Worley will be officially introduced as the school’s baseball coach at a press conference, on a date yet to be determined.

News and notes

Socastee High School will hold a press conference on Wednesday to announce its new girls basketball coach. Left vacant since early July, the new coach will replace Ginger Ford, who for six seasons sat at the head of the bench for the Braves. During her time at the school, she was 78-77 and led Socastee to the playoffs in each of her final five seasons. ... Conway head basketball coach Michael Hopkins isn’t one for hype – only results. But an argument can be made that his team’s future is bright, particularly with the group of rising juniors making their way through the program. Following a solid summer, Prep Hoops South Carolina ranked three Tigers in its top 10 for the Class of 2018 – power forward Jimmy Nichols (No. 5), point guard Juwan Moody (No. 8) and shooting guard Darren Grainger (No. 10). Two weeks ago, Nichols received his first Division I hoops offer from Longwood University. With solid performances in the upcoming basketball campaign, the trio could be in line to pick up a few more.

This story was originally published August 1, 2016 at 7:05 PM with the headline "Worley eager to continue in Jolly’s footsteps at Carolina Forest."