Justin Worley

Classroom

Justin Worley is stellar in the classroom, owning a 3.68 cumulative GPA as a psychology major. He has been named to the dean’s list on multiple occasions for having a semester with a GPA over 3.6. Worley also has garnered the Faculty Athletics Council Award every semester, has been a three-time member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll and was named to the 11-member Academic All-Patriot League team last season. Last fall, Worley helped Lehigh win a Patriot League Championship, all while tallying a 3.92 semester GPA in the classroom. Worley has garnered impressive experience in the academic and professional realms. He’s been a research assistant since 2015, conducting research in Lehigh’s Health and Behavior Lab, as well as studying substance abuse and the efficacy of interventions aimed at reducing use and their associated risks. Worley is currently coordinating with Dr. Lucy Napper, conducting a Senior Honors Thesis researching influential factors that affect individuals’ perceptions, intentions to use and attitudes towards marijuana. Worley was a key contributor to the Sports and Evolution Lab over the summer as a research fellow at Lehigh University. He worked with history professor John Pettegrew and a six-member lab team to study the physical capacity and performance in a variety of sports, as well as how they have changed over long periods of time. Worley focused on researching a way to create a metric that gives a predictive assessment of successful team chemistry.

Character

A two-year captain and member of the leadership council, Worley’s teammates look up to him. As part of the leadership council, he participates in weekly group meetings to discuss team status. Worley is a member of Lehigh’s Student-Athlete Council, a group of student-athlete leaders representing a diverse constituency, voluntarily committed to enhancing the student-athlete experience through leadership, service and community. Worley is also part of the Lehigh Athletics Leadership Academy. He has taken part in the P.R.I.D.E. program, which stands for Personal Responsibility in Determining Excellence. He attended weekly workshops learning how to consistently navigate through college athletically, academically and socially, and has taken part in the Emerging Leaders cohort where he was trained to lead by example, develop relationships with teammates and gain the credibility to lead vocally. Worley has experienced Leadership Legacies, as well, an extended program in the application of emotionally intelligent leadership and the navigation of team leadership challenges in partnership with their coaches.

Community

Worley and Lehigh student-athletes are heavily involved in the community. Every year, the Mountain
Hawks head to a local elementary schools for the Reading Rocks program. The whole team spends approximately one hour with the students, helping them read before getting to know the youngsters through playing games and other activities. In addition, Worley takes part in the annual Adopt-A-Family initiative where each Mountain Hawks’ team provides a holiday for a local underprivileged family. The process included shopping for gifts, wrapping them and delivering them in early December. During his sophomore year, Worley and the men’s soccer team were involved with Team Impact. An 11-year-old boy named Travis was inducted as an honorary member of the team, sat with the team on the bench during several games and went to a Flyers game with the team during the offseason.

Competition

On the field, Worley has been a standout performer. Entering his senior year, he was a two-time All-Patriot League Honoree, earning second-team laurels in 2014 and first-team honors in 2015. Worley was also named to the All-ECAC Second Team as a junior. He started all 58 games over his first three seasons and is a key starter as a senior. Worley was named to the Patriot League All-Tournament Team last season, helping lead the Mountain Hawks to the Patriot League Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Worley was a third-team All-Northeast Region honoree in 2015. Worley has anchored a strong Lehigh defense over his career, allowing just 1.09 goals per game in 2015. He has helped the Mountain Hawks improve every season, improving from a 2-14-1 record as a freshman to a 10-8-1 record and a Patriot League Tournament berth as a sophomore, followed by a 13-6-1 record and league championship as a junior. The Mountain Hawks were ranked No. 1 in the preseason NSCAA Northeast Regional Rankings entering 2016. Following his sophomore year, Worley also received the Coaches Award for noteworthy contributions to the team in areas of attitude, improvement and leadership.