Paul Worstell
Paul Worstell, in his fifth year as the Head Tennis Coach at William Jewell College enters the 2009-10 season with a 82-93 overall record. His women's teams have accumulated a record of 61-35, while the men's teams under his tenure have tallied a win-loss record of 21-58. In 2009, Worstell became the only coach in Jewell women’s tennis history to reach 50 career victories.
In 2006, his first as head coach of the Cardinals, Worstell led the team to it's best record in school history at 18-2. He has also led the squad to one conference title (2006), one region final (2006) and two consecutive region semi-finals (2007, 2008). In 2008 and 2009 the women's team finished second in the HAAC. Worstell has also guided a number one women's doubles team to the Fall ITA National Tournament in each of the last three years.
The men's tennis teams at Jewell have steadily been improving. The men finished fourth in HAAC play in 2009 which was their highest finish in over six years. 2009 also saw the Cardinals ranked in the top 30 for the first time in over 15 years after their upset of then #24 ranked Bethany College back on March 13. In 2008, singles player Cody Pflugradt was ranked nationally in singles and Pflugradt along with his partner Kyle Taylor were also ranked nationally in doubles.
In addition to the success on the tennis courts, Worstell's teams have excelled in the classroom. He has coached three NAIA All-Americans and 14 NAIA Academic All-Americans.
Prior to coaching at Jewell, Worstell worked in Radio for 12 years at KUDL in Kansas City.
While at Jewell, Worstell was a standout player for the Cardinals. During his first-year he played number 6 and helped the Cardinals qualify for the National Tournament. As a sophomore, Worstell shot up the ranks to play number 3 and won the district 16 Championship in singles and doubles. Worstell was very active on Campus at Jewell as President of FCA, a Resident Assistant, and Station Manager for KWJC. He graduated in 1994 with a B.A. in Communications.
Paul now works at William Jewell College full time as the Director of Sports Media and Broadcasting.
Paul lives in Liberty with his wife Kristi (another Jewell Grad of 1994) and their 3 boys Brady, Landon and Carter.
