No shortcuts needed

When Nate Wormley would lead off first base for Culpeper County High School back in 2004, the speedy outfielder was taking his first steps on a long, winding journey to a college degree.

Wormley, who set the CCHS single-season record with 32 stolen bases, achieved his goal in May, graduating from Savannah State University, where he earned a scholarship to play baseball. But despite plenty of success in high school, not many tabbed Wormley as a future Division I standout.

“When I was in high school I broke the stolen base record and I played on the fall ball team and I got some recruiters to see me,” Wormley said. “I really wanted to play Division I. That’s every kid’s big dream, but I would never have thought I’d get the opportunity to play Division I when I was in high school and we only won one game. It was pretty much my ultimate goal that I kept to myself. In Culpeper you really don’t see what’s out there until you get out there.”

Wormley hit .435 his senior season at Culpeper and made all-district and all-region teams. He also had dreams of riding his baseball talents to college, but big-time programs hadn’t discovered the speedy outfielder.

So Wormley enrolled at Potomac State, where he helped the Catamounts to the Junior College World Series in 2005 and 2006. His sophomore year at Potomac State he hit .406 and was named to the all-region and all-regional tournament teams.

Playing in the JUCO World Series helped Wormley finally get the exposure he’d been hoping for and several Division I programs expressed interest.

“I had hopes he would choose George Mason or a school close by,” Wormley’s father Glen said. “But he handled his own recruiting and made his own decisions and really liked Savannah State.”

Savannah State was the first Division I program to offer Wormley a scholarship and he jumped on the opportunity. Despite playing college ball in Georgia, his parents were able to make it to just about every game.

Wormley continued his success on the field into his junior year.

He hit .311 and started 31 games for Savannah State with 25 runs scored. He was put on the cover of the Tigers’ media guide in 2008, but injuries limited his production his senior season when he hit .221.

And while baseball put him in position to earn a degree — he majored in history and minored business with a 3.0 grade point average — the game also taught him lessons he used since graduation.

Wormley has moved back to Culpeper, where he’s staying with his parents while he looks for a government job. In the tough economy, he knows he’s fortunate to have a college degree.

“Playing baseball in such big games taught me to be patient and not let anything get me down,” Wormley said. “In college, the game takes more patience and work ethic. At both schools I was smaller than everyone and had to work twice as hard. It really taught me a lot.”