WVU Sports Hall of Fame

Inducted: 2016

Written by Bryan Messerly

Joby Foley was a three-time All-American men’s tennis player at WVU during his career from 1987-90.

Foley earned his first All-America honor at WVU in 1988 in doubles play with Ray Kurey, becoming the first WVU men’s tennis All-Americans in school history. Foley then earned All-America honors in 1989 in doubles play with Brad Kelly before finishing his career as a singles All-American during his senior campaign in 1990.

A native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Foley was a four-time Atlantic 10 champion in No. 1 singles (1987-90) and two-time Atlantic 10 champion in No. 1 doubles (1987-88). He finished his career with 136 singles victories, the second-most wins in school history.

Foley led the Mountaineers to a Top-20 team ranking and team NCAA Tournament bids in 1998, 1989 and 1990. He captured the John Van Nostrand Award in 1990, recognizing the top singles player in the East. Foley was also a three-time WVU team MVP.

In 1989, Foley won all four United States Tennis Association National Amateur Championships, the only “Grand Slam” winner in USTA history. He was the No. 1-ranked United States national amateur in men’s singles in 1989 and was a U.S. Open qualifier in 1989.

Foley graduated from West Virginia in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in sport management. For the past 13 years, he has been a Transformation Lead (Information Technology) at Newport News Shipbuilding, designing and building nuclear aircraft carriers and submarines for the United States.

He has two sons, Phillip (15) and Kyle (3). Foley’s wife, Jody, played tennis at Penn State and Old Dominion.