Padres name Mark Conner director of scouting

SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Padres today announced they have named Mark Conner director of scouting, promoting him from his position as regional supervisor. Executive Vice President/General Manager A.J. Preller made the announcement.
  
Conner, 38, first joined the Padres as an amateur scout in 2010 and was promoted to northeast regional supervisor prior to the 2014 season. After his first season with the organization, he was honored with the Denny Galehouse Scout of the Year Award for his thoroughness and diligence in covering his territory and exhausting all resources to gather information on the players he scouted. Among the notable prospects in the Padres organization he has signed is right-handed pitcher Matt Wisler, signed in 2011, who entered this past season ranked by Baseball America as the 44th-best prospect in Major League Baseball. 

Prior to joining San Diego, Conner served as pitching coach at the University of South Carolina Aiken for five seasons (2005-09), where he helped guide the Pacers to a school-record 47 wins in 2008. Before his time at USCA, he served at Indian Hills Community College (Iowa) as an assistant coach for the nationally-ranked junior college, working with pitchers and catchers. Conner also served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Cumberland University (Tenn.) for four seasons before joining Indian Hills.

As a player at Cumberland University, Conner was a catcher, earning Mid-South All-Conference honors in 1998. A member of four conference championships (1996-99), his Cumberland squads appeared in three NAIA World Series. He earned both his Bachelors of Arts (1999) and Masters of Arts (2002) degrees in Education. 
  
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he and his wife, Jennifer, have a three-year-old daughter, Claire.