Conner Scarborough is entering his third season as the Gardner-Webb baseball pitching coach in 2019, and fourth overall with the program.
Strong pitching propelled Gardner-Webb to a hot start in 2018, including an early 6-3 win at Wake Forest (Feb. 18) and a 1-0 shutout win at North Carolina (Mar. 14). Gardner-Webb won 31 games, reaching the 30-win mark for the second time in the past six seasons. Senior Bradley Hallman earned All-Big South second-team honors, leading the 'Dogs with a 3.60 ERA in 95.0 innings of work, going 6-2 on the year with 68 strikeouts. Redshirt-senior Wil Sellers also set the GWU career record for saves under Scarborough's watch, recoring his 24th save in a 6-5 win over Presbyterian on April 22.
Following the season, relievers Mason Fox and Tyler Johnson were each selected in the 2018 MLB Draft. Fox was chosen in the 21st round by the San Diego Padres, while Johnson was selected in the 30th round by the New York Yankees.
Scarborough played a major role with the pitching staff during the 2016 season, serving as a volunteer assistant, as Gardner-Webb won a Division I era-best 37 games and finished second in the Big South Conference with a strong 3.90 team ERA. The 2016 pitching staff set a new school record with 456 strikeouts and saw three arms earn All-Big South Conference honors for the first time.
First-team hurler Brad Haymes tied Gardner-Webb's single-season mark with 11 wins, going 11-3 with a 2.20 ERA in 15 starts. He fanned 115 batters and became the first hurler in program history to win at least 10 games and strike out 100 or more batters in a single campaign.
Closer Wil Sellers earned second-team All-Big South honors on the strength of a school-record – and conference leading – 12 saves in 2016. The Kings Mountain, N.C., native made 25 appearances out of the pen and finished with a 3.33 ERA in 51.1 innings of work.
Honorable mention All-Conference choice Jeremy Walker showed the most improvement of any pitcher as the 2016 season progressed and, by season's end, emerged as a premium talent. The Advance, N.C. native went 9-5 with a 3.77 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 2016 and was drafted in the fifth round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Atlanta Braves.
Scarborough spent the 2015 season as Director of Baseball Operations at Big South Conference member High Point University, where he handled a wide variety of duties for the Panthers' program. He also got his first taste of coaching in the Coastal Plains League (CPL), working with the High Point-Thomasville HiToms.
He also gained valuable experience as an intern in the Strength & Conditioning office at Wofford College following graduation from Gardner-Webb.
A 2013 graduate of Gardner-Webb, Scarborough made 75 appearances and 36 starts during his time on the diamond at GWU. He posted 11 wins, one save and 146 strikeouts during that time. His best overall season came as a senior, when he made 27 appearances primarily out of the bullpen. He forged a 2.45 ERA that season and fanned 41 batters with only nine walks in 58.2 innings.
He joined the Gardner-Webb family after a stellar career at High Point (N.C.) Christian, where he went 11-1 with a 1.00 ERA as a senior in 2009.
