BUIES CREEK — Campbell University head baseball coach Justin Haire has finalized his 2019-20 coaching staff, hiring Connor Faix as volunteer assistant coach, Matt Clark as director of player development and Jabin Weaver as director of operations and analytics.
Faix, Clark and Weaver join assistant coaches Tyler Robinson and Tyler Shewmaker on Haire’s staff, rounding out Campbell baseball’s six-man crew. Both Robinson and Shewmaker received promotions in mid-July; Robinson moved to lead pitching coach, while Shewmaker transitioned from volunteer assistant to full-time assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
Connor Faix, Volunteer Assistant Coach
With experience as a throwing coordinator at performance academies and coaching experience in the NCAA Division II and Division III ranks, as well as the NJCAA level, Faix has coached six pitchers who were selected in the MLB Draft since 2018.
Faix joins Justin Haire’s staff after wrapping up a successful season as the pitching coach at NCAA DII member Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pa. He helped lead the Lakers to the semifinals of the 2019 NCAA DII College World Series, the program’s furthest postseason finish in school history.
The Mercyhurst pitching staff struck out 536 batters over 409.1 innings, good for an 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings pitched average, which ranked second nationally. Additionally, two of Faix’s pitchers – Tyler Garbee and Matthew Minnick – were selected in the 2019 MLB Draft, taken in the 19th and 23rd rounds, respectively. Both pitchers hurled no-hitters during the season, making Mercyhurst the only Division II team to toss multiple no-hitters during the 2019 campaign.
Along with his pitching coach duties, Faix also helped manage the Mercyhurst recruiting process for prospective athletes and prepared scouting reports of upcoming opponents.
Before Mercyhurst, Faix was an assistant coach at North Iowa Area Community College in 2018. During his time in Mason City, Iowa, he again contributed to the development of two pitchers selected in that year’s MLB Draft. He also created and monitored the Trojans’ preseason lifting program for position players.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Faix is a 2017 graduate of Case Western Reserve University, where he graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s of science in finance.
Faix earned his first collegiate coaching stint after graduation, operating as the volunteer assistant coach at Oberlin College during the fall 2017 season. He acted as the pitching coach, emphasizing general arm strength building, administrating individualized throwing programs and creating fall practice schedules around weekly bullpen sessions.
Along with collegiate coaching, Faix was also a throwing coordinator at the Prospect Performance Academy in Aurora, Ohio, and The Yard at Mason City in Mason City, Iowa. In those roles, he created individualized throwing-related training programs for high school and college pitchers and position players. Two college arms that he worked with during the summer were drafted in the 25th and 29th rounds of the 2019 MLB Draft.
During the summer of 2018, Faix also spent time as a Colorado Rockies associate scout in the Great Plains area.
Matt Clark, Director of Player Development
In his role, Clark will work extensively in the video and data analysis process to aide Campbell baseball’s progress through various technical development tools, which will enhance student-athlete performance. Along with analyzing Campbell film, he will also examine opponent film to prepare competition strategies with coaches.
Clark joins the Fighting Camels with four years of operations and managerial experience at the NCAA Division I level with the University of South Carolina Gamecocks and two years of player development experience in the Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League Baseball system.
A 2017 graduate of South Carolina, Clark was a four-year student manager and served as the baseball operations intern during the 2017 season. He helped facilitate all practices, camps and games, while also assisting the recruiting coordinator with on-campus visits; he also coordinated the team’s video operations efforts.
Clark gained experience in player development as a student volunteer in the USC student-athlete development department from 2016-17. In his role, he helped coordinate life skills by programming seminars for student-athletes, which emphasized student-athlete leadership attributes.
Upon graduation from USC, Clark started his professional career in the Minor League Operations & Player Development department in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization from June 2017 to October 2018. He was hired as the Player Development and Minor League Operations Intern for the Pirates’ Gulf Coast League affiliate before his promotion to Player Development and Minor League Operations Assistant in the Fall Instructional League in October 2017.
He spent the final 10 months of his time with the Pirates with the Class High A Bradenton Marauders overseeing and coordinating all video operations. He also assisted with all player development activities and presented hitting and pitching coaches with advanced opponent scouting through attack plan meetings.
Clark’s last stop before arriving in Buies Creek was as the Player Development Specialist at Diesel Edge Training Academy in Wexford, Pa., where he conducted private, individualized baseball training since December 2018.
Before Diesel Edge, he had a stint as the Sports Character and Team Development Associate with The Greatest Champion Foundation in Columbia, S.C., strategizing and fostering individual leadership skills among college and professional athletes.
Jabin Weaver, Director of Operations and Analytics
Weaver comes to Buies Creek after spending the 2018 season as a member of the Villanova University staff where he was a volunteer assistant coach. He was responsible for mentoring catchers and helped with the Wildcat pitching staff; he also aided in retrieving and creating opponent scouting reports.
With over five years of collegiate coaching experience, Weaver has led recruiting efforts at the Division I, Division II and NJCAA levels.
Before his time at Villanova, Weaver was the head baseball coach at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, N.Y., from August 2017 to January 2019. His 2018 squad went 25-14 overall, finished second in the conference with a 21-7 mark, and finished third in the 2018 NJCAA DIII Region III Baseball Championships. He coached the region player of the year, had a first team All-American, had three all-region honorees and had six all-conference selections during his first season at the helm.
A native of Fort Plain, N.Y., Weaver earned his bachelor’s degree from East Stroudsburg University in May 2015, where he also pitched for four years at the NCAA Division II school.
After graduating from ESU, he began his college coaching career in 2015 as a member of the Fairmont State University baseball staff, where he gained first-hand experience in recruiting, team development and pitching development.
Weaver also holds a master’s of science in sports science and coaching education from West Virginia University, which he received in May 2017.
While at West Virginia, Weaver spent the 2016 season as WVU’s graduate student assistant before serving as the director of player development in 2017. He worked closely with each student-athlete, creating and delivering development programs that enhanced their performance while also maintaining a high level of academic responsibility and achievement.
Weaver also gained coaching experience by coaching summer baseball at the American Legion level and in summer-collegiate leagues. He served as the head coach for the Morris J. Edwards 19U team each summer from 2015-19, was the associate head coach for the Saratoga Stampede of the Thruway Collegiate Baseball League in 2016, and was the pitching coach for the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League in 2018.
Weaver married the former Victoria Stella, also a 2015 graduate of East Stroudsburg, in 2018.
About Campbell Baseball
Campbell finished its 2019 campaign 37-21 overall, good for the winningest season under Haire, who enters his sixth season at the helm in 2020. The Fighting Camels swept the Big South regular-season and tournament titles for the second consecutive season, making their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. At the NCAA Greenville Regional, CU went 2-0 over its first two games, making its first regional championship appearance in program history.
Photos by Bennett Scarborough / ScarboroughPhotography.com
