Austin Peay State University head baseball coach Travis Janssen welcomed Shane Conlon to his staff as the Governors’ assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, effective July 1, 2021.
After seeing his first season at Morehead State canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Conlon helped the Eagles to 24 wins and an Ohio Valley Conference tournament berth in 2021. MSU was ranked 38th nationally in home runs per game (1.28, 60 total home runs) and 58th in slugging percentage (.455) with only 16 of their 47 games at Allen Field. First baseman Jackson Feltner led the OVC with a .390 batting average and ranked second in slugging percentage (.652) en route to OVC Freshman of the Year, All-OVC Team recognition, and Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America honors.
Before his time in Morehead, Conlon spent four seasons as an assistant at Kansas State. He aided the program to a winning record in 2017, the Wildcats first since 2013, and which included victories against nationally-ranked South Carolina and Texas Tech. Two seasons later, the Wildcats earned their first Big 12 tournament appearance since 2016, with the offense hitting 54 home runs – the highest single-season total since 2009.
Conlon saw six Wildcats taken in the MLB Draft over his four seasons: Will Brennan (8th round, Cleveland), Jordan Floyd (10th round, Kansas City), Drew Mount (16th round, Cincinnati), Jake Scudder (16th round, Washington), Parker Rigler (31st round, Chicago [A.L.]) and Josh Rolette (39th round, Cleveland).
A Naperville, Illinois native, Conlon began his collegiate career as a two-way player, pitching and playing first base for the Wildcats. Conlon enjoyed a stellar redshirt sophomore campaign in 2013, batting .341 with seven home runs and 28 RBI. He helped Kansas State win both the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles, then host and win the Manhattan Regional, and ultimately reach the Super Regional round – all first’s in the Wildcats’ history.
Following his successful 2013 campaign, the Kansas City Royals selected Conlon in the 21st round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft, but he elected to return to Manhattan.
Two seasons later, Conlon was a unanimous First Team All-Big 12 selection after batting .291 with 26 RBI and 10 stolen bases while leading the Wildcats with 16 multi-hit outings. His 57-hit senior campaign pushed him to 207 career hits and he was the 18th KSU hitter to surpass 200 career hits. Conlon became one of only two Wildcats to earn All-Big 12 honors twice during their career.
Following his collegiate career, the Oakland A’s selected him in the 34th round of the 2015 MLB Draft. He played one season with the A’s Arizona Rookie League affiliate, batting .327 with 18 RBI in 30 games.
Conlon earned a bachelor’s degree at Kansas State, majoring in social science. He then completed a master’s degree in 2018 at Kansas State, majoring in student development. He married his wife Kim (née Fairchild) in 2017.
