SAN DIEGO, CA – The San Diego Padres have announced they have hired Pat Murphy as Special Assistant to

Pat Murphy goes from college head coach to MLB exec.

Baseball Operations and Jeff Pickler as a professional scout. Executive Vice President/General Manager Jed Hoyer made the announcement.

Murphy, 51, comes to the Padres after having served as head coach at Arizona State University since the 1995 season. During his tenure at ASU, he was named College Coach of the Year by Baseball America in 1998 and Pac-10 Coach of the Year on four occasions (2000, 07-09). He led the Sun Devils to four College World Series appearances (1998, 2005, 07, 09) and four Pac-10 championships (2000, 07-09). Prior to his time at ASU, Murphy coached at the University of Notre Dame (1988-94), Claremont Mudd-Scripps (1986-87) and Maryville College (1983). The final win of his college coaching career was his 1,000th, leaving him with a 1000-457-4 career coaching record.

Murphy was dismissed after being named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year for a third straight season. At the time of his dismissal, the NCAA had been investigating the Sun Devils’ baseball program for two seasons — although both sides said that was not a factor in his departure.

Pickler, 34, joins the Padres ending a one-year stint as an assistant coach for the University of Arizona. Prior to his work with U of A, he spent two years serving as an advance scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks. An All-American and SEC Player of the Year in 1998 at the University of Tennessee, Pickler was an 11th-round selection by the Milwaukee Brewers in the First-Year Player Draft that year. During his eight-year minor league career, he also served as an assistant coach at Cypress Community College.

(From Padres release & staff reports)