2007-08 Panther Baseball Coaches - Athletics

2007-08 Panther Baseball Coaches

		John Weber Head Baseball Coach jweber@pnc.edu
John Weber enters his fourth season as the Head Baseball Coach and Director of Athletics at Purdue University North Central where he also assists with student activities and teaches at PNC. Weber has lead the Panther program to new heights with just two recruiting classes. In 2007 PNC finished 28-22 overall and 13-7 (2nd place) in the CCAC. The seond place finish (of 11 teams) is the higest in school history. In 2006 the Panthers set the single season wins mark at 32-20 while finishing 5th in the CCAC (11-9). PNC also won the CCAC Tournament and qualified for the NAIA Regionals, just the second time PNC has qualified for the post season. PNC reached their highest regional ranking (third) in both 06' and 07' - only the second and third time PNC ever received recognition. Weber, who already is the all-time winningest coach at PNC, led the Panthers to an 18-23-1 overall record and a 8-12 mark in the CCAC (8th )in his first season in 04'. The 18 wins is the fourth highest single-season win total for PNC. Weber, who started his new position in October, 2004 and took over the program with just 16 players, has averaged more wins per season than the previous single season wins mark at PNC. Prior to PNC Weber was the Head Baseball Coach, Sports Information Director and a teacher at Lakeland College in Sheboygan, WI for six years. He established himself as the most successful coach in the history of Lakeland in any sport. The baseball team had won only two conference titles in 60 years but Weber's teams won Lake Michigan Conference titles in his last four years and earned their first NCAA tournament appearances in 02' and 03', including a 5th place finish at the 02' Division III College World Series. Lakeland is still the smallest college ever to make a Division III, CWS appearance with an enrollment of just over 700. Weber received numerous honors for his team's accomplishments, including being named the LMC Coach of the Year four times, the 2002 Midwest Regional and Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association College Coach of the Year. He was also a featured speaker at the 2004 American Baseball Coaches Association national convention . Weber left Lakeland as the all-time victories leader with the best winning percentage in program history. His teams set virtually every team and individual mark, including wins in a season three times. They averaged more wins per season than the previous single season wins record at Lakeland and were nationally ranked several times, reaching a high of 5th in 2002. He coached 46 All-Conference selections, with three Players of the Year. Off the field Weber was equally successful. He had nearly 50 Academic All-Conference selections and a team GPA of almost 3.0. As SID, Weber oversaw the daily management of the department and developed the first athletic website. Weber also wrote all press releases, designed media guides and hosted a local television show. Prior to Lakeland, Weber was the Associate Head Coach for the legendary Irish O'Reilly at Lewis University (Romeoville, IL) in 1998, where he led the pitchers to the second best ERA in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Before Lewis, Weber coached at Morton Community College in Cicero , IL where he served as head coach for the 1997 season and built the program from 12 to 40 players in one year. Weber started his career at Benedictine University in Lisle, IL under reknown coach, John Ostrowski. In Weber's first season as pitching coach his staff led the nation in ERA at 2.49, down from 6.40 the previous year. Weber is known for recognizing and developing talent in both his players and his coaches. Seven of his former assistant coaches became head coaches at the collegiate level, while 13 of his former players were either drafted or signed to professional contracts, including nine pitchers. Academically, Weber graduated from Lewis in 1993 with a Bachelor's in Marketing and played for O'Reilly as a pitcher. During this time the Flyers made two Division II CWS appearances, finishing 3rd in 90' and 4th in 92'. 15 of Weber's team mates moved on to pro baseball with three making the majors. While coaching at Benedictine, Weber earned his Master's degree in Management and Organizational Behavior with an emphasis in Human Resources in 1996. Weber attended Benet Academy High School in Lisle, IL and graduated in 1989, when he led the Redwings to their only trip to state for baseball. The Redwings finished 31-9 under Marty Wiora as Weber finished 14-3 on the mound and played shortstop when not pitching. Weber, 37, and his wife Erin are both natives of Lisle, IL. They have two daughters (Hope, age 5 and Kate, age 2) and reside in Valparaiso.
Steve Plucinski Assistant Coach
Steve Plucinski enters his first year as an assistant coach for Purdue North Central and first year of coaching overall. He will assist in pitching and infield duties for the Panthers. Plucinski graduated from Lakeland College in 2006 where he played baseball for Coach Weber from 2002 to 2004 and served as a three-year captain. As a freshman Plucinski helped lead the Muskies to the 2002 Division III College World Series (5th place finish), becoming the smallest school to ever make a CWS appearance. As a freshaman Plucinski was named Third Team All-American, First Team All Region, First Team All-Conference and the Lake Michigan Conference Rookie of the Year while leading Lakeland to their second straight conference title. He finished 9-3 on the mound with a 3.21 ERA, racking up 100 strikeouts and just 30 walks in 92.2 innings pitched. When not pitching, Plucinski started at second base and finished at .328 with 16 2B's and 22 RBI. As a sophomore Plucinski was the LMC Player of the Year and First Team All Conference while leading Lakeland to their third straight conference title and second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. He finished 4-5 with a 2.55 ERA, collecting a whopping 111 strikeouts in 77.2 innings pitched. As the second baseman, Plucinski hit .267 with eight double and nine stolen bases. As a junior Plucinski was named First Team All-Conference while leading the Muskies to their fourth straight conference title. Once again he finished 4-5 with a 2.69 ERA and struck out 100 batters in 67 innings. He batted .299 with four HR's, nine 2B's and 28 RBI. While at Lakeland, he set many career pitching records in just three seasons in strikeouts and ERA and is in the top five in virtually every category. He also set single season records in wins, games started, innings and strikeouts while being second through fifth in almost every statistic. Plucinski tied the NCAA record for strikeouts in a game with 22 strikeouts in 2004 and had the seventh highest total in Division III at 19 later in the year. He also threw a no-hitter for Lakeland in the same season. Offensively, Plucinski ranks third in career doubles and fifth for single season doubles. Plucinski played for the Duluth Huskies of the prestigious Northwoods Collegiate Summer League where he continued to make a name for himself as a competing pitcher. He was named a league all-star and finished at the top of several league pitching categories both years. In his first year for Duluth he led the team in both wins and saves. Upon completion of his collegiate career, Plucinski signed a professional contract with the Gary Railcats of the independent Northern League. He had to walk away shortly after due to back injuries that disabled him from play. Last year Plucinski served as Mundelein High School's Suspension Supervisor, an assistant varsity basketball coach and head JV basketball coach. Currently, Plucinski is working towards his Masters in Business Administration at PNC and serves as a community liason for the University Park Apartments in Westville. Plucinski, a native of Mundelein, IL, is the son Dave and Sharon Plucinski and has one sister (Stacy) who is a grade school teacher in Lake Forest, Ilinois.
Dan Martin Assistant Coach
Dan Martin enters his first year as an assistant coach for the Panthers. Martin has been employed at Purdue North Central since September 1999 in the Physical Plant Grounds Department. Along with Grounds Foreman Steve Taylor, Martin is also responsible for maintaining the Purdue North Central baseball field. A 1976 graduate of La Crosse High School, Martin was a four-year letterman in baseball going 8-1 his senior year with a 1.26 ERA to help lead the Tigers to their first ever sectional title. Martin played first base and third base when not pitching. Prior to working with the PNC baseball team, Martin served as an assistant coach at Marquette Catholic High School in Michigan City from 1997-2000 and as an assistant coach at Michigan City High School in the 2007 season. Martin resides in Wanatah with his wife of 27 years Jackie, son Kristopher, 26, (a 2004 PNC graduate) and daughter Kelli, 23, who will graduate from PNC this spring. In his spare time, Martin enjoys collecting baseball cards and playing fantasy football and baseball.
Chet Ebner Assistant Coach
Chet Ebner enters his sixth season as an assistant coach for the Panthers. Ebner will serve as the Panthers bench coach while assisting in several duties. In 2007 Ebner helped lead the Panthers to a 28-22 finish, including a 13-7 mark in the CCAC. The second place finish was the highest regular season conference finish ever for the Panthers in the 11 team league. Ebner has been a key part of the staff that led the Panthers to the PNC single season wins mark in 2006 (32) and just their second-ever NAIA tournament bid. The Panthers set numerous team and individual records while hitting .327 as a team in 2006. In 2005 Ebner oversaw the pitching staff and led them to 4.41 ERA. The veteran mentor had several players rank in the top ten for individual statistics within the CCAC, including ERA (Jim Erdelac, 10 th at 3.22), wins (Tony Robb (t- th at 6) and strikeouts per nine innings (Erdelac, 2nd at 10.01). Prior to joining PNC, Ebner was an assistant varsity coach at Hebron High School for three years where he also was the hitting, pitching and bench coach. Ebner, who been coaching baseball in some capacity for over 20 years, founded the Northwest Indiana Pioneer Baseball Club in the summertime. In their first year (2000) the Pioneers represented Indiana at the AAU Nationals in Orlando, FL. Ebner currently works as a Supervisor at Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO). He resides in Hebron with his wife Patty and son Blake, who pitched for the Panthers in the 2003 and 2004 seasons.