Plaza back at Harper as softball head coach

Scott Plaza is returning to his roots - in a sense.

Plaza, a Prospect High School baseball standout, is joining the athletic department at Harper College after a standout collegiate career which included some time at Harper.

But there's a wrinkle: Plaze will be the Hawks' softball coach.

Not long after being named the most outstanding baseball player in the NCAA Division III World Series while competing for Wisconsin-Whitewater, Plaza replaces Cray Allen as the Hawks' softball leader.

"I felt this would be a way for me to transition my career," said Plaza, who was hired on an interim basis. "I'm going into this season as if I'm the coach of the future. I'm going to do whatever I can to make (the program) special. I do feel I have what it takes to get us there."

Harper baseball coach Cliff Brown was in charge of Plaza during his playing days for the Hawks and thinks he'll make the adjustment just fine.

"He is competitive," said Brown. "They will be competitive. He will have a good rapport with the players."

Plaza has started building for the coming season already.

"Most of my time has been reaching out to the team and assistant coaches," Plaza said. "I'm trying to get as much talent as I can."

Plaza credits his brother Jim, a freshman softball coach at Grayslake Central, and Brown with helping him make the decision to try softball.

"Cliff has been a big part of what I'm trying to do," said Plaza.

While a player at Harper, Plaza earned first-team all-conference and all-region acclaim as the pitching staff's mainstay. He moved on to Whitewater and excelled there as well, helping the Warhawks to the 2014 NCAA Division III World Series title.

As a senior, Plaza earned first team all-conference honors in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Plaza spent the 2015 season pitching for the Schaumburg Boomers in the Frontier League.