Wheaton, Ill. – Mike Schauer ('93), Athletics Director at Wheaton College, has named Eric Plunkett as the head coach of the Wheaton volleyball team. Plunkett comes to Wheaton from Gardner-Webb University where he has served as the head volleyball coach since 2021.
Plunkett replaces Stephanie Schmidt, who resigned as head volleyball coach in December. She served as Wheaton's head volleyball coach for seven seasons beginning in 2017 through the 2023 campaign.
Schauer says of the new Wheaton volleyball coach, "I am excited to add Coach Eric Plunkett to the Wheaton Athletics family. Coach Plunkett has a strong resume and distinguished himself during the interview process. He was able to clearly articulate a vision for our volleyball program. He is a strong recruiter, and I am confident he will build our program into a consistent winner on the court. More importantl,y he has a desire to see our women grow in their relationship with Jesus off of it."
"I want to thank President Ryken and Athletics Director Mike Schauer for this opportunity to be the next leader of the Wheaton women's volleyball program," states Plunkett. He continues, "I am humbled and excited by this opportunity to lead this special group of young women. I am eager to get in the gym and start building this program to success."
In his three seasons at Gardner-Webb, Plunkett's team set several school records. In his tenure, the Bulldogs recorded the first winning season in program history and qualified for their first Big South tournament appearance. His 2023 Gardner-Webb squad accomplished the second-highest regular season win total in program history and advanced to the Big South Tournament Semifinal for the first time. That squad established a program record with five Big South award winners in 2023.
Prior to his tenure at Gardner-Webb, Plunkett was an associate head coach and recruiting coordinator at Illinois State University. In his tenure at ISU, he progressed from Assistant Coach to Recruiting Coordinator and Associate Head Coach. In his time there, the Redbirds won four Missouri Valley Conference Championships and made four NCAA Division I Tournament appearances. Plunkett worked with thirty MVC All-Conference award winners, five Libero of the Year award winners, an MVC Player of the year, and three All-Americans.
Plunkett started his coaching career as an assistant coach at Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa from 2010-12. He earned a master's degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University-Irvine.
Plunkett earned his bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from Cal Baptist University. Plunkett was the starting setter at CBU for three seasons and was selected team captain as a senior. He led CBU to three NAIA National Championships and was a two-time All-NAIA Invitational Team choice. He remains first in the Lancers' record book with 12.06 assists per set and ranks third with 3,739 career assists.
