2024 Hall of Fame: Two-Sport Standout Chad Pleiness Could Have Made it a Triple Play

Note: Third in a series of profiles on members of the 2024 Class of the Marcy Weston CMU Athletics Hall of Fame.

Chad Pleiness pulled off a rarity, starring in two sports as an NCAA Division I student-athlete.

It could have been three.

Pleiness will be inducted into the CMU Marcy Weston Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the 2024 class in a ceremony in McGuirk Arena on Friday, Sept. 20 (6 p.m.) and then introduced at the CMU-Ball State football game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 21.

The class comprises Pleiness along with wrestling coach Tom Borrelli, football player Eric Fisher, gymnast Sarah Dame, track & field/cross country runner Ryan Watson, and volleyball player Kaitlyn (Schultz) Miller.

2024 MARCY WESTON CMU ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME CEREMONY
Date: Friday, Sept. 20, 2024
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Location: McGuirk Arena Main Floor
Admission: Free and open to the public

Pleiness was a member of the CMU baseball and men's basketball teams for a combined seven seasons, four on the diamond, three on the court.

But when he came to Mount Pleasant out of Mason County Central High School in the late 1990s, he was a first a football player.

He was a tight end on the Chippewa football team, performing, as freshmen often do, on the scout team. The idea, he said, was to redshirt and then play baseball in the spring. But when the coaching staff took note of his talent and potential, they wanted him to eschew the redshirt and begin playing in games.

That would have also meant a commitment to spring football, Pleiness said, which would have interfered with baseball.

It was then that he made the decision to hang up the shoulder pads and devote his time to the baseball diamond. Oh, and play basketball too.

"It wasn't about having an idea of what I could potentially do past college, if that was even an option," Pleiness said. "I was just always trying to maximize what I could do at the time."

Maximize he did.

At 6-foot-6, Pleiness had the size to contribute on the basketball court. And the right-hander struck an imposing figure on the pitcher's mound.

He was named to the Mid-American Conference men's basketball All-Freshman Team in 2000 and then earned All-MAC honorable mention in 2001 after helping the Chippewas to the league championship. He made 83 percent of his free throw attempts in his career, and ranks No. 2 in program history in that category.

On the baseball diamond, Pleiness led the country in 2002 when he averaged 1.47 strikeouts per inning as he earned First Team All-MAC and All-Mideast Region honors.

He compiled a 16-9 career record with a 4.17 earned run average, striking out 185 in 175 innings. Among his highlights was a one-hit, 15-strikeout performance in a seven-inning game in 2002 against Northern Illinois.

He was drafted in the fifth round (pick No. 146) by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2002. In three minor league seasons, he compiled a 19-14 record with a 3.42 ERA.

Pleiness holds a business administration degree from CMU and works as a senior demand planner for W.K. Kellogg Co. in Battle Creek. He and his wife Annika have three sons, all under age 10, and Pleiness spends his athletic time these days as a volunteer coach with his children and with Lakewood Public Schools.

"If I could take it back, I probably would have stuck with (baseball) another year or two," said Pleiness, who continued to play competitive recreation basketball and fastpitch softball until recently. "You just never know how things are going to shake out. I'm very happy with the life I've been able to build with my wife and my kids. I wouldn't be in that situation now if I hadn't gone the direction I did.

"It's tough to really say whether I would have done much different, but I do wish that I would have pursued (baseball) maybe a little bit longer. I'm very happy with where I'm at."

Central Michigan University Athletics

2024 Hall of Fame: Two-Sport Standout Chad Pleiness Could Have Made it a Triple Play

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