Coach Cott has been a Physical Education teacher and Head Baseball Coach at Von Steuben High School since 2008, where he has lead the Panthers to over 200 wins, including the Jackie Robinson North Conference Championship (2010, 2022, 2023) and making the Chicago Public League Final Four (2011). Coach Cott was named Jackie Robinson North Conference Coach of the Year (2023). Prior to Von, Coach Cott was a Freshman Coach at Evanston High School (2005-2007) where he had a final record of 65-23 (.738). In addition to baseball, Coach Cott has been a Varsity volleyball coach (2004-2018) in the Central Suburban League (CSL North), serving as a Head Coach 11 of those years (Niles North and Maine West). Cott finished his career recording 220 wins and 185 losses, including a Regional Championship (2012) and Conference Championship (2017).  

Coach Cott graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Honors Program at Loyola University Chicago (2000) where, in addition to being a member of the Club baseball team, he double majored in Marketing and Finance. After two-years as a financial analyst, Coach Cott went back to school for education. Coach Cott earned his teaching certificate in Physical Education and Health from North Park University (2004), before earning a Masters Degree in Education Leadership from Concordia University Chicago (2009), and a second Masters Degree in Special Education from Grand Canyon University (2012). In addition, Coach Cott has attended numerous Coaching Clinics throughout the country as a member of both of American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Coach Cott has also been a member of the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association (IHSBCA) and Chicago Public League Baseball Coaches Association (CPLBCA).

Coach Cott grew up in Western New York, where he was a two-sport Varsity athlete, lettering in Baseball and Basketball. 

 

Coach Rivera is a seasoned baseball coach with many years of experience at the high school level, particularly in the Chicago Public League. Coach Rivera was a catcher at Lane Tech HS and graduated in 1993. He played at Truman College after high school, and soon after that decided to follow his passion of coaching. His high school coaching experience spans 24 years in the Chicago Public League. His track record of success includes a freshmen city championship in 1999, a sophomore city championship in 2001, and a varsity city championship in 2016. He has been a varsity head coach at Von Steuben (’06-‘07), Northside Prep (’11-’13), and Lane Tech (’14-‘17). During 9 seasons total as a varsity head coach, he compiled a record of 163 wins 94 losses.

Coach Rivera returns to the Panthers baseball program in 2024 after working at IC Catholic Prep as Dean of Students and Assistant Head Baseball Coach during the 2022-23 school year. Coach Rivera played a major role in leading ICCP to their first varsity baseball conference championship since 2010.

Prior to IC Catholic Prep, Coach worked at Von Steuben for 17 years. Coach Rivera also returns to serve CPS as a Dean of Students again at Mather HS during the 2023-24 school year. During the summer, he is the manager of the Collegiate team of the Chicago Warriors Baseball Club, which plays in the Chicago Suburban Summer Collegiate League. The Warriors Collegiate team play their home games at North Park University and will also play and train at NEIU, home of the Von Steuben Panthers.

Coach Panczak has been a member of the Von Steuben Staff since 2020 serving as Head Freshman Coach and Program Assistant. Prior to Von, Coach Panczak served as an Assistant Coach throughout the Chicago Public League including Foreman (16 years), Walter Payton (2 years), and Northside College Prep (7 years). While at Northside, Coach Panczak was a member of Coach Rivera's Staff that made it to the CPS Final Four (4x) and won two Regional Titles. In addition, Panczak coached the Humboldt Travelers (3 years) and was on the CPS Executive Board for Baseball Operations (2 years).

Coach Panczak played baseball at Foreman high school and is still playing in Men's League to this day. In addition to baseball, Coach played Semi Professional hockey and is proud of his picture taken with the Stanley Cup after the Blackhawks Championship. 

One of Coach's favorite quotes is "Success is never owed, it's rented, and the rent is due every day"     

Coach Plaud was born and raised in the city of Chicago. He attended Von Steuben from 2008-2012 and played Varsity all four years for Coach Cott. Plaud was a middle infielder as well as a pitcher. Coach won Jackie Robinson North Player of the Year his senior year and  was selected to the All-City team his junior and senior years.

Coach Plaud attended University of Wisconsin-Parkside from 2013-2017. He played division 2 baseball for five years and was a pitcher during his tenure. His sophomore year, Plaud lead the team with a 3.19 era and appearances. Coach Plaud led his team in appearances his junior year as well and due to an injury, suffered set backs during his senior and super senior seasons.

Coach Plaud has coached ever since graduating from Parkside with a major in criminal justice and a minor in coaching. His goal here at Von is to establish a well rounded program that focuses on character, academics, athletics and preparing these young men for the outside world. Coach Plaud is excited to work with the program as a pitching coach and excited to spread the knowledge to our youth! Go Panthers!

Coach Cartagena has played baseball his entire life, beginning at age 4 at Hamlin Park. Coach has played for the Hamlin Park All-stars and the Morton Grove Mustangs. Primarily an infielder and a Pitcher, Coach Cartagena graduated in the inaugural class of Rauner College Prep in 2010 and led the team to the Conference Championship in 2009. In addition, Cartagena was a member of the Rauner basketball team which also won a conference championship in 2009. 

Coach played one year of baseball at Triton College in 2011 before transferring to Northeastern Illinois University where he participated on the intramural basketball team. Coach has decided to give back to the game by coaching. He began his baseball coaching career in 2022 with Von. 

In addition to baseball, Coach Cartagena was a member of the basketball coaching staff at Von Steuben and is a member of the school security team. He currently participates in many softball leagues in the summer including fast pitch softball. He gets no rest as he tries to hit the gym every day or do something active.  
 

Coach Nowak has been coaching baseball for 35 years, ranging from 7 year old Park district players to high school Varsity teams. Coach was a baseball and hockey player growing up, playing for various traveling teams. In addition to coaching at Von Steuben, Coach Nowak has coached baseball at St. Pat's and Northside Prep. Coach's main area of expertise is working with the Pitching Staff.  

Coach JD has been teaching Physical Education, Health, and Reading Intervention in CPS for the past 16 years.  JD has coached at the elementary and high school levels for the past 22 years.  In addition to coaching baseball at Von, JD also coaches middle school basketball and soccer.  He previously coached baseball and soccer at Saint Patrick High School.  While at Saint Patrick, coach JD was an assistant coach for the school's first ever regional soccer championship, which the team won in back-to-back seasons.

As a 3-sport student-athlete at Saint Patrick, JD played soccer (MF) and baseball (P/3B), and was the punter and kicker for the varsity football team for 3 seasons.  Injuries and surgeries limited his playing options after high school, so JD began his coaching career after graduating from Saint Patrick.  Coach JD graduated with honors from Saint Patrick, DePaul University (BSPE, minor in History), and Concordia University (master's in School Leadership with Type 75 Certification).  He also holds endorsements in Health Education, Social Science, and English as a Second Language (ESL).

Coach Steinbrunner has been a member of the Panthers Coaching Staff since 2017. In high school, Steinbrunner was a player for Coach Cott at Von Steuben. He was a three-year Varsity player and helped Von earn a spot in the final four in 2011. Steinbrunner was a P and CF, and had a batting average above .350 in each of his last two seasons. Senior year, Steinbrunner led the team in hits and batting avg at .410. He was selected to the All-City team as a senior, and had the opportunity to play at Guaranteed Rate field for the Public vs Catholic league all star game. In addition, Steinbrunner was selected to play at Yankee stadium against the New York all star team the same summer.

After graduating from Von Steuben (2013), Steinbrunner earned a scholarship to play baseball at Lincoln College in Illinois, where he played for two seasons, and earned an associates degree in science. After Lincoln College, Steinbrunner transferred to Benedictine University and played baseball for a year and half before injuring his shoulder his Senior year. Steinbrunner is currently working towards completing his bachelors degree in Exercise Sports Science.

Coach Legg is joining Von Steuben as the head strength & conditioning coach for the baseball and football teams. Additionally, Coach Legg has worked with the Chicago Mudcats Baseball Club since 2015, doing strength training and functional movement training. Coach Legg graduated from Mckendree University (2014) with a degree in exercise science and sports performance. While attending Mckendree, Coach Legg was a linebacker on the football team.

CJ has been the Athletic Trainer at Von since 2021. He works for ATI Physical Therapy. He has a bachelor's degree in Kinesiology from UIC and a masters degree in Athletic Training from North Park University. 

Tom McGuire is as an assistant coach and infield instructor at Von Steuben. Previously, Tom was the head sophomore coach at Lane Tech for the 2017 season, during which time the team went 22-1 and won the sophomore city championship. Tom has also coached with the Chicago Warriors travel baseball club for several seasons, coaching various levels from 8u through 15u. In 2016, his 11U Chicago Warrior team won the Mid-Suburban Baseball League (MSBL) American Division tournament championship. He started his coaching career as a house coach at Horner Park and later coached house baseball at Warren Park. 

While Tom's main baseball passions are infield and baserunning, Tom loves learning about all aspects of the game.  He has worked on staff at division 1 college camps and has studied from some of the top college and professional instructors in the world. He is also a member of the ABCA and a regular attendee of the association's yearly convention. 

Tom is from Lincoln, Michigan, where he was a three-sport athlete at Alcona Community High School. He graduated from Alma College in 2008, where he played baseball as a utility infielder for three years. Professionally, Tom works at CME Group in downtown Chicago where he manages a client services team. In his free time, Coach Tom enjoys traveling and attending baseball games. He has traveled to Japan several times to watch amateur and professional baseball. Tom's purpose in coaching baseball is to develop meaningful relationships with his players and give them a positive and instructive experience with the game. 

Coach Tom is currently living in Japan and teaching English. We hope to see Coach back in the red and black in a few seasons.

Entering his third season with the Panthers, Coach Alvarez, a Resident of the North side of Chicago, grew up Playing Baseball at Potowatamie Park in Rogers Park. Coach Alvarez attended Senn High School until a knee injury ended his playing career. 

Coach Alvarez has coached both baseball and basketball. He coached Northside Catholic Academy to their first ever 8th grade Basketball Championship. He also was the Head Freshman Basketball coach at St Benedict high school. His love for baseball has always been his passion. He has coached at several levels including travel baseball teams in the Chicago Cardinals organization, and the Horner Park All Stars. Coach Alvarez has been coaching and helping young athletes at Horner Park for over 24 years. Coach Alvarez still coaches in the MSL league. His love for the game has been shown by his two sons who have both played at the collegiate level.  

When not busy with sports, Coach Alvarez has a passion for the Auto Industry and works a full-time job doing sales for a major Tire distributor in Illinois. The Alvarez family includes his wife Kathleen, and kids Abby, Jackie, Alex and Anthony, as well as plenty of grandchildren. His love for the game has built a successful Glove business, Alvarez Gloves. With the help of the whole family Coach Alvarez has been equipping baseball and softball players of all ages with a chance to use a great, affordable glove.