Naugatuck Resident Wins Whitey Piurek ‘No ‘I’ In Team’ Award

NAUGATUCK, CT — Naugatuck's Kevin Cestari will be among the 34 honorees to receive the John “Whitey” Piurek “There’s No ‘I’ in Team” Award at the Southern Connecticut Diamond Club’s upcoming banquet.

The Southern Connecticut Diamond Club, Inc., will hold its 20th Annual “No ‘I’ in Team” High School Awards Banquet on Sunday, June 8, at The Woodwinds in Branford. Doors open at 10:30 a.m. with the speaking program and a buffet brunch to begin at 11 a.m.

Tickets to the 2025 SCDC “No ‘I’ in Team” luncheon are $50 per person and will only be sold in advance. Tickets can be purchased online here or by contacting Rose V. Mentone, Executive Director, at RMentone@comcast.net.

The SCDC, a non-profit, volunteer-run organization whose stated mission is to foster and promote the game of baseball in greater New Haven, will bestow upon a player from each of 34 area high schools the John “Whitey” Piurek “There’s No ‘I’ in Team” Award.

The honor is named for Piurek, the longtime West Haven High School coach, Seattle Mariners scout, and Greater New Haven Baseball Umpires Association commissioner, and is tagged with one of his favorite phrases.

Honorees were selected jointly by their coaches and directors of athletics. While it was recommended schools choose a senior, they were free to recognize any player they felt gave most unselfishly to their team.

Winners represent the Southern Connecticut Conference (19), Shoreline Conference (5), Naugatuck Valley League (4), New England Private Schools Athletics Council (3), Central Connecticut Conference (2), and Connecticut Technical Conference (1)

The SCDC will also recognize its Teams of the Year and Coaches of the Year at the luncheon. Honorees will be announced later this week.

The Southern Connecticut Diamond Club redirects all net proceeds back to the local baseball community. To make a donation, visit the link above or donate via Venmo @SCDC-1.

The 2025 winners of the Southern Connecticut Diamond Club John “Whitey” Piurek “There’s No ‘I’ in Team” Award are:

Amity Regional – Carlo Lombardi

Ansonia – Rey Alvarez

Branford – Carson Jarvis

Canterbury – Jake Petrin

Cheshire – Nick Giampietro

Derby – Michael Slack

East Haven – Cameron LaCroix

Fairfield Prep – J.J. Schachinger

Foran - Mathew Krenicki

Guilford - Matt DiNardo

Haddam-Killingworth - Colton Merola

Hamden - Armando Rodriguez

Hamden Hall - Atticus Bird

Hand - Cooper Burke

Hillhouse/Career - Yadriel Gonzalez-Serrano

Hopkins - Matthew Ragaza

Law - Christian Galligan

Lyman Hall - Owen Rich

Morgan - Wyatt Luke

Naugatuck - Kevin Cestari

North Branford - Jason O’Connor

Notre Dame (West Haven) - Nico Bonilla

North Haven - Andrew Manzo

Old Saybrook - Charles Carmichael

Platt HS - Jayden Gaither

Sheehan - Garrett Wilkinson

Shelton - Ben Liberatore

Southington – Marco Spataro

Westbrook – Kyle Leandri

West Haven – Zach Boutellier

Wilbur Cross – Jean Guerrero

Wilcox Tech – Ean Finkle

Woodland Regional – Brett Lato

Xavier – Evan O’Connor