West Haven Students Win Whitey Piurek ‘No ‘I’ In Team’ Award

WEST HAVEN, CT — West Haven’s Hudson Axelrod and Notre Dame-West Haven’s Luca Saulino 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 21st Annual “No ‘I’ in Team” High School Awards Banquet on Sunday, June 14, 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 2026 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 Matt Mentone, Executive Director, at info@southernctdiamondclub.org.

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 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 2026 winners of the Southern Connecticut Diamond Club John “Whitey” Piurek “There’s No ‘I’ in Team” Award are:

Amity Regional – Joe Luberti

Ansonia – Victor Garcia

Branford – Jake Pombo

Canterbury – Patrick Weaving

Career (New Haven) - Giovany Siarez Medina

Cheshire – Dylan Santino

Derby – Brooklyn Fernandez

East Haven – Adam McIntyre

Fairfield Prep – Andrew Wong

Foran - Brendan Auscavitch

Guilford - Patrick McGowan

Haddam-Killingworth - Chase Bruno

Hamden - Will Benedetti

Hamden Hall - Eric Jagielow

Hand - Colin Menard

Hillhouse - Ricardo Turner

Hopkins - Rocco DeMaio III

Law - Brady O’Neil

Morgan - Nathan Levy

Naugatuck - Jeremiah Cruz

North Branford - Jacob Poston

North Haven - Max Rothwell

Notre Dame (West Haven) - Luca Saulino

Old Saybrook - Wyatt Pennington

Platt HS - Tyler Cioffi

Sheehan - Dylan DeMayo

Shelton - Will Widomski

Southington – Max Pierce

Westbrook – Kyle Leandri

West Haven – Hudson Axelrod

Wilbur Cross – Janiel Montero

Wilcox Tech – Ean Finkle

Woodland Regional – Jacob Trumbley

Xavier – Jarrett Cyr