Pete Wilk Award

In 2024, the Futures League proudly announced its newest annual award created to honor the legacy of Pete Wilk, the beloved Vermont Lake Monsters field manager who passed away following a courageous 15-month battle with brain cancer in April 2024.

The Pete Wilk Award is given out to a persevering individual who has overcome injury, illness or personal tragedy to make an impact for their team on or off the field, as that is exactly what Wilk did from February 2023 when he was diagnosed.

The award’s namesake, Wilk joined the Lake Monsters as their manager upon the team’s arrival in the Futures League in 2021 and quickly became an instrumental figure who was beloved by players, coaches and other community members alike. Wilk won Futures League Manager of the Year honors in 2021 and 2022, becoming the first two-time winner of the award. He returned to the Vermont dugout later in the 2023 season following treatment at Duke Cancer Center, helping the team to its third consecutive championship appearance alongside now-manager Matt Fincher. He was inducted into the Futures League Hall of Fame in 2025.

“The Pete Wilk Award is a wonderful tribute to Pete’s legacy as a coach, mentor, friend, and steward of this amazing game,” Lake Monsters Senior Vice President C.J. Knudsen said. “He will forever be missed, but so pleased that the Futures League created this award in his honor.”

Pete Wilk Award Recipients:

2024 – Gill Dolan, Road Warriors (University of Massachusetts)

2025 – Antonio Ducatelli, Norwich (Central Connecticut State University)