BURLINGTON, VT — It is with heavy hearts that the entire Vermont Lake Monsters organization mourns the passing of our Head Coach Pete Wilk, who lost his 15-month battle with cancer on Monday night in Virginia.

“It is with great sadness to share that our manager Pete Wilk lost his battle to cancer last evening after a courageous battle, fighting for 15 months.  He will forever be in our hearts and his spirit will continue to grace the diamond of Centennial Field.”’ said C.J. Knudsen, Senior Vice President. “Our thoughts are with his wife Erin and two daughters (Reese, Casey), who will always be a part of our Vermont Lake Monsters family.”

“It’s a very sad day for the Lake Monster community”, said Lake Monsters President Chris English.” As a Head Coach, Pete Wilk was straight out of central casting, strong and commanding of respect, but compassionate with those who struggled. He was a great leader, teacher, and an inspiration in overcoming adversity. It was such a joy having Pete, Erin and his daughters at the ballpark. We will miss him terribly.”

Pete was named the Lake Monsters first Futures League skipper in spring of 2021 and was twice named FCBL Manager of the Year after leading Vermont to a league-best 42-24 record and the FCBL Championship in 2021 before an FCBL record 44 wins and runner-up spot in the 2022 championship series.

Diagnosed in early 2023 with Glioblastoma (GBM) Brain Cancer, Pete “dug in” to fight the cancer and was able to spend the last couple of weeks of the 2023 season with the Lake Monsters in Burlington.

A 1987 graduate of Rollins Collins, where he played baseball for four years, Pete was an assistant coach at Boston University, Harvard and Georgetown before a 20-year career (2000-2020) as the head coach at Georgetown.

Condolences and donations for Pete’s family can be done at the following:

GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-coach-pete-wilk-and-family

CaringBridge: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/petewilk