The Southern Connecticut Diamond Club, Inc., will host its 17th Annual Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 23 at The Woodwinds in Branford. Among the honorees is Derby native Ron Luneau.
The SCDC, a non-profit, volunteer-run organization whose stated mission is to foster and promote the game of baseball in the southern Connecticut region, will recognize nine individuals in the Class of 2025. SCDC Hall of Fame members are selected by the group’s Executive Board.
Tickets to the 2025 SCDC Hall of Fame dinner are $65 per person and will only be sold in advance. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.southernctdiamondclub.org/hall-of-fame.html or by contacting Rose V. Mentone, Executive Director, at info@southernctdiamondclub.org.
Luneau has been a member of the Southern Connecticut Diamond Club Executive Board for the last 16 years and has been an instrumental part of the club’s growth and development. He has coached football and baseball in greater New Haven for more than three decades, with baseball head coaching stops at Derby High School (1997-2003), and West Haven High School (2015-22).
Luneau played football and baseball at Derby High, graduating in 1984, before moving onto a four-year football career at Central Connecticut State University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from CCSU in 1989. As a head coach, Luneau guided Derby baseball to three state tournament appearances. His Blue Devil teams qualified for four state tournaments, reached the 2021 Southern Connecticut Conference final and shared the 2022 SCC Quinnipiac Division championship. Luneau was the 2021 SCC and SCDC Coach of the Year.
He is currently a volunteer assistant football and baseball coach at West Haven, where he also teaches history, and an assistant girls’ basketball coach at Ansonia High.
Also being honored by the SCDC this year are longtime Haddam-Killingworth High School coach Mark Brookes, former Milford High School and University of Connecticut standout Dave Lanese, former Notre Dame of West Haven player and coach and Providence College star Don Martone, University of Bridgeport coach Joe Tonelli Jr., and two-time Foran High all-stater and current coach Garrett Walker. Carl Perez of East Haven is the winner of the Andrew Gassira Memorial Umpire Award, Richard Shultz of Hamden will be presented the Tony Mentone Memorial Distinguished Service Award, and the late Ken Walker will be memorialized with the inaugural Dan Gooley Legends Award.