January 3, 2023 Nolan Hughes

Award winners from the 2022 PBA Regional Tour season were announced last night during a banquet at the PBA Regional Players Invitational. Four award recipients from each of the seven PBA regions were selected.

Winners of the Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Senior Player of the Year were selected based on their performance during the 2022 PBA Regional Tour season. Recipients of the Pat Patterson awards were selected for their outstanding contributions to the regional program and efforts to promote bowling.

The award winners were determined by a vote among regional tournament directors: Russ Mills, East region; Bobby Jakel, Central region; Toby Contreras, Midwest region; Steve Taylor, South region; Tony Lanning, Southwest region; Josh Blanchard, West and Northwest regions.

Here are the 2022 PBA Regional Tour award winners:

East Region

Ryan Shafer, Cody Shoemaker and Russ Mills

Player of the Year: Cody Shoemaker, Hanover, Pa.
Rookie of the Year: Mark Artley; Milton, Pa. 
Senior Player of the Year: Ryan Shafer, Horseheads, N.Y.
Pat Patterson: Mike Zanghi; Dover, Del.

Shoemaker, a former Rookie of the Year in the East, earned top honors in the East by virtue of leading the region in points and earnings, along with a title at the PBA Bowlers Discount Pro Shop Open. The 27-year-old Artley finished the season 19th in points.

Shafer bested the East in points and earnings, while his 216.93 average topped all players who bowled in at least three events. This is his second consecutive honor, and also owns three East PBA Player of the Year awards.
 

Central Region

Graham Fach, Jeffery Mann and Bobby Jakel

Player of the Year: Graham Fach, Urbana, Ohio
Rookie of the Year: Jeffery Mann, West Lafayette, Ind.
Senior Player of the Year: Parker Bohn III, Jackson, N.J.
Pat Patterson: Thomas Graham, Youngstown, Ohio

When Fach won his first two tournaments of the season, he established himself as the frontrunner for Player of the Year; when he won three more times between June and August, finishing no worse than fourth in any of his seven tournaments, he wrapped it up. This is Fach’s fourth Player of the Year honor in the Central region.

Mann finished the season fifth in points and cashed in 11 of his 15 tournaments. Bohn made the most of his six tournaments, averaging more than 230 and picking up a trio of wins.

Midwest Region

Eugene McCune, Benjamin Martinez, Brenden Sramek and Bobby Jakel

Player of the Year: Benjamin Martinez, Elmhurst, Ill.
Rookie of the Year: Brenden Sramek, Bettendorf, Iowa
Senior Player of the Year: Eugene McCune, Munster, Ind.
Pat Patterson: Russ Oviatt, Sioux Falls, S.D.

In the Midwest, it was Martinez and then everybody else. In his nine tournaments, he took home four wins and never finished lower than ninth — he was twice as likely to win than finish outside of the top-five.

Sramek’s four top-10 finishes propelled him to the regions’ fourth highest point total. McCune earned his second consecutive Midwest Senior Player of the Year award after a dominant 2022 campaign.

South Region

Trevor Roberts, Darryl Bower and Steve Taylor

Player of the Year: Trevor Roberts, Crystal River, Fla.
Rookie of the Year: Ryan Lane, Powder Springs, Ga.
Senior Player of the Year: Darryl Bower, Middletown, Pa.
Pat Patterson: Paul Kreins, Mooresville, N.C.

The heat was no problem for Roberts, as the Floridian’s two titles during the summer powered him to Player of the Year honors. 

Lane looked like a veteran in his debut season. He cashed in 11 of his 12 events, racked up six top-10 finishes and secured his first career title at the PBA Greater Nashville Open.

Bower won two titles and cashed in all 10 of his events, edging Walter Ray Williams Jr. to be named the region’s top senior in 2022.

Southwest Region

Cody Meiers, Eric Jones, Glenn Smith and Tony Lanning

Player of the Year: Ildemaro Ruiz Jr., McKinney, Texas
Rookie of the Year: Eric Jones, Edmond, Okla.
Senior Player of the Year: Glenn Smith, New York
Pat Patterson: Cody Meiers, Lubbock, Texas

With three players, Ruiz, Shawn Maldonado and Nathan Bohr, each winning a pair of titles, the Player of the Year race came down to the wire. Ruiz’s strong finish to the season, plus his lead in points and earnings, proved to be the difference.

Jones, the high school senior, took home the honor as the region’s top freshman. New York’s Smith captured a pair of titles in his five southwest trips.

West Region

PJ Haggerty, Cortez Schenck, Chad Lusche, David Leverage and Josh Blanchard

Player of the Year: PJ Haggerty, Roseville, Calif.
Rookie of the Year: Cortez Schenck, Phoenix, Ariz.
Senior Player of the Year: David Leverage, Peoria, Ariz.
Pat Patterson: Chad Lusche, Las Vegas

There wasn’t much room for doubt out west. Haggerty’s four-title campaign and Schenck’s two titles and top-five performance in points and earnings made for easy decisions. Leverage would not be denied, leading all West region seniors in points and earnings, while cashing in all eight of his tournaments.

Northwest Region

Darren Tang, Tyler Cruz, Rich Corwin and Josh Blanchard

Player of the Year: Darren Tang, Las Vegas
Rookie of the Year: Tyler Cruz, Tacoma, Wash.
Senior Player of the Year: Rich Corwin, Portland, Ore.
Pat Patterson: Kevin Croucher, Grants Pass, Ore.

Tang’s near-230 average and seven top-five finishes and PBA Dave Husted Open title powered him to Northwest Player of the Year honors, leading the region in points and earnings.

Cruz placed third in points and captured his first career regional victory in June. Corwin cashed in all seven of his events en route to winning a pair of titles in the senior division.