Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year Nominees Announced for 2025 Season
Based on their performance this PBA Tour season, seven players have been nominated for 2025 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year award consideration.
The award honors the legacy of Schenkel, whose Hall of Fame sports broadcasting career included more than three decades as the voice of the PBA.
Listed in alphabetical order, the nominees for the 2025 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year award are: Andrew Anderson, Jason Belmonte, Graham Fach, Ethan Fiore, Jesper Svensson, EJ Tackett and Chris Via.
To qualify for the ballot, which can be viewed here, a player must have won at least one PBA Tour title and ranked among the top 10 in earnings during the calendar year. Any player who won multiple titles during the year is automatically added to the ballot.
All PBA members are invited to vote for the 2025 PBA Player of the Year and Rookie of Year awards here.
A breakdown of the nominees for the 2025 Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year can be found here.
Winners of all 2025 PBA player awards, including the Tony Reyes Community Service and Steve Nagy Sportsmanship awards, will be announced later this month.
Andrew Anderson
Titles (2): PBA Mike Aulby Nevada Classic presented by Pilgrim’s, PBA Tour Finals
Other notes: Earned No. 1 seed in U.S. Open, Qualified for one-handed PBA All-Star Team
Anderson turned in, in his own words, a career year in 2025. He beat Tackett for each of his titles, which were his first singles titles since 2018 — the year Anderson won Player of the Year.
The Michigan native ranked second on tour in points (18,120), third in earnings ($203,781) and third in average (224.24). He bowled all 18 title events, earning seven top-five finishes, nine top-10 finishes and 14 cashes.
Jason Belmonte
Title (1): PBA Roth/Holman Doubles Championship (with Bill O’Neill)
Other notes: Earned No. 1 seed in PBA World Championship, Qualified for two-handed PBA All-Star Team, Won PBA Elite League: Battle of the Brands with Team Storm
Belmonte brought home one title this season, led the 82-game PBA World Championship and ranked highly in other statistics.
He finished third in points (15,365), fourth in earnings ($190,835) and second in average (225.87). In 16 title events, the Australian earned four top-five finishes, nine top-10 finishes and 14 cashes.
No player has won the Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year award more than Belmonte, sharing the record of seven with Walter Ray Williams Jr.
Graham Fach
Title (1): PBA Delaware Classic
Other notes: Qualified for one-handed PBA All-Star Team
Fach, who had not won a title since 2016, proved right away that this season would not be like the previous eight. He won the season-opener in Delaware then netted a ninth-place finish in the U.S. Open.
The Canadian ranked fourth in points (15,181) and sixth in earnings ($147,925). In his 16 title events, he averaged 221.87 and tallied five top-five finishes, eight top-10 finishes and nine cashes.
Fach’s three top-10 major finishes trailed only Tackett’s four.
Ethan Fiore
Title (1): PBA Players Championship
Other notes: Earned No. 1 seed in PBA Players Championship, Started season competing in PTQs as non-exempt player
Fiore made his first career championship round in Nevada and made quite the national introduction with his historic seven-round roll-off against Tackett in the semifinals. Fiore later led the PBA Players Championship and defeated Ryan Barnes to win his first title and first major.
Fiore finished the season eighth in points (13,195) and fifth in earnings ($150,095). In 13 title events, he averaged 220.95 and earned three top-five finishes, four top-10 finishes and nine cashes.
Fiore, who turned 21 earlier this month, is the youngest player to qualify for the Player of the Year ballot since 19-year-old Anthony Simonsen did so in 2016.
Jesper Svensson
Titles (2): PBA Tournament of Champions, PBA Playoffs
Other notes: Earned No. 1 seed in PBA Tournament of Champions, Won PBA Elite League: Battle of the Brands with Team Storm
The Iceman started the season ice cold, failing to net a top-10 finish in the season’s first five title events. He righted the ship in Reno, finishing top-25 in all six title events with two top-five finishes.
But Svensson decided merely contending wasn’t good enough. The two-handed Swede won the PBA Tournament of Champions to qualify for the PBA Playoffs, then ran through the all-televised bracket to claim back-to-back titles.
Svensson finished the season seventh in points (13,440) and second in earnings ($271,100). In 16 title events, the southpaw averaged 222.05 and earned four top-five finishes, six top-10 finishes and 12 cashes.
Svensson and Tackett are the only two players to qualify for the Player of the Year ballot in each of the past two seasons.
EJ Tackett
Titles (4): U.S. Open presented by Go Bowling, PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic, PBA Shark Championship, PBA World Championship
Other notes: Achieved fourth-highest single-season average in PBA history, Set PBA record for most consecutive championship round appearances with six (6), Made seven (7) consecutive championship round appearances in singles title events, Won PBA Strike Derby, Qualified for one-handed PBA All-Star Team
Tackett, who has won this award three times in his career, including the past two seasons, might have reached a new peak in 2025.
He led the tour in virtually every statistical category with 34,690 points, $438,540 earnings, a 228.60 average, 11 top-five finishes, 12 top-10 finishes and 15 cashes in 17 title events. He had legitimate aspirations of breaking the single-season average and earnings records this season until the final few tournaments.
In the midst of making seven straight singles finals, a PBA record, Tackett became the second player in PBA history to advance to the championship round in every World Series of Bowling event. Inside Reno’s National Bowling Stadium, Tackett defended his PBA Shark Championship title and defeated Belmonte to secure his third consecutive PBA World Championship title.
Chris Via
Title (1): Storm PBA/PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles (with Bryanna Coté)
Other notes: Won PBA Elite League: Battle of the Brands with Team Storm, Qualified for two-handed PBA All-Star Team
Three top-11 major finishes and a long-awaited second career title propelled the chiseled two-handed Ohio native to his third career Player of the Year nomination.
Via ranked sixth with 14,660 points and seventh with $147,684 earnings. He averaged 222.15 and earned four top-five finishes, seven top-10 finishes and 12 cashes in 16 title events.
Voting is now open to PBA members here. The 2025 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year award winner will be announced later this month.
Recent Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year Winners
EJ Tackett, 2024
EJ Tackett, 2023
Jason Belmonte, 2022
Kyle Troup, 2021
Jason Belmonte, 2020
Jason Belmonte, 2019
Andrew Anderson, 2018
Jason Belmonte, 2017
EJ Tackett, 2016
Jason Belmonte, 2015