Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year Nominees Announced for 2025 Season
Four players have qualified for 2025 Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year award consideration, which recognizes the best first-year player during the 2025 PBA Tour season.
The award honors legendary PBA Tour tournament director Harry “Goose” Golden, who was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1983.
To qualify for the ballot, which can be viewed here, a player must have bowled at least three events and finished in the top five among rookies in points and earnings. The PBA World Series of Bowling counts as one event.
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 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year can be found here.
Winners for all 2025 PBA player awards, including the Tony Reyes Community Service and Steve Nagy Sportsmanship awards, will be announced later this month.
Ryan Barnes
2025 Stats: 12,188 points, $113,502 earnings, 220.12 average, three top-five finishes, nine top-25 finishes, 12 cashes
After finishing third as an amateur in the 2024 PBA Players Championship, Barnes became an immediate contender for this award once he earned his exemption in last year’s PBA Tour Trials.
The two-handed righty cashed in 12 of 16 title events, showing strong consistency for a first-year player. His best performance came in the fourth major of the season, where he earned a runner-up finish to Ethan Fiore in the PBA Players Championship.
Barnes set a new rookie earnings record, becoming the first freshman to bring home six figures. He also became the first rookie to qualify for the PBA Playoffs since the event’s return in 2019.
Cam Crowe
2025 Stats: 4,455 points, $19,825 earnings, 213.39 average, one top-10 finish, six top-25 finishes, six cashes
It did not take long to see the potential of the two-handed southpaw’s immense talent.
Crowe averaged more than 240 and qualified second in the season-opening PBA Delaware Classic, ultimately finishing a season-high in ninth place, and tallied four top-20 finishes in the season’s first seven title events.
The Chicago native and St. Ambrose University product finished 49th overall in points this season.
Darren Ong
2025 Stats: 4,570 points, $28,800 earnings, 222.25 average, one title, one top-five finish, two top-25 finishes, three cashes
Ong only bowled in one PBA Tour event last season, making 2025 his official rookie year. Despite only competing in the World Series of Bowling and the USBC Masters, Ong ranked 47th on tour in points.
Ong fired three perfect games in the first seven games of PBA Viper Championship qualifying. He went on to defeat EJ Tackett in the championship match, claiming his first career title and becoming the first Singapore player to win a PBA Tour title.
He added a 15th place finish in the PBA World Championship.
Hayden Stippich
2025 Stats: 3,750 points, $22,288 earnings, 212.10 average, one top-10 finish, three top-25 finishes, five cashes
Stippich, who bowled for Bob Learn Jr. in college at Tennessee Southern University, prefers to let his game do the talking. The Pennsylvania native yapped all week in last year’s PBA Tour Trials as he won the event to earn his 2025 exemption.
A strong showing in Illinois — finishing 16th in the Roth/Holman Doubles Championship and a season-high eighth in the PBA Owen’s Illinois Classic — were the highlight of his freshman campaign.
Stippich’s season was derailed by an injury and sickness in Reno. He withdrew from the PBA Mike Aulby Nevada Classic while he was in the top 20 and missed the entire World Series of Bowling. Stippich bounced back with his best major showing of the year, finishing 25th in the USBC Masters.
Voting is now open to PBA members here. The 2024 Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year award winner will be announced during the week of Dec. 9.
Recent Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year Winners
Nate Purches, 2024
Cortez Schenck, 2023
Santtu Tahvanainen, 2022
Matt Russo, 2021
not awarded in 2020 due to the pandemic-interrupted season (2020 rookies retained eligibility through 2021)
Mykel Holliman, 2019
Kamron Doyle, 2018
Matt Sanders, 2017
François Lavoie, 2016
Jesper Svensson, 2015