September 25, 2025 Nolan Hughes

Ryan Barnes of Denton, Texas has been named the 2025 Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year.

Barnes set the rookie earnings record with $113,502 en route to leading all first-year PBA Tour players in points (12,188). He ranked 11th overall in points to become the first rookie of the modern era to qualify for the PBA Playoffs.

Barnes received 82% of votes from PBA members and the media. Cam Crowe (9%), Darren Ong (6.5%) and Hayden Stippich (2.5%) were also nominated for the award.

“This feels pretty sweet,” Barnes said. “It was a big goal of mine going into the year. This is something nobody can take away from me, so it’s pretty cool.”

Barnes led all rookies in top-five finishes (three), top-10 finishes (four), top-25 finishes (nine) and cashes (12). He averaged 220.12 across 292 games.

His best finish came in the PBA Players Championship, in which he finished second to Ethan Fiore in the major championship.

“I can’t be upset with that season,” Barnes said. “I wanted to cash in every event. I’m not sure how realistic that was, but I’m pretty happy with cashing in 12 of 16.”

 

Barnes earned his 2025 exemption in last year’s PBA Tour Trials. He finished fifth in the 90-player field, averaging more than 222 for those 48 games.

After finishing sixth in the season-opening tournament, Barnes racked up five top-12 finishes in the season’s first seven events. He credited his consistent success to the preparation he did in the offseason, sharpening his skillset to compete against the world's top talents.

“Before the season, I worked on my versatility, learning oil patterns and getting my ball speed slower,” Barnes said.

In 2024, during his senior season at Wichita State, Barnes finished third in the PBA Players Championship as an amateur. His coach at Wichita State, Rick Steelsmith, won PBA Rookie of the Year honors in 1988.

Barnes has another mentor who previously won Rookie of the Year: his father, Chris, who won the award in 1998.

Chris and Ryan Barnes are the first father-son duo to each win PBA Rookie of the Year honors.

“A lot of people say I’m following in his footsteps," Ryan said, "but to actually win something that he has won is pretty cool."

Ryan said he doesn’t feel any pressure to live up to the Barnes name; his mother, Lynda, is also a USBC Hall of Famer. Instead, Ryan sees their expertise as an unfair advantage for himself.

“It’s an unfair advantage, the way he sees the game and can simplify it so easily for me,” Ryan said. “He can watch a shot and say the adjustment with such confidence because he has experienced it. It makes it much easier for me to make the next shot. I can go back to being an athlete.”

In 2026, Barnes would like to transition from being the tour’s top rookie to one of the tour’s top players.

“I would love to get title No. 1. That is a huge goal,” he said. “Similar to this year, I would like to finish top 10 in points, maybe even top five. I have some smaller statistical goals that I would like to improve upon.”

The PBA Rookie of the Year Award is named after legendary PBA Tour tournament director Harry “Goose” Golden, who was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1983.

Recent Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year Winners

Ryan Barnes, 2025
Nate Purches, 2024
Cortez Schenck, 2023
Santtu Tahvanainen, 2022
Matt Russo, 2021
Not awarded, 2020
Mykel Holliman, 2019
Kamron Doyle, 2018
Matt Sanders, 2017
François Lavoie, 2016

Complete list of Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year Winners