Packy Hanrahan Selected First Overall in 2023 PBA League Draft
The Portland Lumberjacks, three-time defending Elias Cup champions, ultimately retained four of five members from their 2022 championship roster, but Packy Hanrahan slipped away and became the top overall selection in the 2023 PBA League Draft.
This year’s draft began with a twist as team managers announced their keeper selections live during the first round on BowlTV. Managers could save up to three players from their 2022 roster.
Rosters were then filled out through a two-round snake draft from a pool of the top 75 players in points during the 2023 season and unprotected players from Round 1.
To close the first round, Lumberjack manager Tim Mack announced Portland would retain Kyle Troup, Kris Prather, and Wes Malott — aka “The Franchise.”
Mack opted to keep Malott, a two-time Mark Roth PBA League MVP and three-time Elias Cup champion with Portland, over Hanrahan, who won two titles and finished sixth on Tour in 2023 points.
In a similar vein, Norm Duke protected Matt Ogle as his successor on the Dallas Strikers, rejoining Tommy Jones and Bill O’Neill and leaving Santtu Tahvanainen as the odd man out.
Hanrahan would not spend long in the draft pool as Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, manager of the NYC KingPins, made Hanrahan the first overall selection to start the second round.
In quick succession, Mark Baker of the Silver Lake Atom Splitters scooped up the 2022 Rookie of the Year in Tahvanainen.
L.A. X welcomed the year's first PBA League newcomer in Kevin McCune, the latest first-time PBA Tour champion, to the team with the third overall selection.
The remaining players selected in the second round of the draft were Keven Williams (Chicago), Sam Cooley (Motown), Ryan Ciminelli (Waco), Sean Lavery-Spahr (Milwaukee), Matt Russo (Las Vegas), Shawn Maldonado (Dallas), and Graham Fach (Portland).
Sean Lavery-Spahr and Fach will make their PBA League debuts this year.
To begin the final round, Portland brought back Arturo Quintero — more accurately, Quintero never left. After he delivered an MVP-caliber performance in last summer’s PBA League, the 45-year-old moved with his family to Portland.
The next three second-round selections proved how much managers value chemistry: Duke tabbed fellow PBA Hall of Famer Chris Barnes to Dallas; Las Vegas' Amletto Moncelli preserved his 2022 roster with Ildemaro Ruiz Jr.; and Milwaukee not only regained Anthony Lavery-Spahr, but paired him with his brother.
The final selections in the third round were Frank Snodgrass (Waco), Nathan Bohr (Motown), Tomas Käyhkö (Chicago), Thomas Larsen (L.A. X), Richie Teece (Silver Lake) and Michael Tang (NYC).
Snodgrass and Käyhkö will make their PBA League debuts. Bohr, who often wears jerseys with the No. 10 on the back, will make his first PBA League appearance in 10 years.
PBA Hall of Famers Pete Weber and Walter Ray Williams Jr. were not selected to a team for the first time since the PBA League began in 2013.
The 2023 PBA League will begin with qualifying on Sept. 23 at Bayside Bowl in Portland, Maine. The quarterfinals will air Sept. 24-25, followed by the semifinals on Sept. 26 and finals on Sept. 27. All telecasts will be on Fox Sports’ FS1.
More information on the PBA League is available here.
PBA League Draft Recap
Round 1 - Manager Saves
1.01 — Marshall Kent, Kyle Sherman and Darren Tang, NYC
1.02 — Jesper Svensson, Tom Daugherty and Chris Via, Silver Lake
1.03 — Jason Belmonte, Jakob Butturff and Stu Williams, L.A.
1.04 — Dom Barrett, Tom Smallwood and Jake Peters, Chicago
1.05 — EJ Tackett, Anthony Simonsen and Mitch Hupé, Motown
1.06 — Parker Bohn III, BJ Moore and Jason Sterner, Waco
1.07 — Sean Rash, Dick Allen and AJ Chapman, Milwaukee
1.08 — Andrew Anderson, François Lavoie and AJ Johnson, Las Vegas
1.09 — Tommy Jones, Bill O’Neill and Matt Ogle, Dallas
1.10 — Wes Malott, Kyle Troup and Kris Prather, Portland
Round 2 - First Selections
2.01 — Packy Hanrahan, NYC
2.02 — Santtu Tahvanainen, Silver Lake
2.03 — Kevin McCune, L.A.
2.04 — Keven Williams, Chicago
2.05 — Sam Cooley, Motown
2.06 — Ryan Ciminelli, Waco
2.07 — Sean Lavery-Spahr, Milwaukee
2.08 — Matt Russo, Las Vegas
2.09 — Shawn Maldonado, Dallas
2.10 — Graham Fach, Portland
Round 3 - Second Selections
3.01 — Arturo Quintero, Portland
3.02 — Chris Barnes, Dallas
3.03 — Ildemaro Ruiz Jr., Las Vegas
3.04 — Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Milwaukee
3.05 — Frank Snodgrass, Waco
3.06 — Nathan Bohr, Motown
3.07 — Tomas Käyhkö, Chicago
3.08 — Thomas Larsen, L.A.
3.09 — Richie Teece, Silver Lake
3.10 — Michael Tang, NYC
Team Rosters
Portland Lumberjacks
Wes Malott
Kyle Troup
Kris Prather
Graham Fach
Arturo Quintero
Go Bowling! Dallas Strikers
Tommy Jones
Bill O’Neill
Matt Ogle
Shawn Maldonado
Chris Barnes
Las Vegas High Rollers
Andrew Anderson
François Lavoie
AJ Johnson
Matt Russo
Ildemaro Ruiz Jr.
Pabst Blue Ribbon Milwaukee Pounders
Sean Rash
Dick Allen
AJ Chapman
Sean Lavery-Spahr
Anthony Lavery-Spahr
Snickers Waco Wonders
Parker Bohn III
BJ Moore
Jason Sterner
Ryan Ciminelli
Frank Snodgrass
Motown Muscle
EJ Tackett
Anthony Simonsen
Mitch Hupé
Sam Cooley
Nathan Bohr
Guaranteed Rate Chicago Breeze
Dom Barrett
Tom Smallwood
Jake Peters
Keven Williams
Tomas Käyhkö
Bowlero L.A. X
Jason Belmonte
Jakob Butturff
Stu Williams
Kevin McCune
Thomas Larsen
Silver Lake Atom Splitters
Jesper Svensson
Tom Daugherty
Chris Via
Santtu Tahvanainen
Richie Teece
NYC Kingpins
Marshall Kent
Kyle Sherman
Darren Tang
Packy Hanrahan
Michael Tang
PBA League TV Schedule
All times listed in Eastern.
Sunday, Sept. 24 at 5 p.m. — Play-in Stepladder
Monday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. — Quarterfinals
Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. — Semifinals
Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. — Finals