January 4, 2024 Nolan Hughes

Award winners from the 2023 PBA Regional Tour season were announced last night during a banquet at the BowlTV PBA Regional Players Invitational. 

The top PBA and PBA50 player, as well as the top first-year player, in each region were recognized based on their performance during the 2023 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; Bobby Jakel, Central; Toby Contreras, Midwest; Steve Taylor, South; Tony Lanning, Southwest; Josh Blanchard, West and Northwest.

Here are the 2023 PBA Regional Tour award winners:

East Region

Ken Korn, Russ Mills and Tom Sorce

Player of the Year: Tom Sorce, Blasdell, N.Y.
Rookie of the Year: Robert Shine, Yonkers, N.Y.
Senior Player of the Year: Troy Lint, Blandon, Pa.
Pat Patterson: Ken Korn, Cheektowaga, N.Y.

Sorce led the East Region with $11,985 in earnings and cashed in eight of his nine events, while Shine led all East Region rookies in average, earnings and cashes.

Troy Lint, the PBA50 National Player of the Year, was also named East Region PBA50 Player of the Year as he won two of his three regional events.

Central Region

Bobby Jakel, Brian Kretzer and Larry Verble

Player of the Year: Graham Fach, Urbana, Ohio
Rookie of the Year: Brendan Salo, Dayton, Ohio
Senior Player of the Year: Larry Verble, Mason, Mich.
Pat Patterson: Brian Kretzer, Kettering, Ohio

Fach earned his second consecutive and fifth career Central Region Player of the Year honor, leading the region in earnings ($16,525), average (228.22) and points (18,315). He won two titles and finished outside the top five just once in 12 events… when he finished eighth.

Verble led the region in points and earnings by a narrow margin over reigning Central POY Eugene McCune. Verble’s four top-five finishes to McCune’s three proved to be the difference maker.

Brendan Salo won his first event as a PBA member and rode that win to Rookie of the Year honors.

Midwest Region

Toby Contreras, Nate Purches and PBA Commissioner Tom Clark

Player of the Year: Nate Purches, Marlborough, Mass.
Rookie of the Year: Nate Purches, Marlborough, Mass.
Senior Player of the Year: Tom Adcock, Forsyth, Ill.
Pat Patterson: Chris Watson, Joliet, Ill.

Rookie Nate Purches led the region with 10,390 points, nearly double that of the second place finisher. His five top-five finishes and nine cashes also led the region.

Tom Adcock’s stellar season on the PBA50 Tour translated to the regional level, leading the region with six top-five finishes, 12,595 points, and a 218.54 average.

South Region

Steve Taylor and Zachary Tackett

Player of the Year: Zachary Tackett, Virginia Beach, Va.
Rookie of the Year: Pete Vergos, Apopka, Fla.
Senior Player of the Year: Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla.
Pat Patterson: not awarded

The Player of the Year battle between Zachary Tackett and Nate Garcia extended deep into the regional season. Each player won three titles and earned four top-five finishes. Tackett led in points 14,865-14,645, while Garcia led in earnings $15,670-$15,625. In the end, Tackett’s 225.05 average to Garcia’s 216.54 earned him the POY nod.

Pete Vergos notched 11 cashes in 13 events while averaging over 213.

The legendary Walter Ray Williams Jr. added three titles to his résumé in the South Region, dominating the region in points and earnings. 

Southwest Region

Tony Lanning, Tony Franklin and Andres Villarreyna

Player of the Year: Deo Benard, Roanoke, Texas
Rookie of the Year: Andres Villarreyna, Port Arthur, Texas
Senior Player of the Year: Tony Franklin, Frisco, Texas
Pat Patterson: Allan Smith, Copperas Cove, Texas

Twenty-year-old Deo Benard racked up four wins while leading the region with 14,740 points and $16,985 in earnings. Andres Villarreyna led all first-year players in points and earnings and was the lone rookie to win a title in the Southwest.

Aided by a title and a region-best 6,570 points, Franklin emerged from a crowded Southwest PBA50 POY race against Mike Bailey, Chris Barnes and Rick Benard.

West Region

Josh Blanchard, Cortez Schenck, Rick Meneley, Nickolas Freiberg and Lanndyn Carnate

Player of the Year: Cortez Schenck, Phoenix, Ariz
Rookie of the Year: Nickolas Freiberg, Sparks, Nev.
Senior Player of the Year: Rick Meneley, Santa Maria, Calif.
Pat Patterson: Lanndyn Carnate, Redding, Calif.

Schenck elevated from West ROY in 2022 to West POY in 2023. Schenck, the 2023 PBA Tour Rookie of the Year, led the West with $9,175 in earnings and two titles.

Though Meneley did not record a win in 2023, he finished top 10 in each of his final eight events and led the region with $9,400 in earnings.

Freiberg led first-year West players in earnings and top-five finishes.

Northwest Region

Josh Blanchard, Michael Kennedy, Erik Seholm, Clay Rees and Jake Peters

Player of the Year: Jake Peters, Henderson, Nev.
Rookie of the Year: Clay Rees, Lehi, Utah
Senior Player of the Year: Michael Kennedy, Bonney Lake, Wash.
Pat Patterson: Eric Seholm, Bellingham, Wash.

It was a dominant season for Jake Peters and Michael Kennedy in the Northwest as each led their division in points, earnings and average.

Clay Rees led first-year players in points, earnings, average and top-five finishes.