Walter Ray, PDW Are In; Two-Time MVP Dick Allen is “Free Agent” Awaiting PBA League Draft on April 8

PBAL managers announce protected players for 2019 rosters

PORTLAND, Maine (March 25, 2019) – PBA Hall of Famers Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Pete Weber are in. Two-time PBA League Most Valuable Player Dick Allen is among the “free agents” on the outside awaiting his fate after the PBAL’s eight team managers announced on Monday the players they have returned to their 2019 rosters based on previous performances in PBA League competition.

PBA League fans can begin the debate over who will fill out the team roster vacancies when the PBA League Draft is held on Monday, April 8 at Bayside Bowl. Among those hoping to make their PBA League debut in 2019 are 2018 PBA Player of the Year Andrew Anderson of Holly, Mich., and first-time PBA Tour title winners Kris Prather of Plainfield, Ill., and Matt Ogle of Louisville, Ky.

For the first time, Bayside fans will have an opportunity to attend the draft when the eight 2019 team managers complete their rosters as the draft airs live on FloBowling, PBA’s official online live-streaming outlet, beginning at 4 p.m. EDT.

Leading off the draft, Portland Lumberjacks manager Tim Mack will make the first pick from a pool of players who finish in the top 40 in 2019 competition points as of Monday, April 1 by virtue of the Lumberjacks’ last-place finish in the 2018 Elias Cup tournament. Choosing second will be L.A. X, followed by the Brooklyn Styles, New York City Kingpins, Motown Muscle, Dallas Strikers, Philadelphia Hitmen and defending champion Silver Lake Atom Splitters. The serpentine draft will then find the Atom Splitters making the first selection as the second round reverses the selection order. The Brooklyn Styles, who protected only two of their five 2018 rostered players, will then make the final selection to complete their five-player roster.

In order to be eligible for the draft pool, PBA members must be ranked in the top 40 in the 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour competition points standings at the conclusion of the 2019 USBC Masters on April 1. The PBA points list heading into the Masters is noted below, with players in bold already selected for 2019 and an asterisk identifying players who were on a 2018 roster, but not protected and therefore returned to the draft pool.

Once the PBA Playoffs point list is finalized, eligible players will have until Wednesday, April 3, to declare their intent to enter the draft. Following the draft, managers will have until Monday, April 15, to make player trades if they are so inclined.

April 8 will not only be “draft day” in Portland but will also debut the inaugural round of PBA Playoffs matches that will air later in the evening, live on FS1 at 7 p.m. Eastern. The PBA Playoffs is a new Go Bowling! PBA Tour singles competition that will feature the season’s top 24 players in competition points in a single-elimination match play series. The entire PBA Playoff series will air in eight FS1 telecasts in April and May, leading up to the live FOX telecasts of the semifinal and final rounds on June 1 and 2. The winner will earn a PBA Tour title and $100,000. Bayside Bowl will host the entire PBA Playoffs series.

PBA League players will return to Bayside Bowl for the 2019 PBA League Elias Cup competition on July 16, 17 and 18. All rounds will air live on FOX Sports’ FS1 in prime time.

2019 PBA LEAGUE TEAM ROSTERS (including players protected from 2018 rosters)

● Portland Lumberjacks (manager Mack): Ryan Ciminelli, Wes Malott, Kyle Troup.

● L.A. X (manager Andrew Cain): Jason Belmonte, Stuart Williams, Jakob Butturff.

● Brooklyn Styles (manager Johnny Petraglia): Walter Ray Williams Jr., Sean Rash.

● New York City KingPins (manager Carolyn Dorin-Ballard): Pete Weber, Marshall Kent, BJ Moore.

● Motown Muscle (manager Del Ballard Jr.): EJ Tackett, Anthony Simonsen, Josh Blanchard.

● Dallas Strikers: player-manager Norm Duke, Tommy Jones, Bill O’Neill.

● Philadelphia Hitmen (manager Jason Couch): Dom Barrett, Tom Smallwood, Matt Sanders.

● Silver Lake Atom Splitters (manager Mark Baker): Chris Barnes, Jesper Svensson, Tom Daugherty.

PBA PLAYOFFS POINTS STANDINGS

(As of Monday, March 25; players in bold face are already members of 2019 PBA League teams; * denotes players who were on 2018 rosters and will be eligible for the 2019 draft if they finish among the top 40 in points as of April 1)

1, Jason Belmonte, Australia, 29,210

2, EJ Tackett, Bluffton, Ind., 17,715

3, Jakob Butturff, Tempe, Ariz., 17,160

4, Norm Duke, Clermont, Fla., 16,960

5, Anthony Simonsen, Austin, Texas, 15,775

6, Sean Rash, Montgomery, Ill., 13,450

7, Bill O'Neill, Langhorne, Pa., 13,065

8, Tom Daugherty, Tampa, Fla., 12,885

9, Kris Prather, Plainfield, Ill., 12,180

10, *Dick Allen, Lexington, S.C., 11,985

11, *Kyle Sherman, O'Fallon, Mo., 10,640

12, Marshall Kent, Yakima, Wash., 10,615

13, Wes Malott, Pflugerville, Texas, 9,818

14, Chris Barnes, Double Oak, Texas, 9,658

15, Kyle Troup, Taylorsville, N.C., 9,595

16, *Rhino Page, Orlando, Fla., 9,585

17, Shawn Maldonado, Houston, 8,600

18, Josh Blanchard, Mesa, Ariz., 8,508

19, Dom Barrett, England, 8,010

20, *DJ Archer, Friendswood, Texas, 7,915

21, Jesper Svensson, Sweden, 7,420

22, Andres Gomez, Colombia, 7,190

23, Patrick Girard, Canada, 6,870

24, AJ Chapman, Wichita, Kan., 6,865

25, Brad Miller, Lees Summit, Mo., 6,850

26, Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 6,830

27, Darren Tang, San Francisco, 6,685

28, BJ Moore, Greensburg, Pa., 6,398

29, Tommy Jones, Simpsonville, S.C., 6,325

30, Nick Pate, Inver Grove Heights, Minn., 6,225

31, Tom Smallwood, Saginaw, Mich., 5,918

32, Stuart Williams, England, 5,900

33, Andrew Anderson, Holly, Mich., 5,873

34, Thomas Larsen, Denmark, 5,725

35, Brad Angelo, Lockport, N.Y., 5,440

36, Matt McNiel, Minneapolis, Minn., 5,310

37, *AJ Johnson, Oswego, Ill., 5,273

38, *Osku Palermaa, Finland, 5,105

39, Matt Ogle, Louisville, Ky., ,4955

40, *Ronnie Russell, Marion, Ind., 4,880

41, Zacharay Wilkins, Canada, 4,835

42, Richie Teece, England, 4,623

43, Sam Cooley, Australia, 4,608

44, *Chris Loschetter, Avon, Ohio, 4,353

45, Sean Lavery-Spahr, Pasadena, Texas, 4,095

46, *Martin Larsen, Sweden, 4,040

47, Mitch Hupe, Canada, 4,038

48, *Francois Lavoie, Canada, 3,938

49, Michael Tang, San Francisco, 3,845

50, Brian Robinson, Morgantown, W.Va., 3,660

59, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Oxford, Fla., 2,920

103, Pete Weber, St. Ann, Mo., 968

2019 PBA LEAGUE ELIAS CUP FINALS SCHEDULE

(A part of the 2019 Go Bowling! PBA Tour)

Bayside Bowl, Portland, Maine, July 16-18 (live on FS1)

Tuesday, July 16

3:30 p.m. – Bayside Bowl rooftop “tailgate party”

7 p.m. – Quarterfinal Match One: Team #1 vs. Team #8

8 p.m. – Quarterfinal Match Two: Team #5 vs. Team #4

9 p.m. – Quarterfinal Match Three: Team #2 vs. Team #7

10 p.m. – Quarterfinal Match Four: Team #6 vs. Team #3

Wednesday, July 17

9 p.m. – Semifinal Match One: Winner Match One vs. Winner Match Two

10 p.m. – Semifinal Match Two: Winner Match Three vs. Winner Match Four

Thursday, July 18

9 p.m. – Elias Cup Championship: Winner Semifinal One vs. Winner Semifinal Two