Each year NBA and NFL fans search the internet looking at "expert" mock drafts, full of hope and excitement for the future of their favorite teams. Well, I won't claim to be an expert, but in anticipation of the upcoming PBA Elite League draft, I did consider a variety of factors to come up with my own mock draft for my fellow bowling fans and draft enthusiasts.
Let's get excited! This could be your team's year!
Protected Players
Team managers have already protected two players from their 2023 rosters:
- L.A. X: Jason Belmonte (player-manager) & Kevin McCune
- Motown Muscle: E.J. Tackett & Anthony Simonsen, managed by Jason Couch (formerly with the now defunct Chicago Breeze)
- Akron Atom Splitters: Jesper Svensson & Chris Via, managed by Mark Baker
- New Jersey KingPins: Packy Hanrahan & Marshall Kent, co-managed by Del Ballard (formerly with Motown) and Carolyn Ballard
- Las Vegas High Rollers: Andrew Anderson & A.J. Johnson, managed by Amleto Monacelli
- Go Bowling! Dallas Strikers: Bill O'Neill & Tommy Jones, managed by Norm Duke
- Portland Lumberjacks: Kris Prather & Kyle Troup, managed by Tim Mack
- Waco Wonders: Parker Bohn III (player-manager) & Ryan Ciminelli
Mock Draft Factors
Managers will complete their rosters with a four-round draft. Some factors I considered for the mock draft include:
- 2022 and 2023 points standings: in every draft there are certain spots where you're just going to go with the "best available."
- Managers' past draft tendencies: past draft choices can give insight into future decisions. (Not applicable to Jason Belmonte and Parker Bohn III, who are first-time player-managers.)
- Relationships between players: have they bowled in doubles tournaments together? Have they had conflict with others?
- Diversity in play style: lefties, two-handers, high rev rates, low rev rates – I anticipate managers wanting to have a mix.
Without further ado, here's how I see the draft unfolding…
2024 PBA Elite League Mock Draft
Round 1
1.01 – Jakob Butturff, L.A. – Dom Barrett is in play here, but I'll take Butturff to return to L.A. as the top ranked player available, filling a need as a high-scoring lefty.
1.02 – Dom Barrett, Motown – Barrett finished in the top 10 in PBA points in both 2022 and 2023 and was one of the leaders of the Jason Couch-managed Chicago Breeze in 2023. He also teamed up with Simonsen to take 3rd in the Roth/Holman Doubles Championship, so there's already some chemistry between teammates.
1.03 – Tom Daugherty, Akron - Last year Manager Mark Baker protected Svensson, Via and Daugherty. After a solid showing in qualifying last year, it wouldn't surprise me if Baker decided to keep last year's 3-4-5 position bowlers together.
1.04 – Matt Ogle, New Jersey – I can't see the No. 5 overall point leader (and best available) dropping any further after he anchored the Dallas franchise to the semifinals last year.
1.05 – Santtu Tahvanainen, Las Vegas – only three top-100 players had a higher average than Tahvanainen on tour, making him a high upside pick here.
1.06 – Stu Williams, Dallas – the Strikers have a history of carrying a very experienced (older) roster, as Ogle was the youngest player on the team last year at 39. Beef fits that roster construction and is still widely-regarded as a top-25 player.
1.07 – Wes Malott, Portland – Tim Mack could wait and hope that Malott drops to a later round, but based on the fact that "The Franchise" was still in the anchor role for Portland last season, I don't think Mack will take that chance and pass on him.
1.08 – Jason Sterner, Waco – Parker Bohn's goal should be to retain as much of last season's championship roster as possible, and Sterner would be the most-likely to get picked before we get back to Waco in the second round.
Round 2
2.01 – Sam Cooley, L.A. – after a top-10 season, if Cooley falls to the second round he'll make a great addition to fellow Australian Belmonte's roster.
2.02 – Keven Williams, Motown – at this point in the draft Jason Couch should be looking to draft the top lefty available. Williams also happened to be Couch's top pick in last year's draft.
2.03 – B.J. Moore, Akron – it may be a reach to take the No. 44 point-earner at this point, but he has a connection with Daugherty, as they teamed up for the doubles tournament last year. He was a key contributor on last year's championship team, and as the 2023 Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award recipient you can expect that he'll have a positive impact on any team.
2.04 – Sean Rash, New Jersey – even while battling through injury, Rash was a top-30 player and the anchor bowler for the defunct Milwaukee Pounders. Injury concerns could cause him to drop further, but his friendship with Ogle and history with the Ballards make him a nice fit in New Jersey.
2.05 – Matt Russo, Las Vegas – Manager Amleto Monacelli should be delighted to see that Russo is still available, as the High Rollers will benefit greatly from reuniting with the top available lefty.
2.06 – Dick Allen, Dallas – The 2015 PBA League MVP gives Norm Duke's squad yet another savvy veteran.
2.07 – Graham Fach, Portland – Fach proved to be a valuable addition to the team last year on their run to the championship match.
2.08 – Sean Lavery-Spahr, Waco – the No. 22 point leader will serve as a good replacement for B.J. Moore.
Round 3
3.01 – François Lavoie, L.A.
3.02 – Tomas Kayhko, Motown
3.03 – A.J. Chapman, Akron
3.04 – Mitch Hupe, New Jersey
3.05 – Jake Peters, Las Vegas
3.06 – Chris Barnes, Dallas
3.07 – Matt Sanders, Portland
3.08 – Shawn Maldonado, Waco
Round 4
4.01 – Justin Knowles, L.A.
4.02 – Tom Smallwood, Motown
4.03 – Frank Snodgrass, Akron
4.04 – Kyle Sherman, New Jersey
4.05 – Darren Tang, Las Vegas
4.06 – D.J. Archer, Dallas
4.07 – Arturo Quintero, Portland
4.08 – Anthony Lavery-Spahr, Waco
Tune into the PBA Elite League draft on Wednesday, December 13th at 8:00 p.m. ET on BowlTV to see how my picks stack up.
For full details about the draft and the new PBA Elite League format, visit pba.com.
