Sean Rash facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sean Rash
Rash in 2017
Born	(1982-08-22) August 22, 1982 (age 42) Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Years active	1998-present (Turned pro in 2005)
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Bowling Information
Affiliation	PBA
Rookie year	2005
Dominant hand	Right (cranker delivery)
Wins	17 PBA Tour titles (2 majors) 10 PBA Regional Tour titles 2011–12 PBA Player of the Year
Sponsors	900 Global, Vise Grips

Sean Rash (born August 22, 1982) is an American ten-pin bowler. He is known as one of the best players on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. Sean has won 17 PBA Tour titles, including two major championships. He was also named the PBA Player of the Year for the 2011–12 season.

Sean Rash has bowled two perfect 300 games on television during PBA events. This made him the first player ever to achieve this more than once on TV. Other bowlers like François Lavoie, Chris Via, and Jason Belmonte have since done the same. In January 2024, Rash was chosen for the USBC Hall of Fame. He was officially welcomed into the Hall of Fame on April 24, 2024.

Sean Rash's Early Bowling Days

Sean Rash was a very skilled bowler even before he became a professional. He achieved many great things as an amateur player.

• He was a member of the Junior Team USA in 1998, 2002, and 2003.
• He also joined Team USA in 2002, 2004, and 2005. In 2004, he helped his team win the World Tenpin Team Cup in The Netherlands.
• Sean was named an All-American twice while attending Wichita State University (in 2002 and 2003).
• In 2003, he won the International Bowling Congress (IBC) National Championship. He was also a runner-up for the IBC Bowler of the Year award.
• He won the 2003 USBC Doubles Championship with his partner Derek Sapp. They set a record for the most pins knocked down in six games, with 1,540. This record was later broken in 2007.
• Sean even competed as an amateur in the 2003 USBC Masters, which was his first PBA Tour event. He finished in seventh place.

When Sean was only 13 years old, he started his own bowling tournament in Alaska. He was frustrated that there weren't enough tournaments for young bowlers. So, he created the "Sean Rash Stars of the Future" tournament. By 2012, this tournament had been running for 18 years and had given out almost $25,000 in scholarship money to young bowlers.

Sean Rash's Professional Bowling Career

Starting in the PBA Tour

Sean Rash bowls during a game with soldiers and civilians.

Sean Rash joined the PBA Tour in 2005. He was the first PBA player to win a title after starting from the Tour Qualifying Round (TQR). He achieved this in his first professional season at the 2006 West Virginia Championship.

Sean won his first major PBA title at the 2007 USBC Masters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This win meant he had won four titles in his first four TV appearances. He also won seven straight matches on TV at the start of his career. This was just one win short of the record set by George Branham III. His winning streak ended when he lost to Norm Duke in 2008.

Becoming PBA Player of the Year

In 2012, Sean Rash won the PBA Tournament of Champions. This was his first championship in five years and his second major title. He was the top seed and defeated Ryan Ciminelli 239–205 in the final match. Sean led the 2011–12 PBA Tour in average scores, money earned, and points. On May 28, 2012, the PBA announced that Sean Rash had won the Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year award.

International Success and Milestones

Sean won his sixth and seventh PBA Tour titles in the 2012–13 season. These wins were at the WBT Kuwait Open and WBT Thailand Open. He also earned an extra $20,000 in the World Bowling Tour finals. Sean was the top money earner on the Tour for the 2012–13 season, making $248,317.

In 2014, Sean bowled a perfect 300 game during the PBA Wolf Open finals. This was the 23rd perfect game ever shown on TV in PBA history. He then went on to win the tournament, earning his 8th PBA title.

Sean bowled another perfect 300 game on TV in 2015 during the Barbasol Tournament of Champions. This made him the first player in PBA history to have two perfect games shown on television. Later that year, he won his ninth PBA title at the PBA Xtra Frame Iowa Midwest Open. During the 2015 season, Sean passed the $1 million mark in career earnings.

In 2016, Sean won his 10th PBA title at the PBA Fall Swing Badger Open. The very next day, he won his 11th title at the PBA Detroit Open.

Recent Years and Challenges

In 2017, Sean won his 12th PBA Tour title at the Xtra Frame Gene Carter's Pro Shop Classic. He defeated E. J. Tackett in the final match.

The year 2018 was a tough one for Sean. He made it to the match play rounds in only 10 out of 30 events. He also reached the championship round only once.

In 2019, Sean won his 13th PBA title with his partner Matt Ogle at the Roth-Holman PBA Doubles Championship. He also won his 14th title at the PBA Wolf Open. Sean was recognized as the USBC Cup champion for earning the most points during the 2019 PBA Summer Swing. He also finished second at the 2019 U.S. Open to champion François Lavoie.

Sean won his 15th PBA Tour title at the PBA Oklahoma Open in 2020. He also won the PBA Summer Clash, a special TV event. Later in 2020, he won his 16th PBA Tour title at the PBA World Series of Bowling XI Cheetah Championship. This was his first title in a World Series of Bowling event. By the end of 2020, Sean had earned over $1.5 million in his career. He has also bowled 30 perfect 300 games in PBA events.

On his 39th birthday in 2021, Sean won his 17th PBA Tour title at the PBA Chesapeake Open. He defeated Tom Daugherty in the final match.

In 2022, during the PBA Players Championship, Sean won the Midwest Region final. During the final match, he expressed strong opinions about the use of certain bowling balls. For this, he was fined and had to miss one event. He was also placed on probation for a year by the PBA for his actions. Sean made it to the final match of the Players Championship but lost to Jason Belmonte.

In 2023, Sean shared that he has a back condition called degenerative disc disease. However, he still plans to continue bowling as much as his treatment allows.

In 2024, Sean was part of the Las Vegas High Rollers PBA Elite League team. This team won the 2024 Elias Cup championship.

PBA Tour Titles Won by Sean Rash

Major titles are shown in boldface.

• 2005–06 West Virginia Open (Parkersburg, WV)
• 2006–07 Beltway Classic (Baltimore, MD)
• 2006–07 Earl Anthony Medford Classic (Medford, OR)
• 2007–08 USBC Masters (Milwaukee, WI)
• 2011–12 PBA Tournament of Champions (Las Vegas, NV)
• 2012–13 WBT Kuwait Open (Kuwait City)
• 2012–13 WBT Thailand Open (Bangkok)
• 2014 PBA Wolf Open (Shawnee, OK)
• 2015 PBA Xtra Frame Iowa Midwest Open (Council Bluffs, IA)
• 2016 PBA Badger Open (Allen Park, MI)
• 2016 PBA Detroit Open (Allen Park, MI)
• 2017 Storm Xtra Frame Gene Carter's Pro Shop Classic (Middletown, DE)
• 2019 Roth-Holman PBA Doubles Championship w/Matt Ogle (Shawnee, OK)
• 2019 FloBowling PBA Wolf Open (Aurora, IL)
• 2020 PBA Oklahoma Open (Shawnee, OK)
• 2020 PBA WSOB XI Cheetah Championship (Las Vegas, NV and Centreville, VA)
• 2021 PBA Chesapeake Open (Chesapeake, VA)

Sean Rash's Career Statistics

Here are some statistics from Sean Rash's PBA career up to the last full season:

+ CRA=Championship Round Appearances

Sean Rash's Personal Life

Sean Rash was born in Denver, Colorado. When he was six months old, his family moved to Anchorage, Alaska. He lived there until he was 18 years old. After that, he went to Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. Today, Sean lives in Montgomery, Illinois, with his wife Sara and their three daughters.