E. J. Tackett

Eddie Dean Tackett Jr. (born August 7, 1992) is an American professional ten-pin bowler. A member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) since 2012, Tackett has won 27 PBA Tour titles (tenth most all-time), including seven major championships, and is one of nine professional bowlers that have completed the PBA Triple Crown (earned by winning the PBA World Championship, PBA Tournament of Champions and U.S. Open majors). He is a three-time PBA Player of the Year, earning the award in the 2016, 2023 and 2024 seasons, and was runner-up for the award in 2017 and 2018. Tackett is right-handed and uses a cranker-style delivery. He has been called a "unicorn" in the sport, because of his ability to use a one-handed, thumb-in delivery to achieve RPM rates comparable to most two-handed bowlers.

Tackett is a pro staff member for MOTIV bowling balls, Dexter shoes, JoPo Grips, and Genesis kinesiology tape.

Amateur career

Tackett was a member of Junior Team USA in 2011 and 2013, and made Team USA in 2018. At the 2018 WBT World Men's Championships in Hong Kong (November 24–December 5), Tackett won two gold medals: Trios (with teammates Kyle Troup and Andrew Anderson) and All-Events.

In the 2020 Weber Cup, Tackett was named MVP as Team USA defeated Team Europe, 23–18. After the European bowlers closed the gap to four points following an initial nine-point American lead, Tackett won his final two singles matches over Swede Jesper Svensson, including the clinching match. Overall in the event, Tackett participated in 13 of 41 matches, going 3–2 in singles, 5–1 in doubles, and 1–1 in team.

PBA career

Tackett made four championship round appearances over the 2012–13 and 2014 seasons, but did not win a title. He was named the PBA Rookie of the Year for the 2012–13 season. His first PBA Tour title came on June 28, 2015, at the PBA Xtra Frame Lubbock Southwest Open. Later in the 2015 season, Tackett qualified as the top seed for the PBA World Championship, but lost in the final match to Gary Faulkner Jr.

2016: PBA Player of the Year

Tackett had a highly successful 2016 season. He won his second career title on April 24 at the PBA Xtra Frame Storm Open.

He captured his third title (and first on U.S. television) on September 10 at the PBA Fall Swing Bear Open, also winning an additional $10,000 a day later in the non-title King of the Fall Swing event.

Tackett's fourth PBA title came in the PBA Team Challenge in Las Vegas, NV on November 1. (This was the first PBA team event to award individual titles to the winning players.)

Tackett then won his first PBA major and fifth title overall at the PBA World Championship, on December 11 in Reno, NV.

The four titles in 2016 helped E.J. earn PBA Player of the Year honors for the season. He is the third-youngest player (24) to be named Player of the Year, behind Billy Hardwick (1963) and Andrew Anderson (2018). Tackett led the Tour in wins (4) and earnings ($168,290), and was third in Tour average (224.49).

2017

Tackett's run of victories continued into 2017, as he won the season's opening event on January 14 at the DHC PBA Japan Invitational. This was his sixth PBA Tour title.

On February 19 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, Tackett won his second major and seventh PBA title overall at the Fire Lake PBA Tournament of Champions.

Tackett continued his 2017 success with a win in the inaugural Main Event PBA Tour Finals on May 20. This invitational tournament featured the top eight players in PBA earnings from the start of the 2015 PBA Tour season through the 2017 USBC Masters. As the #2 seed, Tackett survived the round-robin and group stepladder matches, eventually defeating #1 seed Jason Belmonte in the three-game final. This was his third victory of 2017 and eighth title overall.

Although he did not have a win in any of the seven Storm PBA Xtra Frame events in 2017, Tackett finished with the most points over the duration of the series, earning a $20,000 bonus and the Storm Cup.

On November 19, Tackett won his ninth PBA title in the PBA Scorpion Championship, part of the PBA World Series of Bowling in Reno, NV.

Tackett duplicated his four titles (one major) from the previous season while making a career-high nine championship round appearances, amassing 2017 earnings of over $230,000.

2018

Tackett won his tenth PBA title on July 2, 2018, at the PBA Xtra Frame Parkside Lanes Open in Aurora, Illinois. At age 25 years, 329 days, he is the fourth-youngest player in PBA history to reach the ten title plateau (behind Pete Weber, Mike Aulby and Wayne Webb).

Tackett won his 11th PBA title on July 29, 2018, teaming with female professional Liz Johnson to win the Storm PBA/ PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles championship in Houston, Texas.

Tackett won his 12th PBA title and third of the 2018 season at the FloBowling PBA Bear Open, held October 17–18 in Owasso, Oklahoma.

Tackett was announced as a finalist for the 2018 PBA Player of the Year award, but the award was won by Andrew Anderson.

2019

On January 6, 2019, Tackett won the World Bowling Tour Men's Finals, a non-title event in which the finalists are based on performance in global events throughout the previous season.

On July 21, 2019, Tackett won the Barbasol PBA Tour Finals for the second time in three seasons, earning his 13th PBA Tour title.

2020

Tackett qualified as the #1 seed for the finals of the 2020 PBA Players Championship, but lost the title match to Bill O'Neill by one pin, 233–232.

2021

On August 1, 2021, Tackett and partner Danielle McEwan won the PBA-PWBA Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles tournament, leading the event wire-to-wire (from opening round of qualifying through the finals). The win earned E. J. his 14th PBA Tour title.

2022

After a historic performance in qualifiers, Tackett earned the #1 seed in the 2022 US Open. However, a disastrous performance in the title match led to him losing 232–165 against Anthony Simonsen. That would only delay Tackett's 2022 title chase, as
he and his partner Marshall Kent won the PBA WSOB XIII Roth-Holman Doubles Championship. The win earned E. J. his 15th PBA Tour title.

Tackett's 2022 season was enough to get him the #3 seed in the 2022 PBA Playoffs, where he would face a struggling Jesper Svensson. However, after splitting the first two games, Tackett would lose in the roll-off 38-24 after a heart wrenching 2-4-6-10 leave in the 10th frame.

On July 31, Tackett won his 16th PBA Tour title in the Storm Striking Against Breast Cancer Mixed Doubles tournament, with partner Diandra Asbaty. This was Tackett's third title in the event, and he has won with three different partners (Liz Johnson in 2018 and Danielle McEwan in 2021).

Tackett led the 2022 PBA Tour with a 225.27 average, was third in points and seventh in earnings with $160,675.

2023: triple crown and second PBA Player of the Year award

For the second straight season, Tackett earned the #1 seed at the US Open. In the championship finals on February 5, 2023, he defeated Kyle Troup, 221–208. With this win, he became the ninth player in PBA history to capture the Triple Crown, thanks to his prior wins in the World Championship and Tournament of Champions in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

On 17 February, Tackett won the PBA Shawnee Classic. After qualifying as the #1 seed, he defeated Dom Barrett 231–226 in the championship match to claim his 18th career title.

On March 9, Tackett won the PBA Dave Small's Jackson (MI) Classic, defeating Anthony Simonsen in the final match with a convincing 277–199 victory. This gave Tackett three wins in the first five events of the 2023 PBA Tour season. Continuing his superb 2023 season, Tackett led the Tournament of Champions qualifying wire-to-wire to claim the top seed, only to lose the March 19 title match to Jason Belmonte.

On April 17, Tackett won the PBA Cheetah Championship at World Series of Bowling XIV in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Having qualified as the #2 seed, he defeated Joseph Grondin in the semifinal match and B.J. Moore in the championship match. With this victory, Tackett became the seventeenth player in PBA history to win at least 20 titles, and it marked his third season winning four titles. He also became the second-youngest player to reach the 20 title plateau, missing the mark set by Pete Weber by just 14 days. The next night (April 18), Tackett was the #2 seed for the PBA Scorpion Championship finals. He defeated Jesper Svensson in the semifinal match to move on to his sixth title match appearance of the season, but he then lost to top seed Jakob Butturff in the finals.

On April 23, Tackett won his 21st PBA Tour title and 4th major at the 2023 PBA World Championship. As the #1 seed for the finals, he defeated Jason Belmonte in the championship match 254–247 to claim the win. This was Tackett's second PBA World Championship title, and it marked his first season with two major wins.

In the May 1–4 qualifying for the PBA Players Championship, the season's fifth and final major, Tackett again earned the #1 seed. This gave him the distinction of being the only player in PBA history to qualify as the top seed in four major tournaments during the same season. However, Tackett would be upset in the May 7 quarterfinal round by fellow Indiana native Kevin McCune.

In the PBA Super Slam Cup, a special event held for the 2023 major champions, Tackett finished runner-up to Jason Belmonte. However, Tackett electrified the crowd and TV audience by rolling a 300 game in the semifinal match against Kevin McCune. Because it occurred in a non-title event, it will not be recognized as an official PBA Tour televised 300, but Tackett did earn a $10,000 bonus for his feat.

For the 2023 season, Tackett led the Tour in earnings with $458,450, which is the second-highest total in PBA history behind only Kyle Troup's record of $496,900 set in 2021. Tackett also led the PBA Tour in points (41,200), average (227.18), titles (5) and major titles (2). On December 8, 2023, Tackett was voted the Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year, his second such award in his career.

2024: third PBA Player of the Year award

Although he had yet to win a title in 2024, Tackett tied a PBA record on March 3 by making his fifth consecutive TV finals appearance. He is one of several players in PBA history to accomplish this feat, but the first to do so since 2001 (Jason Couch). He broke through with his first title of the 2024 season in the World Series of Bowiling XV Shark Championship on April 17, 2024, and became the first person to win all three current animal oil pattern championships. With his 22nd title overall, Tackett tied Marshall Holman for 12th on the all-time PBA Tour titles list.

On April 21, Tackett won the 2024 PBA World Championship. As the #4 seed, he climbed the stepladder and defeated Matt Russo in the championship match 225–194 to claim his 23rd career title and 5th major, while becoming the first bowler since Jason Belmonte in 2019–2020 to successfully defend a World Championship title. After this victory, he stood alone in 12th place on the all-time PBA Tour titles list.

Tackett finished the 2024 winter-spring season first on the PBA points list, earning him the #1 seed for the PBA Playoffs in May. However, he was upset in the quarterfinal round by #9 seed and eventual winner David Krol.

On December 12, the PBA announced Tackett had won his third career and second consecutive Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year award. In addition to his two titles (one major) on the season, Tackett led the Tour in points (29,920), average (229.37) and earnings ($265,792). His average was a personal best and just 0.02 pins shy of the PBA Tour record set by Jason Belmonte in 2017. E.J. earned 67.5% of PoY votes from PBA members and the media, far ahead of second place finisher Anthony Simonsen (11% of the vote).

2025

Tackett won his 24th PBA Tour title, sixth major, and second U.S. Open on February 2, 2025. Qualifying as the #2 seed, Tackett eliminated previous U.S. Open winner Chris Via in the semifinal match. He then defeated top seed Andrew Anderson in the final match, 238–184, to don his second career green jacket.

On February 16, Tackett won his 25th PBA Tour title at the PBA Pete Weber Missouri Classic. Qualifying as the top seed, he defeated Dom Barrett in his lone televised finals match, 238–202. This win tied Tackett with Brian Voss for 11th place on the all-time PBA Tour titles list.

On March 15 at the PBA Mike Aulby Nevada Classic, Tackett survived the longest sudden death roll-off in PBA Tour history. After he and Tour rookie Ethan Fiore tied at 238 in the semifinal match, they both rolled the first six strikes in sudden death. Tackett then rolled a seventh strike while Fiore got a 9-count, sending Tackett to the final match. He would go on to lose that match to Andrew Anderson.

On March 19, EJ claimed his 26th PBA tour title at the PBA Shark Championship, tying him with Don Johnson for tenth place on the all-time PBA Tour titles list. As the top seed, Tackett defeated Tom Smallwood in the championship match, 265–206, to successfully defend his 2024 Shark Championship.

Upon qualifying as the second seed for the March 22 PBA World Championship finals, Tackett made the championship finals for all five 2025 World Series of Bowling events. It also marked his PBA-record seventh straight final round appearance (in singles events) overall. Tackett went on to win the PBA World Championship, his second major of the season and seventh overall, defeating Jason Belmonte in the final match, 242–222. In doing so, Tackett became the third player to earn a threepeat in the World Championship, joining Earl Anthony (who did it twice) and Belmonte. This was also Tackett’s 4th PBA World Championship, surpassing Williams, Duke, and Belmonte, and now only trailing Anthony’s 6 PBA World Championships. His 27th title put him alone in tenth place on the all-time PBA Tour titles list.

On April 5 (aired April 6), Tackett won the non-title PBA Strike Derby. In the semifinals, Tackett rolled 12 strikes in two minutes for his highest-scoring round. He then tied Jason Belmonte in the final round with 10 strikes, winning the sudden death roll-off, 10–9.

Tackett finished the 2025 regular season with a Tour-leading 34,690 points. This total was higher than the second place (Andrew Anderson – 18,120 points) and third place (Jason Belmonte – 15,365 points) players combined. Holding the top seed for the 2025 PBA Playoffs, Tackett won his quarterfinal and semifinal matches to meet #7 seed Jesper Svensson in the "race to three points" finale. Tackett won only one game, losing to Svensson three games to one. However, the $50,000 runner-up check pushed Tackett to $419,540 in season earnings, making him the first PBA player in history to cash over $400,000 in a season ''twice'' in his career (2023 and 2025). Walter Ray Williams Jr. (2002–03) and Kyle Troup (2021) have each reached the milestone once.

On June 8, Tackett suffered his third runner-up finish of the season, the second time to Andrew Anderson, at the PBA Tour Finals. After winning the Group 1 stepladder, Tackett lost the "race to two points" final match against Group 2 winner Anderson, two games to none.

Additional career highlights

Tackett surpassed the $1 million mark in career PBA earnings during the 2021 season, and eclipsed $2 million in earnings early in the 2025 season. He also owns 14 PBA Regional Tour titles.

Professional wins

PBA Tour wins (27)

RO = After splitting the two-game final, Tackett won in a 9th/10th frame roll-off.

Major championships

Wins (7)

Results timeline

''Results not in chronological order.''

"T" = Tied for a place
"C" = Central Region Finals
"M" = Midwest Region Finals

World Series of Bowling

Wins (5)

Results timeline

''Results not in chronological order.''

"T" = Tied for a place

PBA Tour career summary

Statistics are through the last complete PBA Tour season.

* ''As of 2 July 2025''

Awards and honors

* 2012–13 PBA Rookie of the Year
* 3x Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year (2016, 2023, 2024)
* 3x George Young High Average Award (2022, 2023, 2024)
* Only player in history to qualify as the top seed in four PBA major tournaments during the same season (2023)
* Only player in history to make seven consecutive final round appearances in open singles events

Personal

E.J. is married to Natalie (Goodman) Tackett as of 2019. Natalie was a state champion bowler in high school (2011) and a two-time Southwestern Illinois Bowler of the Year (2009, 2011). She has also competed for Junior Team USA (2013, 2014), and like her husband, is currently sponsored by MOTIV Bowling. In 2024, Natalie won the USBC Indiana Queens championship. She and E.J. now have a son named Tripp.

E.J.'s brother, Zac Tackett, also competes on the PBA Tour. Zac made his first television appearance when he qualified as the #8 seed in the 2023 PBA Players Championship, and he has won four PBA Regional Tour titles.

References

External links

EJ Tackett
at the Professional Bowlers Association

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tackett, E. J.
American ten-pin bowling players
1992 births
Living people