Marshall Kent (bowler)
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5 PBA Regional Tour
 Kent in 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 21, 1992[1] Yakima, Washington, U.S. |
| Sport | |
| Bowling Information | |
| Affiliation | PBA |
| Dominant hand | Right |
| Wins | 8 PBA Tour (1 major) 5 PBA Regional Tour |
| 300-games | 17 |
| Sponsors | Hammer, Turbo Grips, Dexter shoes, Apparel EFX, CTD Bowling |
| Personal blog | facebook |
Marshall Kent (born September 21, 1992) is an American ten-pin bowler from Yakima, Washington now residing in Clarkston, Michigan. He currently competes on the PBA Tour and World Bowling Tour. He has been a member of Junior Team USA, and is a six-time member of Team USA. He has won eight PBA Tour titles (including one major) and five PBA Regional titles.[2]
After 8 years as a member of the Storm Bowling pro staff, Kent accepted a sponsorship agreement with BIG Bowling in 2021.[3] After the PBA removed BIG Bowling as a registered product, Kent signed a sponsorship agreement with Hammer Bowling in 2023.[1] He is also sponsored by Turbo Grips, Dexter shoes and Apparel EFX.
Kent was a three-time member of Junior Team USA, and has been a Team USA member multiple times since 2012. He was a two-time Collegiate Player of the Year (2011–12 and 2012–13) bowling for Robert Morris University in Chicago, Illinois,[1] where he also earned a degree in Business Administration.[2]
Kent won a gold medal in trios at the 2011 PABCON Youth Championships, and was the 2012 Russian Open Champion.[1] He won two gold medals (singles and team) in the 2012 World Youth Championships, and a team gold medal in the 2012 PABCON Championships.[1]
Kent bowled as an amateur in the 2013 PBA Scorpion Championship and finished runner-up to Tom Smallwood. He won the 2014 Brunswick Euro Challenge as an amateur, and thus his win did not qualify for a PBA title.[1]
Professional bowling career
Shortly after his Brunswick Euro Challenge win in March 2014, Kent joined the Professional Bowlers Association. He was named the 2014 Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year, having won the Kingdom International Open for his first PBA Tour title.[1] He picked up his second win at the PBA Team Challenge in 2016.[4]
2017 was Kent's first year with multiple PBA Tour wins, as he won his first two singles titles on US soil. His second win of the season in the PBA Oklahoma Open was his first on US television. He finished the season fourth in PBA earnings, with a career-best $115,530.[1][5] To date (through 2023 season end), he has over $600,000 in career PBA earnings. Through 2021, he had 17 career 300 games in PBA competition.[1]
Despite a career-high five championship round appearances, Kent failed to win a title in the 2018 PBA Tour season. He did win the non-title season-ending PBA Clash event on December 23, a made-for-TV event that marked the debut of the PBA on Fox network.[6]
Kent won his fifth PBA Tour title on March 6, 2022 in the Roth-Holman Doubles Championship, as he and partner E. J. Tackett climbed the ladder from the #4 seed.[7] Despite the title, Kent's 2022 season saw him post career lows in cashes (4), average (206.84) and earnings ($22,450).
On February 10, 2024, Kent won his sixth PBA Tour title, his first singles title since 2017, at the PBA Illinois Classic. After qualifying as the top seed, he defeated A.J. Johnson in his lone TV finals match to take the championship.[8]
On April 28, 2024, Kent won the PBA Tournament of Champions. As the #4 seed, he defeated Jason Sterner, Matthew Ogle, E.J. Tackett, and Anthony Simonsen en route to his first major and seventh PBA Tour title. He took home the top prize of $100,000 for the largest payday in his career. The win moved Kent up to second place on the PBA points list through the end of the spring season, behind only Tackett.[9] Kent qualified for the PBA Tour Finals, a "postseason" event featuring the top eight players in Tour points over the last two seasons. Kent emerged as the Group 1 winner, defeating Bill O'Neill in the group stepladder final. He went on to face Group 2 winner Anthony Simonsen, whom he had defeated in the title match of the Tournament of Champions earlier this season. After splitting two games in the "race to two points" final (210–246, 248–200), Kent was defeated in the 9th/10th frame roll-off, 38–40.[10] For the 2024 season, Kent finished second in Tour points and cashed a career-high $210,158.[11] He finished third in the 2024 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year voting.[12]
Despite being 7 years old at the turn of the century, Kent ranked #22 on the PBA's 2025 "Best 25 PBA Players of the Last 25 Seasons" list. The ranking was based on a points system that took into account standard titles, major titles, top-five finishes and Player of the Year awards.[13]
On March 22, 2026, Kent won his eighth PBA Tour title at the PBA Indiana Classic. Having qualified as the #2 seed, he eliminated E. J. Tackett in the semifinal match before defeating top seed David Krol for the championship.[14]
In addition to his eight standard PBA Tour wins, Kent has five PBA Regional Tour titles and a runner-up finish at the 2016 U.S. Open.[1][15]
PBA Tour titles
Major titles in bold text.
- 2014: Kingdom International Open (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)[1]
- 2016: PBA Team Challenge (with 'Merica Rooster Illusion team) (Las Vegas, NV)[1]
- 2017: Xtra Frame Lubbock Sports Open (Lubbock, TX)[1]
- 2017: Grand Casino Hotel & Resort PBA Oklahoma Open (Shawnee, OK)[1][16]
- 2022: PBA WSOB XIII Roth-Holman Doubles Championship w/E. J. Tackett (Wauwatosa, WI)
- 2024: PBA Illinois Classic (Mount Prospect, IL)[8]
- 2024: PBA Tournament of Champions (Fairlawn, OH)
- 2026: PBA Indiana Classic (Fort Wayne, IN)
PBA Tour non-title wins
- 2014 Brunswick Euro Challenge (competed as an amateur; not eligible for PBA title)
- 2018 PBA Clash
Career statistics
| Season | Events | Cashes | Match Play | CRA+ | PBA Titles | Average | Earnings ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–13 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 215.18 | 12,735 |
| 2014 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 217.03 | 32,528 |
| 2015 | 23 | 16 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 218.04 | 56,793 |
| 2016 | 28 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 219.29 | 77,670 |
| 2017 | 21 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 221.53 | 115,530 |
| 2018 | 29 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 217.54 | 101,890 |
| 2019 | 27 | 17 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 214.62 | 59,948 |
| 2020 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 219.29 | 32,420 |
| 2021 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 213.72 | 26,355 |
| 2022 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 206.84 | 22,450 |
| 2023 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 217.45 | 57,950 |
| 2024 | 17 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 224.74 | 210,158 |
| 2025 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 213.43 | 24,450 |
+CRA = Championship Round Appearances