Snodgrass leads women, Ecker tops among men on Day 2 of 2026 Team USA Trials and U.S. Amateur
January 04, 2026
Jordan Snodgrass of Adrian, Michigan (left), and Connor Ecker of Jupiter, Florida, were Sunday's block leaders at the 2026 USBC Team USA Trials and U.S. National Amateur Bowling Championships, which are being held at Gold Coast Bowling Center in Las Vegas.
FULL RESULTS
LAS VEGAS – All five rounds of competition at the United States Bowling Congress Team USA Trials and United States National Amateur Bowling Championships are contested on different oil patterns, which means athletes are presented with a unique challenge each and every day.
Nevertheless, Sunday’s 38-foot condition was no match for Jordan Snodgrass of Adrian, Michigan, or Connor Ecker of Jupiter, Florida, who led their respective divisions during Day 2 of action at Gold Coast Bowling Center in Las Vegas.
Snodgrass used games of 259, 206, 223, 237, 247 and 234 to reach the top of the 132-player women’s field with a six-game mark of 1,406 (a 234.33 average).
She was joined in Sunday’s top five by Hope Gramly of Quincy, Michigan (1,373), Kaylee Back of Derby, Kansas (1,359), Bryanna Coté of Marana, Arizona (1,353), and Ashlin Teves of Machesney Park, Illinois (1,339).
During men’s action earlier in the day, Ecker started his set with a 787 series for his first three games (265, 277, 245) and then closed with 216, 193 and 244 to record a six-game total of 1,440 (a 240 average), which was the best mark posted among the 175 men’s competitors during Round 2.
Also recording top-five finishes on Sunday were KC Campbell of Newark, New Jersey (1,433), Ryan Powers of Omaha, Nebraska (1,420), Patrick Hanrahan of Wichita, Kansas (1,415), and Daniel Springer of Silver Creek, Washington (1,412).
The overall lead after two rounds of men’s Team USA Trials competition is shared by Hanrahan and Bryce Oliver of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, who both sit at 17 ranking points.
Dawson Peterson of Stewartville, Minnesota (19), Julian Salinas of Long Branch, New Jersey (24), and defending champion Ryan Barnes of Denton, Texas (29) occupy third through fifth place, respectively.
Competitors earn ranking points based on their finishing positions during each of the five qualifying rounds – the top bowler of the round will earn one ranking point, second place will earn two points, etc. – with the lowest total of ranking points after five rounds determining the men’s and women’s Team USA Trials champions.
On the women’s side, Elizabeth Teuber of Holly, Michigan, leads the pack with 15 points courtesy of a seventh-place finish on Day 1 and an eighth-place effort on Sunday.
Haley Swindle of Sharpsburg, Georgia, is one point behind, sitting at 16 points. She is followed by Gramly (21), Avery Domaguin of San Diego (22), Back (22) and Snodgrass (24).
At the conclusion of Round 5 on Wednesday, the top four age-eligible men and top four age-eligible women in the Team USA Trials standings, based on ranking points, will earn automatic spots on Team USA 2026.
Snodgrass represented Team USA from 2018 to 2023 before opting to take a step back to pursue other goals.
However, as it often does, absence made the heart grow fonder, and now Snodgrass has her sights set on representing her country once again.
“You don’t realize how important something is until you step away from it,” Snodgrass said. “That’s what I did for those two years, and now I’m ready to be back on the big stage, traveling around the world and wearing the red, white and blue.”
Sunday’s performance will certainly help Snodgrass’ chances, and she achieved it by stepping outside her comfort zone in terms of her lane-play strategy.
“Ironically, I threw urethane the first three games because it was the safest bet for me,” Snodgrass said. “I really don’t like throwing urethane; I’m not a fan of it, but I knew it would get me nine and allow me to make my spares. I did that for the first three games, and then I transitioned into a smoother ball, moved left and bowled really well from there.”
With three rounds of competition remaining on what are expected to be three very challenging oil patterns, Snodgrass knows that she’ll have her work cut out for her in order to continue bowling well and remain near the top of the standings.
“I’m going to need to focus on whatever the lanes are telling me,” Snodgrass said. “One of the most important things – and something that I’m really good at – is just focusing on what’s in front of me.
“I think it’s really easy to get ahead of yourself out here because you know what the reward is at the end of the week. I need to take care of now, pay attention to what the pattern is telling me, make good shots and make my spares. Hopefully that will keep my name in the top four by the end of the fifth day.”
Ecker struggled during Round 1 on Saturday. As such, even with Sunday’s first-place performance, he still finds himself with a considerable hill to climb in the men’s overall standings.
That wasn’t, however, what Ecker was focused on after the completion of his second round; instead, he was just enjoying the moment.
“It’s really cool seeing all the pros and beating all the amazing college bowlers even if it’s just for one day,” Ecker said. “This definitely builds my confidence, but I need my head to stay level so that I can keep it going.”
There was nothing in particular about the Round 2 lane condition that instilled Ecker with any additional optimism heading into Sunday’s block at Gold Coast; nevertheless, once he got out on the lanes, things just started to click.
“I didn’t really come into today thinking that this pattern was going to offer any sort of special matchup to me and my game, but it just sort of happened during practice and the first couple of games,” Ecker said. “I just stuck to what the lanes gave me and what I know how to do, and it worked.”
Ecker is hoping that it continues to work during rounds three, four and five so that his third Team USA Trials and U.S. Amateur experience will be the charm and provide him with his best finish yet.
“This is my third year bowling this event, and I think my best finish for a round before today was somewhere in the forties,” Ecker said. “Today was a really big step up, but I still need to just stay calm, stay level and stick to what I know.”
After two rounds, Ecker’s 169 ranking points have him 84th in the Team USA Trials standings and 62nd in the men’s U.S. Amateur rankings.
The top five U.S. Amateur spots currently are held by Oliver, Peterson, Salinas, Powers (35), Springer (36) and Dylan Jablonski of Canton, Michigan (36).
The women’s U.S. Amateur top five through two rounds consists of Teuber, Swindle, Domaguin, Back and Kaitlyn Stull of Raleigh, North Carolina (26), who fired a perfect game during Round 1 on Saturday.
At the conclusion of the fifth and final round, the top three amateur men and top three amateur women will advance to a stepladder final to determine this year’s U.S. Amateur champions.
Those champions will automatically make Team USA 2026 provided they are age eligible. If the champions have already earned spots, invitations will be extended to the next-highest qualifier in each division based on ranking points.
The National Selection Committee will name two additional men and two additional women to Team USA from the pool of players that competed at the 2026 Team USA Trials.
In order to be eligible for a spot on Team USA 2026, a bowler must be at least 18 years old as of the end of this year’s tournament.
Competition resumes Monday morning at 11 a.m. Eastern with the men’s field before the women hit the lanes at 6 p.m. Eastern. All rounds of competition will be streamed live exclusively on BowlTV.
CLICK HERE for more information on Team USA.
FULL RESULTS
LAS VEGAS – All five rounds of competition at the United States Bowling Congress Team USA Trials and United States National Amateur Bowling Championships are contested on different oil patterns, which means athletes are presented with a unique challenge each and every day.
Nevertheless, Sunday’s 38-foot condition was no match for Jordan Snodgrass of Adrian, Michigan, or Connor Ecker of Jupiter, Florida, who led their respective divisions during Day 2 of action at Gold Coast Bowling Center in Las Vegas.
Snodgrass used games of 259, 206, 223, 237, 247 and 234 to reach the top of the 132-player women’s field with a six-game mark of 1,406 (a 234.33 average).
She was joined in Sunday’s top five by Hope Gramly of Quincy, Michigan (1,373), Kaylee Back of Derby, Kansas (1,359), Bryanna Coté of Marana, Arizona (1,353), and Ashlin Teves of Machesney Park, Illinois (1,339).
During men’s action earlier in the day, Ecker started his set with a 787 series for his first three games (265, 277, 245) and then closed with 216, 193 and 244 to record a six-game total of 1,440 (a 240 average), which was the best mark posted among the 175 men’s competitors during Round 2.
Also recording top-five finishes on Sunday were KC Campbell of Newark, New Jersey (1,433), Ryan Powers of Omaha, Nebraska (1,420), Patrick Hanrahan of Wichita, Kansas (1,415), and Daniel Springer of Silver Creek, Washington (1,412).
The overall lead after two rounds of men’s Team USA Trials competition is shared by Hanrahan and Bryce Oliver of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, who both sit at 17 ranking points.
Dawson Peterson of Stewartville, Minnesota (19), Julian Salinas of Long Branch, New Jersey (24), and defending champion Ryan Barnes of Denton, Texas (29) occupy third through fifth place, respectively.
Competitors earn ranking points based on their finishing positions during each of the five qualifying rounds – the top bowler of the round will earn one ranking point, second place will earn two points, etc. – with the lowest total of ranking points after five rounds determining the men’s and women’s Team USA Trials champions.
On the women’s side, Elizabeth Teuber of Holly, Michigan, leads the pack with 15 points courtesy of a seventh-place finish on Day 1 and an eighth-place effort on Sunday.
Haley Swindle of Sharpsburg, Georgia, is one point behind, sitting at 16 points. She is followed by Gramly (21), Avery Domaguin of San Diego (22), Back (22) and Snodgrass (24).
At the conclusion of Round 5 on Wednesday, the top four age-eligible men and top four age-eligible women in the Team USA Trials standings, based on ranking points, will earn automatic spots on Team USA 2026.
Snodgrass represented Team USA from 2018 to 2023 before opting to take a step back to pursue other goals.
However, as it often does, absence made the heart grow fonder, and now Snodgrass has her sights set on representing her country once again.
“You don’t realize how important something is until you step away from it,” Snodgrass said. “That’s what I did for those two years, and now I’m ready to be back on the big stage, traveling around the world and wearing the red, white and blue.”
Sunday’s performance will certainly help Snodgrass’ chances, and she achieved it by stepping outside her comfort zone in terms of her lane-play strategy.
“Ironically, I threw urethane the first three games because it was the safest bet for me,” Snodgrass said. “I really don’t like throwing urethane; I’m not a fan of it, but I knew it would get me nine and allow me to make my spares. I did that for the first three games, and then I transitioned into a smoother ball, moved left and bowled really well from there.”
With three rounds of competition remaining on what are expected to be three very challenging oil patterns, Snodgrass knows that she’ll have her work cut out for her in order to continue bowling well and remain near the top of the standings.
“I’m going to need to focus on whatever the lanes are telling me,” Snodgrass said. “One of the most important things – and something that I’m really good at – is just focusing on what’s in front of me.
“I think it’s really easy to get ahead of yourself out here because you know what the reward is at the end of the week. I need to take care of now, pay attention to what the pattern is telling me, make good shots and make my spares. Hopefully that will keep my name in the top four by the end of the fifth day.”
Ecker struggled during Round 1 on Saturday. As such, even with Sunday’s first-place performance, he still finds himself with a considerable hill to climb in the men’s overall standings.
That wasn’t, however, what Ecker was focused on after the completion of his second round; instead, he was just enjoying the moment.
“It’s really cool seeing all the pros and beating all the amazing college bowlers even if it’s just for one day,” Ecker said. “This definitely builds my confidence, but I need my head to stay level so that I can keep it going.”
There was nothing in particular about the Round 2 lane condition that instilled Ecker with any additional optimism heading into Sunday’s block at Gold Coast; nevertheless, once he got out on the lanes, things just started to click.
“I didn’t really come into today thinking that this pattern was going to offer any sort of special matchup to me and my game, but it just sort of happened during practice and the first couple of games,” Ecker said. “I just stuck to what the lanes gave me and what I know how to do, and it worked.”
Ecker is hoping that it continues to work during rounds three, four and five so that his third Team USA Trials and U.S. Amateur experience will be the charm and provide him with his best finish yet.
“This is my third year bowling this event, and I think my best finish for a round before today was somewhere in the forties,” Ecker said. “Today was a really big step up, but I still need to just stay calm, stay level and stick to what I know.”
After two rounds, Ecker’s 169 ranking points have him 84th in the Team USA Trials standings and 62nd in the men’s U.S. Amateur rankings.
The top five U.S. Amateur spots currently are held by Oliver, Peterson, Salinas, Powers (35), Springer (36) and Dylan Jablonski of Canton, Michigan (36).
The women’s U.S. Amateur top five through two rounds consists of Teuber, Swindle, Domaguin, Back and Kaitlyn Stull of Raleigh, North Carolina (26), who fired a perfect game during Round 1 on Saturday.
At the conclusion of the fifth and final round, the top three amateur men and top three amateur women will advance to a stepladder final to determine this year’s U.S. Amateur champions.
Those champions will automatically make Team USA 2026 provided they are age eligible. If the champions have already earned spots, invitations will be extended to the next-highest qualifier in each division based on ranking points.
The National Selection Committee will name two additional men and two additional women to Team USA from the pool of players that competed at the 2026 Team USA Trials.
In order to be eligible for a spot on Team USA 2026, a bowler must be at least 18 years old as of the end of this year’s tournament.
Competition resumes Monday morning at 11 a.m. Eastern with the men’s field before the women hit the lanes at 6 p.m. Eastern. All rounds of competition will be streamed live exclusively on BowlTV.
CLICK HERE for more information on Team USA.