PBA Tour — Bluffton, Indiana • “Squirrel”
E.J.
Tackett
Career Highlights
PBA Major Titles (7)
-
PBA World Championship — 4×
- 2016, 2023, 2024, 2025
- 3-peat 2023–25 (only 3rd player in history)
-
U.S. Open — 2×
- 2023, 2025
-
PBA Tournament of Champions
- 2017
- PBA Triple Crown winner (1 of only 9 in history)
Awards & Rankings
-
Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year — 4×
- 2016, 2023, 2024, 2025
- 3 consecutive (2023–25)
-
George Young High Average Award — 4×
- 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
- Ranked #2 on PBA’s “Best 25 Players of the Last 25 Seasons”
- PBA Rookie of the Year — 2012–13
- 2020 Weber Cup MVP — USA def. Europe 23–18
PBA Historic Firsts
- Only player to qualify as #1 seed in 4 majors in one season (2023)
- Only player to make 7 consecutive final round appearances in singles events (2025)
- 2nd-youngest player (25 yrs) to reach 10 PBA titles
- First to win all three current animal pattern championships
- First PBA player to cash $400K+ in two different seasons
Family & Personal
- Married to Natalie (Goodman) Tackett — 2-time Southwestern IL Bowler of the Year & MOTIV staff player
- Son: Tripp
- Brother Zac also competes on the PBA Tour
- Hometown: Bluffton, Indiana
- Sponsors: MOTIV Bowling, Dexter Shoes, Turbo/JoPo Grips, Genesis Tape
About E.J.
Edward Dean “E.J.” Tackett Jr. — nicknamed “Squirrel” and called the “unicorn” of bowling — is the most dominant player in the sport today. A four-time PBA Player of the Year (2016, 2023, 2024, 2025), four-time PBA World Champion, PBA Triple Crown winner, and owner of 27 Tour titles (7th most all-time), E.J. has spent the last decade rewriting the PBA record books from his home state of Indiana. His 2023 season alone — five titles, two majors, $458,450 in earnings — ranks as one of the greatest single seasons in PBA history. He then backed it up with another four-title, two-major campaign in 2025, becoming only the third player ever to win three consecutive World Championships, following Earl Anthony and Jason Belmonte. A right-handed cranker who generates RPM rates typically seen only in two-handed bowlers, E.J.’s game is as unique as his nickname. Off the lanes, he’s a proud husband to Natalie — herself a champion bowler — and a father to their son Tripp.
