In an announcement live on FloBowling, Andrew Anderson was awarded PBA Player of the Year and Kamron Doyle won PBA Rookie of the Year for the 2018 season.

PBA CEO and Commissioner Tom Clark made the announcement during the special FloBowling studio show on Tuesday morning. In addition, Clark announced Chris Barnes had earned the Tony Reyes Memorial Community Service Award and Tom Smallwood earned the Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award.

Anderson earned the PBA’s top honor after being snubbed in the PBA League draft at the start of the season. Anderson used that as motivation to show the other players on tour he belonged.

“I took (not getting drafted) as I’ve got to do better, and I’ve got to show them that I’m better than that,” Anderson told FloBowling over the summer. “I definitely used it as a chip on my shoulder. I think everyone knows that I was not very happy about not getting drafted. It really pushed me in the right direction saying ‘don’t draft me, that’s OK. I’ll just kind of go out and do my own thing and whatever happens, happens.’”

Anderson beat out a tough field of eligible players for the Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Award. EJ Tackett finished second in the voting, while Dom Barrett was third. Clark said on Tuesday’s FloBowling studio show that Anderson was “comfortably the winner” in the voting.

Anderson won two titles this season, including the prestigious United States Bowling Congress Masters, and led the PBA’s points list. He cashed in 16 of the 19 events in which he competed and made seven championship round appearances.

The Harry Golden PBA Rookie of the Year race was a little more complicated as Thailand’s Annop Arromsaranon was the only rookie to win a PBA title this season but only competed in three PBA International events.

In the end, the voters elected to reward Doyle, who competed in 15 events, with the honor. Doyle cashed in seven events and finished 40th on the points list. His best finish this season was third at the PBA Xtra Frame Gene Carter’s Pro Shop Classic. He had six Top 20 finishes this season.

Doyle said he had his sights set on being the PBA’s top rookie this season and expected it would be a tough road to the honor.

“When I decided to get my card, I knew I was making a sacrifice, and I knew it was going to be a hard first year, maybe two years,” Doyle told FloBowling over the summer. “I came in expecting to get my face beat in and get beat up a little bit. Right now, I’m just trying to learn and find out what it takes to win at the professional level and hopefully have some success while doing that.”

Anderson and Doyle will be recognized on national television during the PBA Clash telecast that will air on FOX on Sunday, Dec. 23. Smallwood and Barnes will receive their awards during the PBA Hall of Fame induction ceremonies that will be livestreamed by Xtra Frame on FloBowling on Saturday, Jan. 5, from the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame in Arlington, Texas.

Smallwood, 41, is one of a handful of PBA Tour players to win the Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award more than once. The 2016 Nagy recipient has earned the admiration of his fellow players despite his quiet, unassuming ability to beat them when the pressure is on. His three PBA Tour titles include a pair of majors: an historic win in the 2009 PBA World Championship after losing his job in the auto industry, and a pressure-packed four-match climb to the title in the 2018 Barbasol PBA Players Championship. He has four additional top-five finishes in majors among his 23 career championship round appearances.

The Nagy sportsmanship award has been presented annually since 1966, the year of Nagy’s death, honoring his memory as a PBA Hall of Famer and founding member whose guidance in the PBA’s formation years was considered critical to the tour’s success.

Barnes, and his wife, PWBA champion and USBC Hall of Famer Lynda Barnes, have been in a “give back” frame of mind for years. For starters, the Chris Barnes Thanksgiving Classic has awarded more than 260 youth bowlers with more than $200,000 in scholarship assistance since its first event in 2004. Across the years, more than 3,200 young bowlers have participated in the annual holiday event.

Even more noticeable has been his involvement in support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation since the couple’s son, Troy, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2008. Chris and Lynda played a key role in the formation of Strike Out Diabetes within six months of Troy’s diagnosis, and they have devoted non-stop attention to the JDRF efforts ever since, raising more than $375,000 to assist with creating awareness and advancing education in the fight against juvenile diabetes.

The PBA Tony Reyes Memorial Community Service Award was founded in 2013 to recognize charitable or community service projects undertaken by an active PBA member. The award is named in honor of the PBA Tour champion who lost his life in an automobile accident in 2012.

Bill Vint of PBA Media Relations contributed to this report.