JONESBORO, Ark. (4/10/25) – Maggie Thoma, Kaylee Back and Karli VanDuinen of the Arkansas State women's bowling team were recognized by the National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) as All-America selections, the organization announced Thursday at an awards banquet held ahead of the National Collegiate Bowling Championship in Las Vegas.
Thoma was recognized as a First Team All-America pick while Back and VanDuinen were Second Team All-America selections. The All-America teams are a result of voting by participating head coaches. This marks the first time since the 2016-17 season that A-State has three All-America selections among the NTCA First, Second or Third Team All-America lists.
Thoma ranked 13th in the final regular season statistics with a PCPI of 91.689 percent. She carried the fourth-highest overall average among qualified bowlers at 211.3. Rolling a Baker average of 214.4, Thoma ranked fourth and she carried a traditional average of 205.6. Thoma rolled 36 traditional games and downed 200-plus pins in 21 with a high game of 267. She is the 10th all-time A-State bowler to earn First Team All-America honors, first since Brooklyn Buchanan in the 2021-22 season.
A transfer from Oklahoma Christian, Back finished the regular season with five top 10 individual finishes across nine tournaments and earned Conference USA Newcomer of the Year accolades. Over the first three events of the season, Back finished inside the top 10, including MVP honors at the Destination Orlando event. For the season, she finished 17th nationally with a player composite performance index (PCPI) of 91.244 percent. She carried an overall average of 207.9, 206.3 in traditional games and 208.9 in Baker games. In 50 traditional games bowled, Back had 26 tallying 200 or more pins, including a high game of 279.
A-State's anchor bowler, VanDuinen ranked 18th in the PCPI at 91.175 percent. She posted an overall average of 207.8, 209.5 in traditional games and 206.7 in Baker. She ranked fifth in traditional game strike percentage at 56 percent. VanDuinen led the team with 29 traditional games of 200-plus pins, including a high of 258. She finished 25th or better in eight of nine tournaments, including a high of third at the Track Kat Klash. It is the second consecutive season VanDuinen has earned All-America status after earning second team recognition last season.
The Red Wolves have had at least one All-America choice every year since the program began in the 2004-05 season. This is the 16th season, 14th consecutive, that the Red Wolves have had multiple All-America picks. A-State has had 49 NTCA All-Americans in program history, third-most among any program. Including honorable mention selections, this is the seventh time in program history A-State has had three or more All-America selections, including back-to-back seasons for just the third time.
A-State capped the 2024-25 season at 80-41 and made its 17th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
