Iowa's Rylan Edwards selected as Chuck Hall Star of Tomorrow
April 10, 2025
ARLINGTON, Texas – Rylan Edwards of DeWitt, Iowa, has been chosen by the United States Bowling Congress Youth Advisory Group as the 2025 Chuck Hall Star of Tomorrow.
The award recognizes star qualities in a male high school senior or college student who competes in the sport of bowling, as well as their achievements off the lanes in their community and in the classroom.
Edwards’ work in the classroom, on the lanes and in his community have made him a worthy recipient of the award.
Edwards, 18, is finishing up his final year at Central DeWitt High School, where he ranks first in his class with a perfect 4.0 GPA while challenging himself with a number of AP and honors classes. He is a National Honor Society member, has made the Honor Roll every semester and was voted in as Senior Class Vice President. Across four sports, Edwards has earned Distinguished Academic Achievement in cross country, soccer, baseball and basketball throughout his high school career.
During his junior year, Edwards was named to the All-Conference All-Academic Team in bowling, cross country and soccer, and he earned All-District Academic Team honors during his senior year in football.
On the lanes, Edwards has made it to the state tournament as an individual from 2023-2025, with a high finish of fifth in 2024 after leading the field during qualifying. He also qualified for the Junior Gold Championships in 2023 and 2024 and locked up his spot for 2025 through the Survivor Tournament as he looks to continue to improve against some of the best youth bowlers in the country.
“My goal (in 2023) was to be in the top 50%, and I was not able to reach that,” said Edwards. “It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, very mentally draining. I improved in 2024, and this year, my goal is to be in the top 50% but also just continue to see myself improve.
“I feel that’s the most important thing, making sure that the work and practice I put in pays off a little bit.”
Locally, he has been a member of the DeWitt USBC Association since May 2023, heading to the Iowa State Convention in Des Moines, Iowa, as a Youth Delegate and serving as a youth league volunteer.
Edwards got his start in the sport early in life, starting with friendly competition against his sister, Jena, a Dexter All-American in 2022-2023.
“I think I was about 4 when I started getting into the sport,” said Edwards. “I joined our peewee league, and I thought it was fun, growing up with my sister and competing with her. It’s my way of having fun in a competitive way because, even if she beats me, at the end of the day, I can have the opportunity to get back at her. She pushed me to get better.”
Edwards mentioned that he almost quit the sport at one point.
“I was tired of (Jena) beating me, and I dropped a bowling ball on my toe. I was like ‘I’m over this,’” he explained. “But I got back into bowling because I wanted to grow as a bowler and as a person.”
He continued bowling and growing not only on the lanes but also in his community. Edwards has found the time for other extracurricular and community activities, including concert choir, Future Business Leaders of America and drama, where he has participated in school plays and musicals. He has been part of the Boy Scouts of America since 2014, volunteering for cleaning up ditches, helping conduct a Fourth of July pancake breakfast and serving as a canoe lifeguard for the DeWitt Triathlon.
Edwards earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the summer of 2022, where he helped continue a project that his bowling coach and former Eagle Scout, Seth Ketelsen, had started years prior.
“He tracked down all the veterans and marked out where they were in our local cemetery so we can place medallions and flags on Memorial Day,” Edwards said. “My project was to go through and update it because it was approaching 30 years since then and more people were buried there now.
“I went in using his old data and updated it all. There were a couple blocks that he didn’t have, so I was doing his original method of going through every name and marking if they served in the military. Overall, it took me over 120 hours to update everything.”
Edwards is a member of his local church youth group and volunteers regularly, where he has helped their local referral center move locations, completed yard work for church members and is on the Missions Committee. When the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) came through DeWitt in 2021, Edwards volunteered to help with the event. He also donates his time at the Grand Haven Retirement Center, where he helps residents with crafts and activities in addition to completing other jobs at the facility.
Edwards knows he couldn’t have done any of this without his support system.
“My parents have always supported me, taking me to practice and driving me to places,” he said. “They’re definitely the most important people that have supported me through losses, wins, bad scores, good scores, everything. My sister is another big one, as well as coach Ketelsen. He’s always there for me, going to all my events.”
The soon-to-be high school graduate will be attending the University of Northern Iowa in the fall, double-majoring in accounting and criminal justice, hoping to become a fraud investigator down the line.
Edwards will be recognized in May during the 2025 USBC Convention at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
For a list of past Chuck Hall Star of Tomorrow winners, click here.
Learn more about awards for adult youth leaders and scholarship opportunities for youth bowlers at BOWL.com/ScholarshipAwards.
The award recognizes star qualities in a male high school senior or college student who competes in the sport of bowling, as well as their achievements off the lanes in their community and in the classroom.
Edwards’ work in the classroom, on the lanes and in his community have made him a worthy recipient of the award.
Edwards, 18, is finishing up his final year at Central DeWitt High School, where he ranks first in his class with a perfect 4.0 GPA while challenging himself with a number of AP and honors classes. He is a National Honor Society member, has made the Honor Roll every semester and was voted in as Senior Class Vice President. Across four sports, Edwards has earned Distinguished Academic Achievement in cross country, soccer, baseball and basketball throughout his high school career.
During his junior year, Edwards was named to the All-Conference All-Academic Team in bowling, cross country and soccer, and he earned All-District Academic Team honors during his senior year in football.
On the lanes, Edwards has made it to the state tournament as an individual from 2023-2025, with a high finish of fifth in 2024 after leading the field during qualifying. He also qualified for the Junior Gold Championships in 2023 and 2024 and locked up his spot for 2025 through the Survivor Tournament as he looks to continue to improve against some of the best youth bowlers in the country.
“My goal (in 2023) was to be in the top 50%, and I was not able to reach that,” said Edwards. “It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, very mentally draining. I improved in 2024, and this year, my goal is to be in the top 50% but also just continue to see myself improve.
“I feel that’s the most important thing, making sure that the work and practice I put in pays off a little bit.”
Locally, he has been a member of the DeWitt USBC Association since May 2023, heading to the Iowa State Convention in Des Moines, Iowa, as a Youth Delegate and serving as a youth league volunteer.
Edwards got his start in the sport early in life, starting with friendly competition against his sister, Jena, a Dexter All-American in 2022-2023.
“I think I was about 4 when I started getting into the sport,” said Edwards. “I joined our peewee league, and I thought it was fun, growing up with my sister and competing with her. It’s my way of having fun in a competitive way because, even if she beats me, at the end of the day, I can have the opportunity to get back at her. She pushed me to get better.”
Edwards mentioned that he almost quit the sport at one point.
“I was tired of (Jena) beating me, and I dropped a bowling ball on my toe. I was like ‘I’m over this,’” he explained. “But I got back into bowling because I wanted to grow as a bowler and as a person.”
He continued bowling and growing not only on the lanes but also in his community. Edwards has found the time for other extracurricular and community activities, including concert choir, Future Business Leaders of America and drama, where he has participated in school plays and musicals. He has been part of the Boy Scouts of America since 2014, volunteering for cleaning up ditches, helping conduct a Fourth of July pancake breakfast and serving as a canoe lifeguard for the DeWitt Triathlon.
Edwards earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the summer of 2022, where he helped continue a project that his bowling coach and former Eagle Scout, Seth Ketelsen, had started years prior.
“He tracked down all the veterans and marked out where they were in our local cemetery so we can place medallions and flags on Memorial Day,” Edwards said. “My project was to go through and update it because it was approaching 30 years since then and more people were buried there now.
“I went in using his old data and updated it all. There were a couple blocks that he didn’t have, so I was doing his original method of going through every name and marking if they served in the military. Overall, it took me over 120 hours to update everything.”
Edwards is a member of his local church youth group and volunteers regularly, where he has helped their local referral center move locations, completed yard work for church members and is on the Missions Committee. When the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) came through DeWitt in 2021, Edwards volunteered to help with the event. He also donates his time at the Grand Haven Retirement Center, where he helps residents with crafts and activities in addition to completing other jobs at the facility.
Edwards knows he couldn’t have done any of this without his support system.
“My parents have always supported me, taking me to practice and driving me to places,” he said. “They’re definitely the most important people that have supported me through losses, wins, bad scores, good scores, everything. My sister is another big one, as well as coach Ketelsen. He’s always there for me, going to all my events.”
The soon-to-be high school graduate will be attending the University of Northern Iowa in the fall, double-majoring in accounting and criminal justice, hoping to become a fraud investigator down the line.
Edwards will be recognized in May during the 2025 USBC Convention at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
For a list of past Chuck Hall Star of Tomorrow winners, click here.
Learn more about awards for adult youth leaders and scholarship opportunities for youth bowlers at BOWL.com/ScholarshipAwards.