Bio

A 1995 graduate of McDermott Northwest and a 2000 graduate of Shawnee State University, Bryan Sturgell will be in his eighth season coaching the SSU men's and women's bowling programs when the 2024-25 season commences.

During the 2023-24 season, the Shawnee State men's and women's bowling programs enjoyed terrific seasons -- as the SSU men edged St. Vincent (Pa.), 7,364 pins to 7,301 pins, to outclaw the Bearcats by a scant 63-pin margin to win the Greater Pittsburgh Collegiate Classic -- the men's program's first-ever tournament victory.  Led by three bowlers who finished inside the top-10 -- Shawnee State junior Sam Clay, Shawnee State freshman Zach Ison and Shawnee State sophomore Parker Lauders -- and, counting SSU freshman Jaylen Sumler, four who claimed top-20 overall showings, the Bears cleaned up in fine fashion as none of the aforementioned hurlers finished below 13th place of the 80 bowlers who participated on the men's side of the spectrum.

In addition to the above achievement, Shawnee State men's bowler Zach Ison bowled the first 300 game in the history of either the men's and women's bowling programs in Ohio Bowling Conference competition, and both the men's and women's bowling programs qualified for their second-ever Intercollegiate Tournament Championship (ITC) Sectional, with the men finishing 15th and the women 16th.

Shawnee State women's bowler Hannah Rearick, who enjoyed a tremendous individual season, finished 27th out of 149 women's bowlers at the 2024 Intercollegiate Singles Sectional Qualifier by dropping 1,180 pins in six games. Rearick finished just 130 pins back of finishing in the top-five in her sectional, which would've advanced Rearick to national competition. The finish is the highest of any individual bowler in program history. 

In 2022, Sturgell led the Shawnee State women's bowling program to its first-ever invitational victory at the 2022 Orange and Black Classic, with the Bears knocking off Notre Dame College, Milligan (Tenn.), and No. 21-ranked Pikeville to collect the women's bowling program's first-ever tournament victory.

In 2020-21, Sturgell fought off the shortened COVID season by leading the Bears to their best seasons yet on the lanes. Zach Otto became the first bowler in school history to ever obtain First-Team All-Mid-South Conference honors while the women's bowling program won the school's first-ever conference championship by bringing home the Ohio Bowling Conference crown.

Additionally, Chloe Long, the top bowler off of the women's lineup, became the first bowler in the history of the program to earn All-America status, with Long earning NAIA All-American honors as one of only 12 bowlers in 2021 to obtain such an award. Both the men's and women's programs also qualified for their first-ever Intercollegiate Tournament Championship (ITC) Sectional, with the women finishing 13th and the men 16th in April 2021.

From the time that Sturgell was in high school, the multi-sport standout showcased what turned into a long line of success. He was a three-time Medalist and Southern Ohio Conference (SOC) Player of the Year and the first-ever Northwest golfer to earn First-Team All-Ohio honors. As a result, Sturgell subsequently earned a golf scholarship to SSU in 1995 as a result of his strong play.

The result of that golf scholarship turned into a school-record nine invitational victories, which still stands today, and a school record 93 rounds played, which also still stands. Sturgell also contributed to Shawnee State's lone conference championship-winning unit in 1997, which finished 11th at the NAIA National Championships. He graduated from SSU in 2000 with an associate's degree in business and office administration.

Following his career as a student-athlete, Sturgell became the head golf coach at Northwest. He earned the 2008 Southern Ohio Conference Golf Coach of the Year award in a middle of a coaching span that stretched from 2006 to 2013. Sturgell also spent one season coaching junior high boys' basketball at Northwest, in 2009.

Sturgell, however, is just as accomplished in the bowling specter. Having rolled 60 career 300 games and over 30 800 series, Sturgell is widely considered one of the most influential members of the bowling community in Portsmouth. Sturgell was the president of the Portsmouth Men's Bowling Association from 2013-2017, and was named to the Portsmouth Men's Bowling Hall of Fame in 2016.

Throughout his two decades in the workforce, Sturgell has held multiple managerial positions at local businesses.

From 2001-2014, Sturgell was a HVAC distribution manager at 2-J Supply Company, working to provide affordable HVAC solutions for local businesses. Sturgell was an assistant manager at Buffalo Wild Wings from 2014 to 2015, and was the purchasing manager for Advanced Solutions from 2015 to 2017. As of today, Sturgell is a Territory Manager for Habegger Corporation in the HVAC Distribution Industry. Sturgell also worked as a OHSAA basketball official for 10 years.

Bryan is married to Jani Sturgell, who serves as his assistant coach with both bowling programs. His parents are Bob Sturgell and Linda King and Donna Sturgell and Russ King.

In addition to bowling and golf, Sturgell enjoys dirt track racing in his spare time.

"We want our bowlers to enjoy their time at SSU, develop long-lasting friendships, and continue to support our program after graduation," Sturgell said. "We want to offer our athletes the best bowling experience all while getting a valuable education at SSU. We push them to become successful both on and off of the lanes. We value a high graduation rate in our program. Ultimately, we plan to continue to build our program to be competitive not only in the Ohio Bowling Conference, but across the country, as well. We want to continue to work and win events, conference championships, and lastly, national championships.”