Updated: September 18, 2026

Randy Pedersen ( May 28, 1962 to September 16, 2026 ) was an American sportscaster and professional bowler as a member of the Professional Bowlers Association ( PBA ). He was the full-time color analyst for PBA Tour broadcasts on ESPN, Fox and CBS Sports Network from 2001 to 2025, as well as handling webcasts on PBA Xtra Frame, Flo Bowling and the Bowl TV YouTube channel. During the 2025 PBA Tour, he worked alongside play by play announcers Rob Stone, Dave Ryan, John Fanta and Dave LaMont, having previously worked with Lon McEachern and Mike Jakubowski. Pedersen grew up in Southern California, but relocated to Clermont, Florida in the early 1990s. He resided in Florida ever since. He and his ex-wife Becky have two children: a son and a daughter.

Pedersen is a member of the PBA and USBC Halls of Fame.

Bowling Career:

As a bowler, Pedersen won 13 PBA Tour titles, with 11 of them coming in a ten season stretch between 1986 and 1995, when he was one of the top players on tour. Pedersen captured the prestigious PBA National Championship crown in 1987 for his first and only major title. He won three titles in the 1989 season, but was beaten out for PBA Player of the Year honors by Amleto Monacelli, who won four titles that year.

Pedersen won his last PBA Tour title at age 40 in the 2002 Pepsi Open. That title pushed him over the $1 million career earnings mark, making him the 24th career millionaire in PBA history at the time. He made it to the final match of the 2003 PBA Tournament of Champions, but lost the title to Patrick Healy Jr.

Pedersen is also known for having suffered from two of the worst breaks in PBA Tour history. Both came in major tournaments, and both times he lost by one pin. He lost the 1995 Bayer-Brunswick Touring Players Championship to veteran Ernie Schlegel by a 237 to 236 score. Needing a strike on the first ball of the tenth frame to have a chance to win, Pedersen left what's known as a "stone 8-pin" standing on what appeared to be a perfect 1-3 pocket shot. That match is also remembered for Schlegel's reaction to the shot. In a thrill of victory / agony of defeat moment, Schlegel ran around in front of the crowd with his fists raised yelling, "I don't believe it! Yeah, yeah, yeah! For the old people!", while Pedersen fell down onto the approach and covered his face in disappointment. Pedersen was also knocked out of the 2005 Dexter Tournament of Champions after he left the 7-pin on his tenth frame fill shot to close out the semifinal against Norm Duke, losing 256 to 255.

Among his 34 career top-five finishes, Pedersen made it to the final match 17 times, compiling an impressive 13 to 4 record in those matches.

Pedersen was ranked #35 on the PBA's 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the last 50 years." He was elected to the PBA Hall of Fame in October 2010, and was inducted with the 2011 class on January 22, 2011.

Pedersen joined the PBA50 Tour ( Now the PBA Senior Tour ) in 2013, and on May 16 of that year he won the very first tournament he entered: the PBA50 Dayton Classic.

In November 2024, Pedersen was elected to the United States Bowling Congress ( USBC ) Hall of Fame. He was officially inducted with the 2025 class in a ceremony at the USBC convention on May 7.

The PBA debuted the Randy Pedersen 43 ( 43 feet in length ) oil pattern at the 2026 USA versus The World event.

PBA Tour titles - Major titles in bold text.

1986 AC-Delco Classic ( Union City, California ) 1987 Toledo Trust PBA National Championship ( Toledo, Ohio ) 1987 Fair Lanes Open ( Washington, D.C. ) 1988 Senior / Touring Pro Doubles Championship with / Carmen Salvino ( Cheektowaga, New York ) 1989 AC-Delco Classic ( Torrance, California ) 1989 Budweiser Classic ( Miami, Florida ) 1989 Oranamin C Japan Cup ( Tokyo, Japan ) 1990 Quaker State Open ( Grand Prairie, Texas ) 1993 Billy Vuckovich III Memorial Fresno Open ( Fresno, California ) 1994 Greater Harrisburg Open ( Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania ) 1995 Ebonite Kentucky Classic ( Louisville, Kentucky ) 1999 Indianapolis Open ( Indianapolis, Indiana ) 2002 Pepsi Open ( Springfield Twp., Pennsylvania )

PBA50 Tour Titles:

2013 PBA50 Dayton Classic ( Dayton, Ohio )

Television and Film:

Off the lanes, Pedersen joined ESPN in 2001 as a TV analyst and has had great success behind the microphone; Pedersen earned the position after getting his start in broadcasting as a lane-level reporter on ABC's Pro Bowlers Tour, in addition to working on Fox Sports Net for a brief time in 2000. Pedersen remained as the bowling analyst on ESPN through the termination of their PBA contract in 2018. He began working for Fox Sports in 2019 when the PBA Tour moved its TV broadcasts to Fox Sports networks. He has also served as analyst on selected PBA Tour broadcasts hosted by CBS Sports Network.

Following the termination of the PBA's broadcast agreement with Fox in 2025, the PBA's parent company Lucky Strike Entertainment Corporation chose to go in a different direction for its television coverage. Pedersen was replaced by current PBA pro Kyle Sherman as analyst for televised tournaments on The CW and CBS Sports Network in 2026.

Pedersen has been lauded for his extensive knowledge of the game, associated bowling lingo and catch phrases as well as his sense of humor. He had a small part in the 1996 comedy movie Kingpin ( He was placed right next to Woody Harrelson ) along with several other professional bowlers, and has cameo appearances in the 2006 bowling documentary A League of Ordinary Gentlemen and the 2026 HBO Max documentary Born to Bowl.