Becky Kregling is the head coach of Sacred Heart women’s bowling in Fairfield, Connecticut, and has led the program since its inception in 1993. A USBC Silver Certified Coach, she built Sacred Heart into one of the sport’s most accomplished programs over multiple decades. Under her leadership, the Pioneers have made nine NCAA Tournament appearances since the event began in 2004 and have also reached 15 USBC National Championship Tournaments, including 10 straight before the NCAA Tournament era began. She has coached 11 All-Americans and a National Rookie of the Year while establishing Sacred Heart as a perennial conference and national contender. Kregling’s teams have enjoyed sustained success in the Northeast Conference. She is a six-time NEC Coach of the Year, earning the award in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2022. She guided Sacred Heart to six NEC championships in 2010, 2012, 2016, 2019, 2022, and 2023, and her teams reached nine consecutive NEC championship matches from 2015 through 2024, excluding the canceled 2020 postseason year. In 2019, the Pioneers won the NEC tournament with a 9-9 league record and later upset reigning champion and top-seeded Vanderbilt in the opening round of the NCAA Championship. During the 2020-21 season, Kregling coached Rachel Bamford and Colby Jones to first-team All-NEC honors, while Bamford also earned NTCA Second Team All-America recognition. In the preceding 2019-20 campaign, Sacred Heart captured the regular-season title and Kregling was again named NEC Coach of the Year. Bamford was named Bowler of the Year and NEC Scholar Athlete of the Year, Jones earned second-team all-conference honors, and Victoria Pacacha was selected to the All-Rookie Team. Her teams have also made a consistent impact nationally. Sacred Heart earned NCAA Tournament appearances in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023, with the 2021 team receiving an at-large bid and going 2-2 to finish in the 5th-8th range. Earlier, Kregling led the Pioneers to their first NEC title in 2009-10 and then to a second conference title in 2011-12.
In 2016, Sacred Heart shared the NEC regular-season championship with a 14-6 league mark before winning the conference tournament, and Kregling’s roster featured multiple all-conference selections that year. Beyond Sacred Heart, Kregling has long been recognized as one of the sport’s leading coaches and ambassadors. She has twice been named one of the top 100 coaches by Bowlers Journal and has been inducted into seven halls of fame, including the New England Bowlers Association, Women’s All-Star Association, Connecticut State Bowling Association, New Haven County Bowling Association, Greater Hartford Bowling Association, Fairfield County USBC, and Bunnell High School. She served on the NCAA National Women’s Bowling Committee from 2003 to 2006 and chaired it in 2005-06. Within the National Tenpin Coaches Association, she served as vice president beginning in 2006, president from 2010 to 2014, and later returned as treasurer in 2018, a role she continues to hold. She also served as secretary-treasurer of the New England Bowlers Association for 25 years. Kregling’s own accomplishments as a competitor are equally notable. She continued to bowl regularly through 2000, posting a high average of 232 along with 15 perfect 300 games and five series of 800 or better. In 1985, she received the Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow award from the USBC as the nation’s top youth bowler. The following year, she earned the Women’s Sports Foundation Up and Coming Award, becoming the first and only bowler to receive that honor. In 2007, she became just the second woman in the 44-year history of the New England Bowlers Association to win a tournament. She also represented Team USA in 1996 and 1997. Her career reflects both elite coaching leadership and a long record of excellence in the sport itself.
