He hasn't bowled a single frame for Grand Canyon University Bowling yet.
 
But Braden Mauro has already given the program something to talk about.
 
One of the top signees of the Lopes' incoming recruiting class spent last week steadily climbing the leaderboards in the U18 Boys Division at the United States Bowling Congress Junior Gold Championships, one of the sport's premier national youth events, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The native of Birmingham, Alabama, reached as high as No. 8 in the standings before finishing tied for 9^th place Saturday in the event that featured over 900 of the top junior bowlers in the nation.
 
Mauro – who will make his way to the GCU campus in Phoenix from his home in Birmingham, Alabama, next month - motored through four rounds of qualifying and two advancer rounds before reaching the tournament's double-elimination match play bracket. Mauro's 213.38 average through the opening advancer round rocketed him to 8^th in the Final Advancers' Round with a 214.62 average across 26 games, punching his ticket into the 16-bowler match play field.
 
"Honestly, I didn't think a top 10 finish was possible until about halfway through the final advancer round," said Mauro. "For this round, the pattern we were bowling on was the most physically and mentally challenging pattern of the entire tournament for me. I eventually found something that worked, and from that point on, it was hard for me not to strike. I jumped to 8^th place after that round, and I knew I could for sure stay in the top 10."
 
"Braden has a strong high school resume' and I could immediately tell how strong of a work ethic he possessed in the recruiting process, so a finish this high does not surprise me," said Lopes' Head Coach Ben Canfield. "What impressed me the most was the way he bounced back from a rough start in the Final Advancers Round to shoot the 2^nd-highest five-game total out of the 64 players on the lanes for that block. I am excited to see how he – as well as our talented incoming class of freshmen - assimilate to the collegiate environment this fall."
 
Mauro committed to GCU this past February, joining the Lopes out of John Carroll Catholic High School, where he led his team to its first-ever state championship in 2024 and earned First-Team All-State honors twice. The member of the National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta National Honor Society intends to pursue a degree in Business Management at GCU.
 
Mauro joins a Lopes' Bowling squad led by CTBCA 2^nd Team All-American Jovan Mercado intent on improving their 8^th-place standing at the ITC Sectional Qualifier this past season, trying to build on the momentum of four tournament victories in 2025-26.