Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia Is Breaking Records!

SAN ANTONIO, TX (March 4, 2020) – The past two weeks of college bass fishing have proven to be record-breaking in regards to the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. For the first time in program history, a total of more than 100,000 points have been awarded in just a 10 day span. Each of the three major college trails; Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, Bassmaster College, and FLW College, all held national-level events at the end of February have provided a major shakeup for the race to see who is the best team on the water for the 2019-20 season. Adding all of those events into the calculations for the standings makes this one of the most anticipated updates in the 10 year history of the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.

 

The new leaders in the School of the Year race are the defending champions of this title, McKendree University. With high finishes during

all three events, McKendree jumped from second place to take the lead by amassing a total of 3,450 points since the previous update. Trey Schroeder started off the team’s historic run with a fourth-place finish at the 2020 Texas Lunker Challenge presented by Mossy Oak Fishing. In addition to Schroeder’s top five, the team earned points for their second highest-finishing angler, Nate Doty, as he finished 28th place in the same event. Those two anglers netted the school 1,700 points from just that one tournament. Several other McKendree anglers weighed in fish during the event as well to help influence the standings. In addition, McKendree Bearcat anglers also finished in the Top 10 at both the FLW Championship and BASS College Open to add 930 and 750 points respectively. Earning points for McKendree at the FLW event were Nate Doty & Jacob Louis, and Ethan Jones & Andrew Althoff took first place honors at the BASS College Open.

Moving from third place in the rankings up to second is the University of Montevallo, as they earned points at all three events led by a third-place finish from Bradley Martin at the Texas Lunker Challenge. Top finishes at the FLW and BASS college events by Chance Schwartz & James Willoughby and Griffin Phillips & Ethan King also bolstered Montevallo’s charge. By finishing high in all three of the major college events, the Montevallo bass team is the only other team(along with McKendree) to earn over 3,000 points in this stretch.

Not only did the Top 25 experience a great shake-up, but the Top 10 saw some of the most significant shifting of the season. For the first time in many months, Adrian College no longer has hold of the top spot. The Michigan based school drops to third overall and is being followed closely behind by Auburn University in fourth and Murray State University in fifth. All five of these teams are historically ranked in the top 10 every year and with several majors left on the schedule any of them could challenge for the top spot in the rankings as the season progresses.

Another key item of note is that eight of the top 10 teams made the most of the double points opportunity offered by the ACA at the Texas Lunker Challenge presented by Mossy Oak Fishing. The University of Tennessee jumped two places from ninth to seventh, Carson Newman cracked the Top 10 as they slide into eighth, and Drury University bumps up one spot from 10th to ninth. To complete the update to the Top 10, Bethel holds pat at sixth and Bryan College falls from seventh to 10th after not competing at Sam Rayburn.

Of the more than 100,000 total points awarded in this update, nearly half of those points were distributed across the Top 25 in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. Three major movers of note are Sam Houston State, Georgia College, and Brewton-Parker College. Sam Houston State earned 1,770 points at Sam Rayburn Reservoir to help them jump from 19th to 13th. Cracking the Top 25 for the first time this season is Georgia College. The school goes from 35th to 19th as they earned a total of 2,665 points by fishing in all three events. And last but not least is Brewton-Parker College. The small school form Georgia is the biggest mover amongst the Top 25 as they climb all the way from 68th up to 22nd. Here is a look at other major movers in the Top 25 of the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia:

MAJOR MOVERS UP IN THE STANDINGS
– 14. University of Louisiana Monroe – Previous Rank: 18
– 15. Tarleton State University – Previous Rank: 24
– 21. East Texas Baptist University – Previous Rank: 26
– 24. Lander University – Previous Rank: 27
– 25. University of Wisconsin-Platteville – Previous Rank: 30

With so many points on the line for this update, the significance of a team’s performance is magnified even more. A great 10-day span can catapult a team into the Top 25, while conversely, a poor stretch can wipe a team out of contention for the most prestigious title in all of college bass fishing. Here is a look at the teams that fell out of the Top 25 for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia:

– Northwestern State University
– Bemidji State University
– Georgetown College
– Greenville University
– University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

The next major ACA event on the horizon is scheduled to be held over Spring Break in Henry County and Paris, TN when the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley is contested on Kentucky Lake. Anglers will be competing for double points towards the School of the Year race, as well as for prizes in excess of $30,000.00 in this no entry fee event.

To view the complete standings, click here.