Case and Higby From Arkansas Tech Win the 2022 AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open

/in ,

RUSSELLVILLE, AR (October 9, 2022) – Weigh-in has concluded and prizes have been awarded at the 2022 AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open.  218 of the top collegiate teams in the country took to Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, AR to compete for over $20,000 in prizes and contingencies, as well as double points to count for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.  Mat Higby & John Foster Case from Arkansas Tech University hold on to their Day 1 lead to take home overall 1st place.  Connor Nimrod and Dylan Nimrod from Louisiana-Monroe finish second, and Ben Cully and Hayden Gaddis of 10th ranked Carson-Newman take third.

View the final tournament standings.

The Arkansas Tech University duo of Mat Higby and John Foster Case win the 2022 AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open with a two day total of 27.09 pounds.  After taking the Day 1 lead, Higby and Case held off the field of 218 elite teams to take top honors at this ACA double points event.  For their victory, the pair wins a $1,000 Bass Pro Shops gift card, $200 AFTCO gift card, Bob’s Machine Shop 10” jack plate, and a Rapala tackle package.  Along with the valuable prizes, the victory earns Arkansas Tech 1,750 points towards the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.

Connor Nimrod and Dylan Nimrod from the University of Louisiana-Monroe finish in 2nd place with 24.69 pounds.  The duo from Louisiana jumped up from T-8th on Day 1 to 2nd overall on the final day.  The second place victory pays out a $700 Bass Pro Shops gift card, $200 AFTCO gift card, Bob’s Machine Shop 8” jack plate, and a Rapala prize package.  Connor also cashed in on the ACA Logo Contingency and Garmin Tournament Rewards for an additional $750 in total.

Rounding out the Top 3 are Ben Cully and Hayden Gaddis from 10th ranked Carson-Newman University.  Cully and Gaddis finish the event with a two-day total of 24.36 pounds to take home 3rd place honors.  This Top 3 finish wins them $550 in Bass Pro Shops gift cards, a $200 AFTCO gift card, $1,000 Garmin credit, and a Rapala tackle package.  As the 10th ranked team in the nation, the points earned for a Top 3 finish will go a long ways in aiding their quest for winning the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.

As it pertains to the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia, numerous of the nation’s elite schools placed multiple teams in the Top 20 at this event.  The list includes the University of Montevallo, McKendree University, Louisiana-Monroe, and Arkansas Tech University.  For some of the schools just listed, this event will earn them upwards of 3,000 points.  Updated standings will be released later this week on the website, along with an article providing an in-depth breakdown of the standings.