Parker Brown from Dallas Baptist University Wins the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley

/in ,

PARIS, TN (September 18, 2022)  – Today marked the final day of competition in the 2022 Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley.  Close to 500 anglers competed for two days on the famed Kentucky Lake vying for over $20,000 in prizes and contingencies.  On Day 2 of tournament competition, the elite field of college anglers brought hundreds of fish to the scales all caught using Berkley baits.  At the conclusion of weigh-in today, a total of 40 places were paid, an Overall Big Bass was awarded, and teams earned points for their two highest-finishing teams inside the Top 150 to count towards the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.

River Eubanks from 2nd ranked University of Montevallo won Day 2 Session 1 presented by Abu Garcia with a bass weighing 5.04 pounds.  First place in Session 1 paid out a $300 Bass Pro Shops gift card, and two Abu Garcia fishing rods.  Back-to-back School of the Year winner University of Montevallo had a strong showing in Session 1 following a lack luster performance on Saturday.  Members of the team finished in 1st, T-2nd, and 4th places, ensuring the team earned valuable points at the first ACA event of the season.

Not to be outdone, two-time School of the Year winner McKendree University, who is currently ranked third in the nation, claimed Session 2 presented by Bob’s Machine Shop.  Harper Burkeen weighed in a largemouth bass tipping the scales at 5.43 pounds to best second place by nearly a pound.  For winning Day 2 Session 2, Harper receives a 6” Bob’s Machine Shop jack plate, and a $300 Bass Pro Shops gift card.  Bethel University had a total of three anglers place in the Top 10 for Session 2; 2nd – Seth Roberts, 4th – Matthew Cummings, 8th – Levi Mullins.

To round out the day, Session 3 presented by Bass Pro Shops and Abu Garcia paid out the Top 20 places.  McKendree University claimed its second session title of the day as Ethan Fields took top honors with 5.39 pounds.  Ethan received a $1,000 Bass Pro Shops gift card and various other items.  Session 3 was one of the most competitive sessions of the event as 7th – 20th were separated by less than one pound.

Parker Brown from Dallas Baptist University takes home the overall tournament title by winning the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley with a largemouth bass weighing 7.21 pounds.  Parker weighed the fish in during competition on Day 1, and managed to hold on for the tournament victory.  First place paid out a Power-Pole gift certificate, 10” Bob’s Machine Shop jack plate, $1,000 Bass Pro Shops gift card, Engel 80 QT. cooler, HydroWave H2, Abu Garcia fishing rod, and more!  Along with the valuable prizes, Parker earned 1,750 points for DBU in the race for Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.

View overall tournament standings.

Many of the nation’s top teams placed multiple anglers near the top of the overall standings.  This will tighten the race for Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.  Later this week, be on the lookout for updated standings featuring the Top 25 teams.  Along with that, there will be more coverage from this weekend’s event, including a further breakdown of the winning pattern, a feature on the Top 5 anglers who automatically qualified for the ACA Championship, as well as a podcast episode featuring the event winner!

Special thanks to Paris, Tennessee, Paris-Henry County Chamber of Commerce, Henry County Tourism Authority, and Paris Landing State Park for their community support and hospitality!  Also a big thank you to all our ACA partners for continuously providing prizes, meals, and more that enable us to put on no-entry-fee events for collegiate anglers.