Reviewing the Season for Teams Ranked 16-25 in the 2023-24 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia

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SAN ANTONIO, TX (June 26, 2024) – At the end of May, the Association of Collegiate Anglers completed its 19th season of the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series.  Just a few weeks later came the culmination of the 13th annual race for Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.  College fishing’s only all-encompassing National Rankings system awards points to schools for competing at national, regional, and local events over the course of a 12-month stretch.  Teams enter each season with a variety of goals including winning the title, being ranked in the Top 5, as well as aiming to be recognized amongst the Top 25 teams in the nation, all of which are challenging tasks to accomplish.

With the 2023-24 chase for Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia now completed, the ACA will be publishing a series of articles highlighting teams that ended the year in the Top 25.  Today’s article will focus on teams ranked 16-25 in the final standings.

  1. Tarleton State University (Pre-Season Rank: 14th)
  2. Emmanuel University (Pre-Season Rank: T-8th)
  3. Southwestern Michigan College (Pre-Season Rank: 46th)
  4. Blue Mountain Christian University (Pre-Season Rank: 7th)
  5. Missouri State University (Pre-Season Rank: 26th)
  6. Catawba Valley Community College (Pre-Season Rank: 22nd)
  7. Kentucky Christian University (Pre-Season Rank: 21st)
  8. University of South Carolina – Union (Pre-Season Rank: Unranked)
  9. Georgia College (Pre-Season Rank: 29th)
  10. Bryan College (Pre-Season Rank: 12th)

16)Tarleton State University

The first team to be highlighted in this feature is Tarleton State University. Tarleton State finished the 2023-24 campaign in 16th, with a season total 25,660 points.  The team from Stephenville, TX was selected 14th overall in the ACA’s Annual Pre-Season Poll entering this year.  This marks the 6th time in the past nine seasons in which Tarleton State has finished the year ranked inside of the Top 25 for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.

17)Emmanuel University

Emmanuel University checks in at 17th with 24,825 points.  Coming off of a program best 8th place finish in 2022-23, Emmanuel University was selected as T-8th in the Pre-Season Poll coming into this season.  Located in Franklin Springs, GA, Emmanuel University lived up to the hype to start the season.  Entering the ACA’s first double points event of the 2023-24 season, the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley, Emmanuel University was ranked number one.  Emmanuel University has finished the year ranked inside of the Top 25 for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia for four straight seasons.

18)Southwestern Michigan College

At the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, Southwestern Michigan College attained its highest-ever year-end ranking for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.  The team finished the season ranked 18th, with 24,235 points.  Southwestern Michigan is one of two teams in this rankings analysis that earned a program best finish in 2023-24.  They are also the first in this feature to be picked outside of the Top 25 in the ACA Pre-Season Poll.  Southwestern Michigan College was picked 46th by anglers, coaches, and media members entering this year.

19)Blue Mountain Christian University

 Finishing the year in 19th is Blue Mountain Christian University.  Going into this season, Blue Mountain Christian was picked 7th in the Pre-Season Poll.  2023-24 marks the 6th straight season that the team from Mississippi has finished the year ranked in the Top 25 for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.  Prior to this season, Blue Mountain Christian had finished in the Top 10 for five straight years. The school’s best showing at an ACA double points event this season came at Lake Dardanelle for the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open.  Blue Mountain Christian placed two teams in the Top 30 (9th, 29th) which earned them 3,140 points.

20)Missouri State University

The 20th ranked team at the conclusion of the 2023-24 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia is Missouri State University.  Hailing from Springfield, MO, Missouri State earned a total of 21,420 points.  Missouri State is a school-ran club that has shown a great deal of consistency throughout the years.  The team has finished in the Top 25 for three of the last four season, and their best end-of-season ranking is 12th (2017-2018).  Missouri State was selected as 26th in the Pre-Season Poll and exceeded those expectations by six places.

21)Catawba Valley Community College

Catawba Valley Community College finished the 2023-24 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia ranked 21st.  The team amassed a total of 21,215 points across a total of 17 events at which they competed in and were eligible to earn points.  CVCC’s most points earned at a single event came during the ACA’s triple points Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops, where the team earned 4,705 points.  CVCC was selected 22nd in the annual ACA Pre-Season Poll prior to the year beginning.

22)Kentucky Christian University

Picked 21st overall by their peers and media members in the Pre-Season Poll, Kentucky Christian finished the 2023-24 season ranked 22nd.    KCU first placed in the Top 25 for college fishing’s only all-encompassing National Rankings system in 2021-22.  Since then, they’ve accomplished that same feat for three-straight years.  KCU’s highest-ever end-of-season ranking is 17th(2022-23).  The team from Grayson, KY earned over 6,000 points at the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops.  The school’s three highest-finishing teams all placed inside of the Top 50.  This was KCU’s best showing during the 2023-24 season.

23)University of South Carolina-Union

The University of South Carolina-Union is the second team in this review to attain its highest-ever end-of-season ranking in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.  USC-Union finished the 2023-24 season ranked 23rd, with a season total of 17,040 points.  Located in Union, SC, USC-Union was unranked in the ACA’s annual Pre-Season Poll.  The team’s best showing at an ACA double points event came in their home state of South Carolina.  USC-Union placed two teams in the Top 60 at the Hartwell Slam in Anderson, SC, to earn a total of 2,600 points.

24)Georgia College

Finishing the year in 24th is Georgia College.  Throughout the course of the 12-month season, the team earned 17,035 points towards the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.  Georgia College has finished in the Top 25 for four straight seasons.  The team from Milledgeville, GA has a long history of success in collegiate bass fishing.  Their highest-ever finish in the National Rankings came during the 2015-16 season, when Georgia College finished 8th overall.  Georgia College competed in all four ACA major events throughout the 2023-24 season, earning a total of 6,135 points combined.

25)Bryan College

Checking in at 25th is a past winner of the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia, Bryan College.  Bryan College finished the season ranked number one in 2017.  The past School of the Year title winning program has finished the season ranked inside of the Top 25 for nine straight years.  From 2015-2019, Bryan College placed in the Top 10 each year.  Over the course of the 2023-24 campaign, Bryan College earned a season total of 15,415 points while competing in 14 events at which they could earn points.