Taking a Look at 11-15 in the 2022-23 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia

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SAN ANTONIO, TX (June 16, 2023) – The 2022-23 season was a historic year in the race for Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.  Hundreds of schools from all across the country competed in events, teams earned a record number of points, and the University of Montevallo became the first school ever to win the title three times.  Given how competitive the race was this year, it was a huge accomplishment for teams that were able to finish the year ranked inside of the Top 25.  In this feature article, we will highlight programs that finished 11-16 in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.

  1. Tarleton State University (Stephenville, TX)

Total points: 31,490

Leading off this feature is Tarleton State University.  Located in Stephenville, TX, Tarleton State finished the 2022-23 season ranked 11th in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia with 31,490 points.  This marks the fourth straight season, and five out of the last seven, in which Tarleton State has finished inside of the Top 25 at the end of the year for the National Rankings.

“Finishing in the Top 15 is a privilege that we certainly do not take for granted. Our guys fished their hearts out this year and our final standings reflect their commitment and determination to this sport,” said Garett Cadenhead.  “This also reflects the amazing support our team receives from Tarleton State University in providing us the opportunity to compete at this high level while pursuing our academic goals.”

Like so many teams who finished the year inside of the Top 25, Tarleton State competed in all four ACA major, nationally televised, no-entry-fee events last season. Here is a look at how the team faired at Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series events:

  • Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley: 2,470 points
  • AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open: 3,050 points
  • Pickwick Slam presented by Evolution Fishing: 2,920 points
  • BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops: 5,510 points

Tarleton State earned 13,950 points at ACA ran events during the 2022-23 season.  One of the best finishes by a Tarleton State team last year came at the BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops on Lake Hartwell.  Trevor Easter and Clayton Easter weighed in a two-day total of 31.08 pounds to finish in 6th out of the elite 200 boat field.  Tarleton earned a total of 5,510 points at the ACA National Championship.  Tarleton State earned over 2,000 points at six events nationwide during the 2022-23 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.

“The Tarleton anglers consist of a great group of young men and women who are devoted to the sport of bass fishing,” added Cadenhead.  “Having a Top 15 finish and being the number one ranked school in Texas certainly goes to show that our anglers are versatile and consistent across the broad range of fisheries at this level of competition.”

Entering the 2023-24 season, Tarleton State has its sights set on making team history next year.  “I think it goes without saying that Tarleton is always on the hunt for the School of the Year title. Being able to claim a Top 5 finish this coming season would be something that the Texans could definitely achieve in the meantime,” concluded Cadenhead.

  1. Drury University (Springfield, MO)

Total points: 30,910 

“We are very proud to finish in the Top 15 in SOY rankings.  Our goal every year is to finish in the Top 10, and we just missed out by a couple of spots,” said Rick Emmitt, Head Coach at Drury University.  “Our school only takes 4-5 teams to each event, so to rank as high as we did is quite an accomplishment.”

Finishing the 2022-23 season in 12th for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia is Drury University.  Drury earned 30,910 points across a total of 22 events.  The team from Springfield, MO entered the 2022-23 season coming off of a team high three-straight Top 10’s (2020, 2021, 2022).

Head Coach Rick Emmitt has worked diligently over the past few years to build Drury University into a national powerhouse collegiate fishing team.  This includes mentoring veteran anglers to help them reach their maximum potential, as well as recruiting high school standouts to join the team and contribute early on in their careers.  That plan set forth by the Head Coach of the Drury University Bass Fishing Team paid dividends this season as the program finished in the Top 15 of the National Rankings for the fourth straight year.

“Although we had three seniors, the rest of our team consisted of freshmen and sophomores, so we are pretty young,” added Emmitt.  “Our seniors were consistently our top performers, but we had several different teams finish high as well.  The experience the younger anglers gained should pay off next season and in the future.”

Drury University earned over 2,000 points at every major ACA event for the 2022-23 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.  The most points the team earned at any one event came at the BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops.  Drury University earned 5,100 points at Lake Hartwell.

As the 2023-24 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia is getting underway, Drury University is looking to return back to the Top 10 and continue to grow this upcoming season.  “Our goal for 2023-24 will be to finish in the Top 10 for SOY and to win a major event, plus continue to gain experience and consistency,” concluded Emmitt.

  1. Bethel University (McKenzie, TN)

Total points: 30,310

Bethel University is the first past winner of the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia to appear in this feature series highlighting the Top 25 teams in the 2022-23 race.  Located in McKenzie, TN, near Kentucky Lake, Bethel University amassed 30,310 points to finish the year ranked 13th.

“It means everything to the entire team any time we can end the season with a Top 20 finish in the ACA SOY standings, especially as the skill level of competition grows and the amount of teams competing increases,” said Niko Romero, Bethel University angler.

Bethel University has a storied history as one of the top programs in all of collegiate bass fishing.  Since the inception of the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia, Bethel University has consistently finished the season in the Top 25, often times being comfortably inside of the Top 10.  Bethel’s consistency speaks to the quality talent that has been recruited to be a part of the team.

“After recently graduating a large group of talented anglers last season like Kyle Palmer, Tristen McCormick, Brad Ableman, Joe McClosky and Ryan Winchester among others, this year we relied heavily on the leadership of our senior team Matthew Cummings and Levi Mullins, junior team Hunter Fillmore and Dylan Fogarty, as well as the rest of our stout group of upperclassmen,” added Romero.  “Our 2022-23 team as a whole was very young. In his effort to reload and bring in new talent, Coach Mason added many promising underclassmen anglers who knew they had some big shoes to fill and they really stepped up.”

Bethel University started the 2022-23 season on the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series with a bang.  Two Bethel University anglers finished in the Top 5 at the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley.  Levi Mullins finished in 3rd, and Gage Sherrod took 5th.  Those two Top 5 finishes earned Bethel University a total of 3,440 points at Kentucky Lake.

Bethel University finished the season strong by earning 5,745 points at the BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops.

Bethel University competed in just 13 School of the Year major points earning events during the 2022-23 campaign.  The team averaged 2,331 points per event last season.  The former title winners are looking to carry this consistency over to the upcoming season.  “2023-24 is really going to be the season for our younger teams to come together as a machine, learn from our upperclassmen, gain some valuable experience on different bodies of water, and show out,” continued Romero.  “The guys are looking forward to growing as a team and accomplishing even bigger things next season.”

  1. Bryan College (Dayton, TN)

Total points: 28,505

Another former winner of the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia checks in during this rankings review.  Bryan College claimed college fishing’s most prestigious title during the 2016-17 season.  Since the 2015-16 season, Bryan College has finished each year inside of the Top 25 for the final end of season rankings.  Amongst that time was a stretch in which Bryan college finished inside of the Top 10 for five straight seasons (2015-2020).

During the 2022-23 campaign for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia, Bryan College finished 14th out of the top collegiate bass fishing teams.  The team from Dayton, TN finished the year with a total of 28,505 points.

Bryan College competed in two out of the four ACA major events during the 2022-23 season.  The past School of the Year winners earned 3,060 point at the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley.  To close out the year, Bryan College earned 4,280 points at the BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops.

Bryan College’s best event of the season came at the MLF Championship on Lake Toho in Florida.  The team earned a total of 3,760 points at this particular tournament.  Justin Botts & Connor Dimauro finished in 6th, and Andrew Fisher & Elijah Kirk claimed 8th.

  1. Louisiana State University-Shreveport (Shreveport, LA)

Total points: 26,400

“It means the world for us to finish where we set our goal,” said Charles Thompson, Head Coach at LSU-Shreveport.  “We wanted to be Top 15 or better and they finished really strong to make that happen. With five Top 10 finishes to close it out, I’m just very proud of them.”

Rounding out this particular highlight is LSU-Shreveport.  LSUS finished the 2022-23 season ranked 15th in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.  By earning a season total of 26,400 points, LSUS completed the 2022-23 campaign with the highest end of season ranking in program history.

“We finished strong at the ACA Championship in South Carolina and everyone was from Louisiana. We have a few from Texas and Arkansas, but not from anywhere else in the country,” added Thompson.  “We were not considered a top level team, I guess. For these guys to do what they did on new lakes every tournament says a lot. This is just my third year coaching and my upperclassmen started this with me.”

LSUS was picked 24th in the annual ACA Pre-Season Poll for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia enter this past year.  The team’s pursuit to exceed pre-season expectations started at the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open.  LSUS earned 2,860 points at Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, AR for the second ACA major event of the season.

Just one month later LSUS secured a major victory at the MLF regional on Lake of the Pines. Marlee Churchman and Ty Gentry got the victory with a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds 9 ounces.  Combined with another Top 20 finish, LSUS earned 2,320 points that weekend.

LSUS closed out the season strong by earning 2,830 and 5,865 points at each of the final two ACA major events of the season.  Coming off of a program best finish this year, LSUS is eager to get the new season underway.  “Well, our achievements for the 2023-24 season is likely going to be the same goal as last year. Set an achievable goal and try to reach it or do better. Next year our goal is to get inside the Top 10. We’re truly blessed to take part in such an awesome sport. We’re going to enjoy the ride,” concluded Coach Thompson.