The Top 5 Teams in the 2023-24 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia

SAN ANTONIO, TX (June 29, 2024) – This is the final installment of a three-part article series highlighting the Top 25 ranked teams in the final standings for the 2023-24 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. In this piece, we will be taking a look at the Top 5 ranked teams. Each of these five teams were picked inside of the Top 10 for the ACA Pre-Season Poll coming into this year:

University of Montevallo
University of North Alabama
Carson-Newman University
McKendree University
Auburn University

1)University of Montevallo

The University of Montevallo won the 2023-24 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia with a season total of 40,305 points. This victory adds to Montevallo’s legacy in the college fishing record books, as they are the first school ever to win four titles. Those four titles have also been won in four consecutive seasons (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024). Montevallo edged out its next closest competitor by close to 4,000 points.

Montevallo started off the 2023-24 campaign by earning the most points of any team to compete at the Bassmaster College Series National Championship at Pickwick Lake. Brody Robison & Jack Alexander finished in 3^rd, and Easton Fothergill & Nick Dumke took 5^th. Those two Top 5 finishes earned the team 3,880 points.

At major national tournaments (ACA, BASS, and MLF) Montevallo anglers won four of those events:

Bassmaster College Series at Lake Murray: Peyton Harris & Dalton Head
MLF College Series at Table Rock Lake: Nick Dumke & Easton Fothergill
Bassmaster College Series at Kentucky Lake: Blair Erickson & Jackson Pontius
ACA Hartwell Slam: Nick Dumke & Easton Fothergill

Across all 12 of the double and triple points events on the three major college series, Montevallo’s two highest-finishing teams never placed outside of the Top 25. 7 out of 12 times, their two highest-placing teams were both inside of the Top 10.

The University of Montevallo competed in all four ACA major events during the 2023-24 season. Across those four events, the team earned a total of 16,540 points. Montevallo capped off its fourth straight title with a very strong finish at the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops on Pickwick Lake. The team’s three highest-finishing boats placed 12^th, 15^th, and 16^th. Picked 2^nd in the ACA’s Pre-Season Poll, those three Top 20 finished helped to secure the number one ranking and add to the record books for Montevallo.

2)University of North Alabama

Like top ranked Montevallo, the University of North Alabama is a multiple time winner of the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. UNA won back-to-back titles in 2014, and 2015. The 2023-24 2nd place finish is UNA’s highest end-of-season ranking since another 2^nd in 2018.

UNA earned a season total of 36,355 points. 15,670 of those points were earned at ACA events. The team’s season started off strong with a 5^th & 12^th place finish at the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley. UNA’s top two teams at the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open in October of 2023 placed 21^st & 22^nd. Their worst showing of the season at an ACA event came during the Hartwell Slam, where the team’s two highest-placing boats were 63^rd & 64^th. However, UNA closed the season strong at the triple points Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. Here were UNA’s top three finishing teams at the ACA’s season ending National Championship:

1^st Place – Dylan Nutt & Carter Nutt

3^rd Place – Nathan Reynolds & Banks Shaw

25^th Place – Preston Kolisek & Smith McGregor

UNA earned the most points of any team to compete at Pickwick Lake. These Top 3 finishes earned them 6,980 points. At the time, this helped them to narrow the gap between themselves and 2^nd ranked Carson-Newman from 3,825 points down to 1,795 points.

UNA anglers earned just enough points at the final Bassmaster College Series event on Saginaw Bay to claim 2^nd place by a mere 135 points.

The 2023-24 season was a very strong campaign for UNA anglers. In 8 of their 12 major double/triple points events competed in, each of their two top finishing teams were inside of the Top 25. Dylan & Carter Nutt claimed each of the team’s two victories, with the other coming at the MLF College Series event on the Harris Chain.

Picked T-8^th in the ACA Pre-Season Poll, UNA exceeded expectations by six places.

3)Carson-Newman University

Carson-Newman University was selected as 4^th in the ACA Pre-Season Poll coming into the year, and their final ranking for the 2023-24 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia is 3^rd. The team amassed a total of 36,220 points, with 15,180 points coming at ACA ran events.

Carson-Newman earned over 3,000 points at each ACA regular-season double points event contested. At the Hartwell Slam in April, they earned the most points of any team to compete in the event with 3,420. Here is a look at their top two finishes at each ACA regular-season event:

Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley – Top two finishes:

4^th – Jacob Deel, T-6^th – Dylan May

AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open – Top two finishes: 6^th – Hayden Gaddis & Ben Cully, 7^th – Storm Cline & Gavin Clevenger

Hartwell Slam – Top two finishes: 4^th Cason Price & Brayden Ruckman, 6^th – Drake Hemby & Ewin Minor.

While Carson-Newman did not have a victory at a major double/triple points college series event (ACA, BASS, MLF), they still had a very strong year. At those 12 specific tournaments, their two highest-placing teams were both in the Top 25 at a total of eight events.

Last year, Carson-Newman capped off its best season in program history. The team from Jefferson City, TN placed 3^rd for the 2022-23 campaign in college fishing’s only all-encompassing National Rankings system. The 2023-24 final end-of-year ranking marks the second straight season in which the team has finished in 3^rd overall. Carson-Newman has finished the year ranked inside of the Top 10 for five-straight seasons.

4)McKendree University

The next team to be featured is one that has cemented its place amongst the top of the rankings over the course of the last 10 years. McKendree University finishes the 2023-24 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia ranked 4^th. McKendree, a two-time title winner (2019, 2020), has finished inside of the Top 5 for the last six seasons, and the Top 10 for 9 straight. The worst finish in that stretch was a 6^th place in 2018.

McKendree was picked 5^th in the ACA Pre-Season Poll to start the year. Like Carson-Newman in front of them, McKendree did not win a major double or triple points event this season. Out of those 12 major tournaments, they placed both of their two highest-finishing teams inside of the Top 25 four times.

The two-time School of the Year title winner competed in all four ACA major events last season. Across those tournaments, they earned a total of 14,870 points. McKendree’s best finish at an ACA event came during the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley. With a 9^th and 25^th place finish, McKendree earned 3,180 points at Kentucky Lake. They were also only one of five teams to earn over 6,000 points at the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops.

On the year, McKendree University earned 33,575 points towards the 2023-24 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. Next season, McKendree will have the opportunity to become just the second team ever in collegiate bass fishing to end the season ranked number one three or more times.

5)Auburn University

Rounding out this rankings review is Auburn University. Auburn finishes the 2023-24 season ranked 5^th in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. The Alabama based team was picked 1^st in the ACA Pre-Season Poll entering this year.

Auburn anglers started the year off strong as team members Hayden Marbut & Tucker Smith won the Bassmaster College Series National Championship on Pickwick Lake. Auburn placed its two highest-finishing teams in the Top 25 at five of the 12 major college events contested in this cycle.

With a total of 33,450 points earned, Auburn finishes in the Top 5 for the third-straight season. This 5^th place finish also makes eight straight seasons(2017-2024) in which the team has ended the year in the Top 15. The last time Auburn finished outside of the Top 25 for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia was 2016 (26^th).

Auburn competed in all four ACA regular-season events throughout the 2023-24 campaign. Across those four tournaments, Auburn earned 13,010 points.

Along with 3^rd ranked Carson-Newman, Auburn is the second team in this Top 5 to have never won the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.