The current crop of Elite Series rookies has been lauded as an exceptionally strong class, and justifiably so. Bryan New and KJ Queen are separated by only eight points at the top of the Rookie of the Year standings. Those two, Josh Stracner and Justin Hamner and Marc Frazier are ranked 46th or higher in the Angler of the Year standings, and New won the opening Elite Series event of the season at the St. Johns River.
However, with the emergence of Caleb Kuphall at Lake Guntersville, the 2020 rookie class is going to be hard to beat over the test of time. Kuphall finished sixth in the ROY rankings last year. Just above him in fifth place was Wes Logan. When this day ends, those two are going to be the most recent winners on the Elite Series. And consider who finished above them: 1) Rookie of the Year Austin Felix, 2) Kyle Welcher, 3) Buddy Gross, and 4) Taku Ito.Those four qualified to fish the 2021 Bassmaster Classic in Fort Worth in two weeks.