Ben Burns and Grant Pursifull had one goal for the 2026 Strike King Bassmaster College National Championship at Leech Lake presented by Bass Pro Shops: finish better than they did at Cherokee Lake in 2025, a 153rd-place showing.
They achieved that goal by qualifying for Championship Saturday. In doing so, they not only made up for last year’s disappointing showing but earned one of the top honors in college fishing.
The Stephen F. Austin duo claimed the overall College Series Team of the Year title, accumulating 975 points during the regular season and National Championship to earn the trophies and a prize package from Johnson Outdoors.
“This is pretty surreal,” Pursifull said. “I remember when Tripp and Bryce won last year thinking, ‘We need to win that.’ It is a cool deal for sure.”
Burns and Pursifull are the first team to win both their regular season division, and the overall points race since the new format began in 2024. Their Legends Trail title earned them a spot in the College Classic Bracket for the second straight season. Winning the overall does the same, but because of the double qualification, the second-place team in Team of the Year will claim that spot. More on that later.
In 2026, Burns and Pursifull have yet to finish below the Top 10, claiming a third at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes before rattling off ninth and fifth place finishes at Sam Rayburn and Kerr Reservoir to round out the regular season. The worst they can finish at Leech Lake is 12th.
It wasn’t just that they caught one bass over two days at Cherokee that stung, but Burns said it made their Legends Trail title seem less significant. Winning Team of the Year this week, he said, validates what they have achieved all season.
“Dropping that much in the championship made it feel like a fluke,” Burns said. “Coming back, doing it again and then having a good finish at the Championship is what we wanted to do.”
Not only that, but it also gives the duo some positive momentum heading into their second attempt at the Bracket. At Watauga Lake, Burns nearly made the final round while Pursifull struggled and did not reach the semifinals.
“Momentum is a big thing in anything you do. So, I’m hoping to apply that to the Bracket and have both of us make a good run at it,” Pursifull said.
With one more day to go, Burns and Pursifull trail tournament leaders Brody Robison and Peyton Sorrow by exactly 10 pounds, a tall mountain to climb, but simply getting to the final day was the main objective this week.
“Our practice wasn’t very good, so catching 22 pounds Day 1 really surprised us,” Burns said. “Going out today and doing enough to make the final day was the goal, and we did it by an ounce.”
As far as the final two Bracket berths, there is a lot to be decided. Robison and Sorrow lead the tournament and are also in second place in the overall Team of the Year standings. Should they win tomorrow, they will claim a berth that way and pass the qualification to Emmanuel’s Scooter Ligon and Logan Fisher who are third in TOY.
If Robison and Sorrow don’t win but finish seventh or higher, they will earn the Bracket qualification via Team of the Year and the tournament winner will claim the final spot. Should the Montevallo duo finish below seventh, Ligon and Fisher will finish second in TOY and claim their spot in the final event.
All of that will be decided at 2:30 p.m. CT on Bassmaster.com.
