The 2025 Bassmaster College Series is now complete, and what a season it was. From a tiebreaking fish-off in the National Championship leading to crowning back-to-back champions, an exciting Classic Bracket on a beautiful new venue, to very tight points races and come-from-behind wins, the 2025 season had it all.
The College Series prospect list consists of 28 teams we thought would be ones to watch, and once again in 2025, many of those teams excelled. Of those 28 teams, 22 of them made the National Championship, kind of. We say kind of because five of those that made it did it with a different partner than they started with. Nonetheless, still very strong for the prestigious 154-boat championship. One more prospect team of Tanner Hadden and Caleb Hudson turned their attention to the Opens and both made it into the Bassmaster Elite Qualifier Series.
Let’s highlight some of those teams that lived up to the hype and some that we missed at the beginning of the year.
Who impressed this season? (Teams originally on the prospect list)
Lander University
Andrew Blanton/Garrett Smith – Lander University: For the second year in a row, Blanton and Smith come from behind to win the Bassmaster College Championship, this year on Cherokee Lake, Tenn. This victory put them back into the College Classic Bracket for another shot at the biggest tournament in bass fishing. They had strong showings throughout the whole season with highlights of fourth in the College Classic, fifth on Smith Lake and 19th on Lake Okeechobee. They also ended up fifth in overall Team of the Year. Both of these anglers will be a threat wherever fishing takes them next.
University of North Alabama
Bryce Dimauro/Tripp Berlinsky – University of North Alabama: Dimauro and Berlinsky have been on quite a tear this year. Not only did the duo win the overall Team of the Year, but their worst finish was 40th in the regular season and otherwise placed 11th at Buggs Island, ninth at Lake Okeechobee and fourth in the National Championship. In the Classic Bracket, these two made it to the final round to face off with each other for the title. Berlinsky, who consistently had the largest bag each day came out victorious by a 2 1/2-pound margin.
Emmanuel University
Max Heaton/John Michael Ortman – Emmanuel University: While Heaton and Ortman didn’t take a win this season, their consistency landed them third in overall points and third in Legends trail points. Their best finish was fourth on Smith Lake followed by 11th at Eufaula, 31st at the Harris Chain and 41st at the Championship. This is a continuation of last year where they did better than 30th in all but one event.
University of Montevallo
Peyton Sorrow/Brody Robison – University of Montevallo: This Montevallo team has been on a tear for a while. Starting the year with a 108th-place finish on Okeechobee, Sorrow and Robison haven’t finished outside the top 10 since. A solid finish at the first event would have made it interesting for Team of the Year. The rest of their season consisted of second, eighth, fourth and eighth at the Championship. This year, the duo also claimed a National Championship title in another fishing organization.
Who did we miss?
Stephen F. Austin State University
Grant Pursifull/Ben Burns – Stephen F. Austin State University: Pursifull and Burns had a fantastic season fishing on the Legends Trail of the College Series. Their one tough event was the Championship, but regular-season finishes of fourth, second and 16th put them on top of the Legends Trail Team of the Year points and berths to the bracket. Burns also made it to the semifinal round of the College Classic Bracket.
Carson-Newman University
Blake Wheat/Zach Helton – Carson-Newman University: On the Lunkers Trail side, Wheat and Helton were dominant, posting eighth at Okeechobee, 16th at Buggs Island, 15th at Chickamauga and 49th in the Championship. This was enough to win the Lunkers Trail Team of the Year with 714 points and finish fourth in the overall points. Both had a solid showing at the College Classic Bracket.
University of Montevallo
Elisha Colley/Storm Clark – University of Montevallo: The duo of Colley and Clark had a quiet but strong rise to end up second in overall Team of the Year Points, just 15 points behind Dimauro and Berlinsky. They were also just 16 points shy of the title on the Lunkers Trail size. Their worst finish was 36th at Lake Okeechobee and after that made finishes of seventh, 12th and 24th in the Championship.
