Pursifull and Burns were left out last year on the prospects list and ended up putting on a dominating performance in 2025. The duo landed on top of the Legends Trail Team of the Year with finishes of fourth, second and 16th. This clinched their spot in the College Classic Bracket, where Burns made it to the semifinal round.
If you haven’t heard of the Nutt brothers by now, you may have been living under a rock. These brothers have been dominating at all levels over the past few years. While their college run in 2025 was a bit slower, we expect they will still be ones to watch in 2026. Not to mention, Dylan is fishing the 2026 Bassmaster Classic via the B.A.S.S. Nation.
The Lone Ranger is back for another year on the college trails. Jones is always a threat even while fishing solo for the majority of the time. In 2024 he took home the win on Clarks Hill Reservoir and 2025 saw him weigh 35-9 on the Classic stage at the College Classic. Jones shows no sign of slowing down this season.
Sorrow and Robison are going into their second season as partners after an incredible season in 2025. The pair ended up eighth in the overall Team of the Year. After 108th at Okeechobee, they placed second, eighth, fourth and eighth the rest of the year. They continued the hot streak by winning the National Championship for another tour. Finally, Sorrow also went on to win the Bassmaster Team Championship on Lake Hartwell with fellow UM angler Dalton Head.
The duo of Head and Harris has been extremely consistent throughout their college careers. While their Bassmaster College Series win streak didn’t continue in 2025, they still put up solid finishes to place them in 10th in overall Team of the Year. After winning an event in 2023 and 2024 there’s no doubt they will be striving for another successful season in 2026. As mentioned, Head was the other half of the Team Championship win on Lake Hartwell.
Another duo who was apart of the 2025 College Classic Bracket, Wheat and Helton look to pick up where they left off. Last year on the Lunkers Trail, this Carson-Newman team finished 16th and better until the Championship. Wheat and Helton are starting on Lake Okeechobee where they had their best finish of 2025.
The Missouri team of Williams and Wood are coming off quite a season in 2025 which put them 15th in overall Team of the Year. This was capped off by a 14th-place showing at the Championship. Wood has been very consistent over that past couple seasons and is paring up with Williams for a second season.
Another talented team from Carson-Newman, Drennon and McCarter are going into their second season. Without their one stumble last year on Lake Chickamauga they would have been in the running for Team of the Year as they had finishes of sixth, third and 10th in the Championship. I could see a win from this duo in 2026.
The winners from Lake Eufaula in Oklahoma last year have had some really good showings over the last couple seasons and have proven they know what it takes to win at this level. Last year they started off hot in Florida with a 21st on the Harris Chain and will hopefully continue the trend at Kissimmee.
Montevallo’s Clark and Colley quietly had an incredible season last year and ended up just 15 points short of claiming the overall Team of the Year title finishing second. Their worst finish was 36th, and they really turned on the gas to finish seventh, 12th and 24th in the Championship. Watch for this team to stay consistent again in 2025.
Fields and Stephens have been putting up solid events for several years, and the two are pairing back up this year. Fields especially had a good 2025 with best college finishes of 13th and 21st. Fields also made it to the EQ series through the Opens and almost took the Open win on Kentucky Lake.
Erskine’s Clark and Morrison have been strong contenders for quite some time. While 2024 was more consistent including a third in the Championship, their best two finishes in 2025 were 34th and 13th.
Morris and Hamilton led the charge last year from LSU Shreveport by finishing up 13th in the overall points. They accomplished this by having all finishes between 20th and 51st. Keeping this consistency will keep them in contention to move up even higher this season.
Two-time High School All-American Grace Olson heads to Wabash Valley and joins forces with Sam Ausbrooks. Olson’s high school career was very successful including 10 top five finishes and 12 top 20 finishes, and she even competed on the USAngling USA Bass High School Youth Team. Ausbrooks is entering his third season on the College Series. He posted two solid finishes last year in a fifth and 17th.
Blazier and Rose are pairing up this upcoming season. Both have been getting better and better over the last couple years and are due a breakout season. They both had solid 2025s with best finishes of 16th and 21st and only one finish worse than 66th.
While half of the back-to-back National Champions team graduated, Blanton is looking to make another solid run with a new partner in Gabehart. Is there a chance at a three-peat? Gabehart is a freshman but will be able to soak in knowledge from the two-time champ.
While they only fished two regular season Bassmaster College events, Reynolds and Brown gave themselves a shot to win in one of them of Buggs Island. While they fell a little short, they still posted sixth place. Both anglers have been strong forces over the past few seasons. If they are able to fish a whole trail, they could be solid contenders for Team of the Year.
Another Montevallo team who finished high in the Team of the Year standings was Dubose and Milam. They ended up sixth in the overall standings and took a win on Smith Lake. Their consistency should put them in a solid position going into 2026.
Last year, freshman Jake Rowlands paired up with sophomore Trey Macro and had a solid year including claiming the victory at Buggs Island. Going into their second year together, they have the potential to increase consistency and maybe even look for their second win. The duo just recently transferred from King University to Carson-Newman.
Another extremely consistent team from last season, Piton and Faulkner finished between 53rd and 25th to land them 16th in Team of the Year. Much of this same consistency can be seen from seasons prior, and it only keeps getting better.
A young team from a fairly new fishing team, Petty and Falk are poised to have a solid sophomore year. They gained lots of experience fishing all six regular season events last year and had some solid success. Be on the watch this season.
May and Newell paired up mid season last year and went two for two for top 20s, including one from the Championship. Keeping that pace could see some great things from this duo. In past years, both of these anglers have been consistent and have put up numbers of top 20s.
Two 2025 Bassmaster High School All-Americans and teaming up at the University of Montevallo. Alabama native Turnbull finished his senior year with an impressive four wins, seven top fives and 10 top 20s. Sorrells from Texas also added five wins, five top fives and nine other top 20s. Expect to see big things from this duo this season.
This duo fished all six events and the Championship last season and did well in half finishing between 23rd and 32nd. Unfortunately, the other half were in the triple digits. If this team can eliminate the bombs they could be very dangerous in 2026.
Over the past three seasons, Rutledge has finished in the top 50 in eight of 12 tournaments. With numbers like that, it’s only a matter of time before a win or a run at Team of the Year. His best tournament came as a 12th at Smith Lake last season. Rutledge’s partner, Wyatt Pearman, graduated last season, but hopefully Rutledge can keep the momentum rolling with Lake Hatfield, who fished only three College Series events.
Travis is entering his fourth season fishing for Auburn University; however, this year he is splitting up with long-time partner Brendin Simich. Last year, after the first event, they finished 33rd or better the rest of the season. It’s only a matter of time before we see which of the duo will be on top. As of now, Travis looks to be taking on the 2026 season fishing solo.
This team finished no worse than 48th all last season, and the duo is staying paired up for this coming season. They topped their year with 12th place in the Championship to put them seventh in overall Team of the Year.
