I’m a sucker for a long shot. That’s likely why I’m not a gambler, as underdogs hardly ever win, and my money typically slides that direction for the hope of it all. Is there a better story in sports than the most unlikely winner winning? Ask anyone who watched the recent Kentucky Derby. Golden Tempo had 23-1 odds and was back of the pack coming into the final turn. Someone forgot to tell that horse it was out of the race. It ran like it was shot out of a gun on the final stretch and won by a neck, making Cherie DeVaux the first female trainer in history to win the Derby. That’s a sports story that makes you lean in.
Bass fishing’s version of this same underdog story happened a month and a half earlier. As you will read throughout the June issue of Bassmaster Magazine, Dylan Nutt, a 22-year-old collegiate angler representing the B.A.S.S. Nation, is our sport’s newest — and perhaps most unexpected — thoroughbred.
Nation representatives don’t exactly arrive at the Bassmaster Classic as favorites. In fact, a Nation representative hadn’t won the Classic since Bryan Kerchal did it in 1994, roughly two decades before Nutt was born. That’s not a statistic; that’s a barrier. The stage is too big. The pressure is too great. The field is too strong. That’s the narrative … and for a long time, it’s been hard to argue against it.
Well, someone forgot to tell Nutt he was out of the race. And what he accomplished borders on the unbelievable. Not only because he won, but because of how he got there.
Ten days. That’s all it took.
It all started last March. Nutt, who had tallied a tremendous record on Tennessee River fisheries, decided he wanted to fish the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at Pickwick Lake presented by Lowrance. To do this, he secured a B.A.S.S. Nation membership and paid his entry fee. Three competition days and 77 pounds, 6 ounces later, Nutt secured the win and a berth into the B.A.S.S. Nation Championship.
The Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Lowrance was held on the Upper Mississippi River out of La Crosse, Wis. There were 250 anglers from all over the world competing, and Nutt had never fished a B.A.S.S. event in Wisconsin. Not great odds for success. Still, at the end of the four-day championship, Nutt’s 71-3 was good enough for third place, earning him the last Bassmaster Classic spot available for the B.A.S.S. Nation.
When the University of North Alabama angler arrived in Knoxville alongside Classic favorites like Brandon Lester and Patrick Walters, few gave him a second glance. That certainly changed on Day 2 of the Classic, when Nutt landed a 26-11 limit, an accomplishment that few thought possible on this section of the Tennessee River. Would Nutt crack on the final day?
This is when the bass fishing world started leaning in. The last man in … the Nation kid … the giant Day 2 limit … surely the stumble is coming.
Not so much. His final stretch included the second-heaviest limit of Day 3 and gave him the fourth-heaviest five-bass-limit winning weight in Classic history (66-13). In all, Nutt competed a total of 10 days to secure the $300,000 payday and etch his name in the history books.
For every angler who’s wondered if there’s a path to the biggest stage in the sport, this story should resonate. The path exists. It’s not easy. And if you do make it to the Classic, the odds will not be in your favor. But, every once in a while, the long shot doesn’t just show up.
He wins.
Originally appeared in Bassmaster Magazine 2026.