Although behind two bona fide closers, Drew Cook and Cole Sands know they’re close enough to close the deal.
Trey McKinney leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year race with 554 points, and Cory Johnston is 16 points back with 538. Cook is third with 537, and Sands has 533.
If the door is left open in the final two northern events, both Cook and Sands believe they could step through to an AOY title.
“I’m hoping to win it,” Cook said. “I’m definitely going to have to make two Top 10s, but I might have to make two top fives.”
“Yeah, it’s tight,” Sands said. “With two events left, 21 points isn’t that much. I think really anybody in the top five or six has a legit chance to walk away with it this year.”
Only 39 points separate the top six anglers, with fifth-place John Garrett (525) trailing McKinney by 29 points, and Brandon Cobb is 39 back.
“The three guys ahead of me are obviously phenomenal fishermen,” said Sands, a fourth-year Elite from Johnson City, Tenn. “Since Trey’s been on the Elite Series, he’s been a contender for AOY. Cory has always been one of them guys who’s scary, especially once he gets up north. He’s one guy I wish I had a few points on. Drew’s just a phenomenal fisherman in general. He always catches them no matter where we go.
“The way I look at it, if God says it’s my time, I’ll go out there and have two great events. The thing is, with the guys above me, I could literally go out there and Top 10 the last two and still not win. That’s just how good those guys are.”
The final stretch begins this week in the SPRO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain and culminates in the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River, Aug. 27-30.
Cook has qualified for the Classic via the points every year since he joined the Elites in 2019. He’s tied with the Johnstons, Patrick Walters and Shane LeHew for the longest active Classic streak at seven consecutive.
His best AOY finish was fourth in 2023, and he was seventh in 2019 and 10th in 2021. This year, Cook made the first four tournament cuts before finishing a disappointing 59th at Lake Murray.
Although McKinney (90th at Santee Cooper Lakes) and Cory Johnston (70 at Murray) suffered bad events, both Cook and Sands could be leading if not for misfortunes at Murray.
“Having missed a cut really stung, especially at a tournament that I thought that I was going to have a legit shot to win,” he said. “To not catch them on Day 1 (94th), it really pissed me off, honestly. We’ve kind of been steadily getting after them since then.”
Cook stood 14th in the points before climbing with a third at Santee Cooper Lakes and a fifth at the Pasquotank River.
Joining the Elites in 2023, Sands finished 42nd in AOY to make his first Classic then narrowly missed qualifying the past two seasons, including being first man out last year. This year he also made the first four cuts, including two Top 10s, before a 56th at Murray.
“It definitely feels good to have a have a good year,” Sands said. “I really only had one miss at Murray. They just caught them really good.”
Sands was just inside the Top 50 in two previous events on Champlain. With a chance, he went there to scout for the non-forward-facing sonar event.
“I usually don’t pre-practice a whole lot. I went up there right before the cutoff for both those lakes and spent some time and had some really phenomenal days,” he said. “I don’t know how much that’s going to translate a month later, but if it does, I think both those events could be really good for me. I look forward to it.
“I’m in a good position to kind of sneak in there and maybe scare some people. It’s not a ton of pressure. I think I’d have a lot more pressure if I was in Trey or Cory’s spot. I think that makes me maybe a little bit more dangerous.”
Cook has made all five cuts in his Champlain entries, including an 11th and 12th. He thinks he’ll have to do better to climb ahead of both McKinney and Cory Johnston, but he certainly feels he’s in the conversation.
“Yeah, there’s a shot,” he said. “Crazier stuff has happened. There’s a legit shot, in my opinion. I just gotta do my job and then let the chips fall. If I make two Top 10s and get beat, it just is what it is.”
Winning AOY is quite the feat, and finishing in the top five earns a check. The AOY winner receives the $100,000 Progressive bonus, second gets $50,000, third $25,000, fourth $12,500 and fifth $6,250.
“I definitely need to stay in that top five for sure,” Sands said.
It’ll take a lot of things to go their way but Cook or Sands could end up with the title.
However, close doesn’t count for much in bass fishing.
The mark to make Classic
With double qualifiers, the cutline to make the 2027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic is 44th. It could move down with the St. Lawrence event’s win-and-in provision and the winners of the final Open and the three Elite Qualifiers.
Lee Livesay is currently last man in with 376 points, earning the tiebreaker over Keith Combs on full-field total weight. The projected estimate to make Classic is 484 points, but the final tally could differ slightly.
Alex Redwine is first-man out with 374 points, and he said two decent finishes to make his third consecutive Classic would be icing on his wedding cake – his wedding is set a week after the St. Lawrence event.
Kyle Welcher, the 2023 AOY, stands ninth in points with 485, essentially already securing his fifth Classic without needing any more points.
John Cox in 76th place with 285 points is the lowest angler in the standings who could mathematically qualify, but he’d require the unlikely prospect of two wins earning 101 points each.
Last year, the last man into the Classic was Kyle Norsetter with 504 points while Sands was first man out with 493.
Hankering for Hartwell
Behind two Elite wins this season, Jason Christie is situated well to make his 11th Classic, which is being held at Lake Hartwell. After placing third there in 2028, Christie won the 2022 Classic on Hartwell.
Stetson Blaylock missed this year’s Classic but stands 14th in points as he vies for his eighth championship. He was third at the 2022 Hartwell Classic, just 12 ounces from unseating Christie as champion.
Jordan Lee, who won back-to-back Classics in 2017 and 2018, the latter at Hartwell, is almost a lock to make his eighth Classic. He’s 16th in AOY with 463 points, needing only 20 to hit the estimated mark.
Seth Feider is also chasing an eighth Classic. He made six in a row then missed in 2024 and 2025 before returning this year. The 2021 AOY stands 25th in points.
Just a spot behind Feider in points, Drew Benton has a line to get back for his ninth Classic. He first qualified in 2017 then missed the next year before qualifying for seventh straight. His run ended this year.
Canada’s Chris Johnston, who won the past two AOY titles, stands 29th in points as he seeks an eighth consecutive Classic. Among his three Top 10s at Classics, his fifth at Hartwell 2022 is his best.
Jeff Gustafson, the 2023 Classic champ on the Tennessee River, missed this year’s return to Knoxville. He’s 33rd in AOY with hopes of making his seventh championship.
Starting in 2015, Brandon Lester has competed in 10 Classics, missing 2017 and 2024. He’s 40th in points.
