The 2024 iteration of the College Series prospect feature was, yet again, a smashing success. Of the 25 teams highlighted before the 2024 Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops began, 20 of those teams qualified for the National Championship at Lake Hartwell.
The list did get a little wonky however as Easton Fothergill, Tucker Smith and Beau Browning decided to focus on the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN, which turned out to be the right call as all three anglers qualified for the 2025 Bassmaster Elite Series.
Let’s take a look at some of the teams we chose who excelled and reflect on a couple who flew under the radar to begin the season before taking the spotlight by season’s end.
Who impressed this season? (Teams originally on the prospect list)
Emmanuel University
Tyler Campbell/Parker Guy (Emmanuel University): Campbell and Guy have made three straight Top 10s in the National Championship, only to come up one spot short of qualifying for the Bassmaster College Classic Bracket. This year, the duo notched a second at Lake Hartwell but needed to win to make the Bracket. Both anglers have bright futures and have already fished three Bassmaster Opens each. Guy chased checks in two of those events, including a fifth place at Santee Cooper Lakes, and Campbell cashed at Lake Martin to end the year.
Carson-Newman
Drake Hemby/Ewing Minor (Carson-Newman University): Minor has already made a name for himself in the kayak world, but he and Hemby had their best season yet as college anglers. The Carson-Newman duo finished 14th in the Team of the Year race, came close to winning the Douglas Lake tournament in March and notched a sixth-place finish at Lake Hartwell.
North Alabama
Carter and Dylan Nutt (University of North Alabama): The Nutt Brothers have excelled in their first two years of college fishing. They finished third in overall Team of the Year with finishes of 11th at Murray, 18th at Kentucky Lake, 16th at Saginaw Bay and 19th at Hartwell. They also won the BoatUS National Championship and an MLF college event at the Harris Chain of Lakes.
Who did we miss?
The one downfall of our projections was not including any of the teams who eventually competed in the College Classic Bracket presented by Lew’s. Several, however, had been featured in previous iterations.
Emmanuel University
Dylan Akins and Chase Carey (Emmanuel University): This one has an asterisk next to it because we highlighted these two anglers in the first edition of the prospect list in 2022. We didn’t this year, however, and they won Team of the Year and Akins won the College Classic Bracket presented by Lew’s.
Adrian College
Aaron Jagdfeld/Elliot Wielgopolski (Adrian College): Jagdfeld and Wielgopolski won the Legends Trail Team of the Year with finishes of third at Lake Murray, 13th at Kentucky Lake and second at Saginaw Bay, which clinched a spot in the Classic Bracket. Jagdfeld nearly punched his ticket to the Classic but fell short to Akins on the final day. The two have qualified for the last two National Championships and each qualified for the 2021 National Championship with different partners. Jagdfeld also jumped in the Open at Lake St. Clair, finishing second there.
USC Union
Tanner Hadden/Caleb Hudson (USC Union): Hadden and Hudson finished fifth at Clarks Hill, seventh at Douglas Lake and third at Sam Rayburn Reservoir, earning them the Lunkers Trail Team of the Year title and a trip to the Bracket. They also finished second in the overall Team of the Year standings to Akins and Carey. After being eliminated from the Bracket, Hadden went out and won the BFL Regional at Watts Bar Reservoir.
Lander University
Garrett Smith/Andrew Blanton (Lander University): Smith made the prospect list in 2023 after transferring to Lander University from Erskine College. The duo earned their spot in the National Championship with a sixth-place finish at Douglas Lake. Smith and Blanton then won the National Championship at Lake Hartwell to earn their spot in the Bracket. Blanton went on to fish in the semifinal round while Smith just barely missed advancing to the semifinal.
