Schooling for Bass: College Fishing Teams Are Launching Careers

It’s been said that the sport of bass fishing has launched a million boats. I don’t know if that is true, but for sure the sport is now launching careers.

Mirroring the well-established professional bass tournaments which take place around the country, scholastic teams now compete for recognition in events of their own, with stops at a variety of lakes. These anglers are college students who may have received a scholarship to attend the school of their choice. Add bass fishing to the roster of scholarship sports, right alongside football, baseball and others.

Intense College Bass Fishing

Late in January of this year, I had a chance to meet some of these competitors at the Strike King Bassmaster College Series tournament on Lake Okeechobee. Teams launched from Roland & Mary Ann Martin’s Marina & Resort in Clewiston. It was an exciting event for both spectators and family members of the young adults competing.

This was the first event in the 2025 College Series’ Lunkers Trail division. Over 200 teams competed in the two-day event, with the top honors going to Brayden Batchelor and Quinn Williams, representing Georgia Southern University. Their two-day, 10-fish total (all released) tipped the scales at 42 pounds, 3 ounces. Most of the fish this team caught were pre-spawn bass that had moved into backwater ponds in Winnie’s Cove, which had clear water and a hard bottom. Many of the fish the team caught were on an unweighted Zoom Super Fluke, fished just off the bottom.

The competition was intense with the new format for the Bassmaster College All-American honor. The top 10 percent of the field clinched a spot in the Strike King College Series National Championship, which will be presented by Bass Pro Shops later in the year. It’s exciting to see opportunities like this where top-performing collegiate anglers can be celebrated on a national stage. With the added prestige of making it to the College Classic Bracket or the National Championship, there’s a lot on the line.

The Bassmaster College Series features a two-division format with three tour stops each—the Legends Trail and the Lunkers Trail.

The Legends Trail kicked off the 2025 season Jan. 22-23 at Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida, before traveling to Smith Lake in Cullman, Alabama, Feb. 26-27 and then making its final stop at Lake Eufaula in Eufaula, Oklahoma, April 2-3.

The Lunkers Trail began competition at Lake Okeechobee in Clewiston Jan. 29-30, before heading to Buggs Island in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, April 30-May 1, closing out the regular season at Chickamauga Lake in Dayton, Tennessee, May 30-31.

The “Team of the Year” race can be followed throughout the season at Bassmaster.com.

Launching Careers in Bass

Some anglers competing in these collegiate series events may use their ranking, experience and notoriety as a springboard into a career as a pro angler, industry representative or media personality. Others might take other avenues—these are college students, after all.

I spoke with Kyle Zainitzer, a Palm City, Fla., resident now attending the University of North Alabama. He and teammate Brock Vogel of Ohio finished a very respectable fourth place on Lake Okeechobee. Kyle said, “I came up through the ranks fishing high school bass tournaments, winning a few, but it was actually my senior year of college where I really focused on bass fishing as a possible career path.”

Kyle’s advice for anyone wanting to attend college on a fishing scholarship is to, “ask questions, research the college and its location, along with the fishing team.”

The southeastern U.S., the heart of bass fishing, is a smart starting point. With its year-round fishing and access to some of the best fisheries in the world, it’s no surprise that so many top anglers either come from there or relocate there. When choosing a college, the typical factors like dining and dorms matter, but for a bass angler, proximity to good fishing spots can be a game-changer. Having access to local bodies of water, especially popular tournament destinations, can make a huge difference in terms of practice and competition opportunities.

Taking Off at Florida Gateway College

One Florida school, Florida Gateway College (FGC) in Lake City, had two teams competing in the Strike King Bassmaster College Series tournament on Lake Okeechobee. The FGC Bass Fishing Club has some serious momentum under Coach Bryson O’Steen. His accomplishments in North Florida bass fishing and in college bass fishing are impressive, especially with back-to-back Top 5 finishes in the National Championship. It’s clear that his experience and leadership form a solid foundation for the club. Bryson is a student at the college and is poised to stay on as faculty there.

Bryson’s journey began at a young age fishing local tournaments. He didn’t fish on a high school team because his school didn’t have a fishing program. After a short stint working in the trades, he made the decision to solely focus on becoming a professional angler. A senior now at FGC, Bryson said that what drew him to the college was the family atmosphere. “The college has a friendly environment and a smaller team, which is presently eight members, compared to other larger colleges that may have forty of more members on their team. The staff is super friendly and supports the students.”

Bryson knows the importance of promoting himself and his accomplishments through social media. He regularly posts videos on Instagram and Facebook. Bryson has several sponsors, other than the ones that already support the team as a whole, and is well on his way to achieving his goal.

The fact that the FGC club is structured like a high-level athletic team gives it a unique edge, with a focus on recruiting skilled anglers and offering a platform for beginners to learn the sport. Coach Bryson and the team’s Student Activity Director, Amy Dekle, are committed to creating a strong community and providing opportunities for anyone interested in bass fishing.

I spoke with FGC Marketing Director Rob Chapman, who gave me some insight on the team and scholarship program. The FGC fishing team was started after the college saw the success of a local high school fishing team. A fishing scholarship was a way the college saw they could offer opportunities for students to get an education who were passionate about bass fishing and wanted to strive for a career in the fishing industry. Some students, however, just wanted a college degree and fishing on the team was a path to a scholarship that allowed them to seek out a career in the trades.

The FGC team received some heavyweight support from pro angler Shaw Grigsby, who hails from Gainesville, Fla. Rob and some of the other FGC staff traveled to attend high school tournaments as well as other college tournaments, so they could get an idea of how to set their program up.

“The schools’ scholarships are funded by local businesses,” said Chapman. “Every school is different in the way they structure their teams and scholarships. FGC typically accepts six to eight new applicants per year to keep the size of the team manageable and to maximize the amount of financial support available.

“Having a successful track record fishing on a high school team is a big plus to get your foot in the door to fish on a college team. It’s a huge commitment for a student to divide their time between studies, practice and traveling for tournaments. Schools would rather have a team member who has been exposed to this pace, that at times can be grueling. Additionally, fishing team members will require family support, too, which is paramount. Each student must supply their own boat, truck, and insurance.”

The FGC professors have a kindred spirt for the fishing team students and offer some classes online along with allowing students to take their school work on the road, so they can complete it in between practice and tournaments.

The Challenges

College bass fishing might seem like a dream come true—fishing all the time—but balancing a full academic load while competing in 15 or more tournaments a year is no small feat. The travel, the time away from home, and the need to stay on top of schoolwork in between it all definitely makes it more challenging than people might think.

The rewards? Even if professional fishing isn’t the goal, the experience of competing in such a high-stakes, demanding environment can open doors in the outdoors industry. Whether it’s working with brands, guiding, or even becoming involved in tournament management or event planning, there are many career paths that this kind of experience could lead to.

There are many colleges across the county which have a fishing team and scholarships available. Several of the students I spoke with have their sights set on becoming a professional angler, but they also understand it’s important to have a backup career plan as well. In Kyle Zainitzer’s case, he’s planning to continue his education in grad school, switching his major from marketing to finance. “Even if I don’t make it in the pro circuit, fishing with my college team has been one of the best times of my life,” he said. Kyle stepped up to the pro division, fishing his first Major League Fishing (MLF) Toyota Series Tournament, presented by Phoenix Boats on Lake Okeechobee, February 13-15. This was the first event of the 2025 Southern division of the MLF. Although Kyle didn’t place as well as he did in his last college tournament, it’s still an extremely valuable experience.

College support varies from school to school, with most supplying funding for travel, accommodations, food, and tournament entry fees, but additional family support for these teams is just as essential. Kyle’s parents routinely open their home and pantry to Kyle’s teammates when they compete on lakes close to home. “The parents of the young anglers have formed a close relationship,” said Kyle’s mom, Linda. “Actually, more of a support group to deal with the pressure and anxiety of not knowing how your child is doing in the tournament until they return to the weigh-in.”

Becoming High-Profile

The three major organizations—Association of Collegiate Anglers, Bassmaster College Series, and Major League Fishing Abu Garcia College Series—offer well-organized, high-profile events that attract hundreds of teams. The fact that these trails offer valuable points for school-of-the-year rankings adds an interesting layer of competition, not only between the anglers themselves but also between schools.

For anyone serious about pursuing a career in bass fishing, this type of scholarship and program is a unique opportunity. It’s not an option everyone knows about, but it could be the perfect path for someone who’s both academically and competitively driven in fishing.

It’s interesting that college bass fishing isn’t officially recognized as a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sport, but the fact that the Association of Collegiate Anglers (ACA) oversees it still gives it a structured and competitive framework. The addition of major sponsors like MLF, B.A.S.S., and BassPro Collegiate makes it feel like a serious sport in its own right, with the points tallying system for School of the Year honors helping to elevate the level of competition across schools.

It’s a pretty unique setup, one that gives college bass fishing its own identity apart from traditional sports. The sponsorship aspect and the opportunity to keep prize money is a big draw for some college anglers, but many anglers I spoke with think the competition itself is the biggest motivator.

While other students are sleeping in, these academic anglers are hitting the water before sunrise.

And if they ditch class to go fishing, maybe that could be considered study hall?

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• This article was featured in the May 2024 issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Click to subscribe

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