As exciting as the final day of the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River was, it ended up having very little impact on the final Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race in terms of qualification for the 2026 Bassmaster Classic or Elite Series requalification. Jay Przekurat and Kyoya Fujita did settle third place in AOY, with a much heftier check heading to Przekurat’s bank account.
But there are plenty of interesting observations about the final points standings. Here are a couple of things I find interesting about how it all shook out.
Way too early favorites for Bassmaster Classic
With Jeff Gustafson missing the cut for the 2026 Classic, his reign of terror over Fort Loudoun and Tellico Lakes is over, at least for now. That leaves plenty of questions about who else could unlock the 18-inch smallmouth bite Gustafson uncovered in the 2021 Elite and the 2023 Classic. Kyoya Fujita would be the obvious candidate, but will too many other anglers attempt to repeat Gussy’s pattern and make that bite difficult to capitalize on?
In terms of the largemouth bite, it was not easy to fill out a limit during the 2023 Classic, which was two weeks earlier than the upcoming championship. John Cox has finished well in both of his trips to Knoxville as an Elite Series member. Przekurat has yet to finish lower than 13th in his three Classic appearances and notched a Top 10 in 2023.
Can The Turtle do it?
Could it finally be Bill Lowen’s time? The Brookville, Ind., pro was always known for his consistency before notching his first Elite Series win in 2021. After that win, Lowen failed to make the next four Bassmaster Classics.
In 2025, Lowen put all of the pieces back together and fished really well. He won the first tournament of the year at the St. Johns River, was in contention for Angler of the Year most of the season (finishing 13th) and will be fishing a Bassmaster Classic for the first time since 2021. The river rat, who has always been good at maximizing a challenging shallow bite, will get exactly that on Fort Loudoun and Tellico. Everything may just set up right for Dollar Bill to claim 300,000 dollar bills in March.
A much needed boost for Queen
KJ Queen started his Elite Series career by making two-straight Classic appearances, but finished 93rd in points in 2023 and 70th in 2024 to miss the next two Classics. This season was a really nice bounceback for the North Carolinian, who finished 10th in the standings and earned two Top 10 finishes.
Comeback kids
It was a dismal start to the season for Pat Schlapper, Dakota Ebare and Alex Redwine to name a few, but all of those anglers fought their way back to qualify for the big dance — Schlapper in remarkable fashion. He finished 53rd in the 2023 Classic and will be carrying a ton of momentum into next season. Ebare and Brandon Palaniuk squeaked into the Classic, but expect both to swing for the fences in Knoxville.
Very Little Home Cooking in Rocky Top
Of the nine anglers who call Tennessee home, or used to, only Brandon Lester is currently qualified for the Classic. Cole Sands, Robert Gee, John Garrett, Hunter Shryock, David Mullins, Brandon Card, Jacob Foutz and Buddy Gross all finished below 43rd in AOY and will either need to fish the Elite Qualifiers to punch a ticket or hope multiple anglers double qualify in the EQ’s.
Household names who will be at the Expo
One of the hardest things as a pro angler is watching the Classic from a sponsor’s booth inside the Expo. The good news is, fans get the opportunity to meet them and pick their brains a little bit. Household names like Jason Christie, Greg Hackney and Gerald Swindle had unusually tough seasons and will be making the rounds at the Knoxville Convention Center.
For Christie, it is second-straight missed Classic while it will be the third-straight miss for Swindle.
