Announcing The Top 5 Ranked Teams Entering the 2025-26 Season for Bass Pro Shops School of the Year

September 17, 2025
|In College, Industry News, NEWS, RESULTS
|By AnglersChannel

San Antonio, TX (September 16, 2025) – A new season of the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series begins in approximately one week. Leading up to the start of that season, the Association of Collegiate Anglers is announcing the results to its annual Pre-Season Poll for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. To this point, we’ve revealed teams ranked 6-25. Today, the Top 5 teams will be announced, as voted upon by coaches, anglers, and media representatives.

1) University of Montevallo

2) Carson-Newman University

3) University of North Alabama

4) McKendree University

5) LSU-Shreveport

 
1) University of Montevallo

For the fourth time in five years, the University of Montevallo has been voted as number one in the ACA’s annual Pre-Season Poll. Montevallo was voted in 2nd overall in 2023.

 

Over each of the past five seasons, Montevallo has re-written the history books for collegiate fishing. From 2021-2025, the University of Montevallo has finished each season ranked number one to win the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. Only two other programs have ever claimed the title multiple times, as UNA McKendree have each won it twice.
2) Carson-Newman University

Checking in at 2nd in the 2025 ACA Pre-Season Poll is Carson-Newman University. This marks Carson-Newman’s highest-ever ranking entering a new season.

2021: 3rd

2022: 4th

2023: 4th

2024: 3rd

 

Last season, Carson-Newman finished ranked 3rd in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. That marks three straight seasons in which the team from Tennessee has ended the year ranked 3rd. Carson-Newman has yet to claim the title, ending the year ranked number one in college fishing’s only all-encompassing National Rankings system.  They will be looking to start strong at the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley next week as they chase that first-ever title.
3) University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is picked 3rd overall in the ACA Pre-Season Poll. Like Carson-Newman ahead of them, this marks the highest-ever ranking entering a new season for UNA. In terms of the Pre-Season Poll, UNA has moved up in the rankings each year.

2021: 20th

2022: 11th

2023: T-8th

2024: 6th

 

As was mentioned earlier in this article, the University of North Alabama is a past winner of the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. The team from Florence, AL finished the year ranked number one in 2014 and 2015. If they were to finish this season ranked number one, UNA would join Montevallo as the only programs to win this prestigious title three or more times.
4) McKendree University

McKendree University has been voted 4th in the 2025 Pre-Season Poll. Since the inception of the Pre-Season Poll, McKendree has been selected inside of the Top 5 each time.

2021: 4th

2022: 3rd

2023: 5th

2024: 2nd

After being selected 2nd overall in the 2024 Pre-Season Poll, they finished the 2024-25 season ranked 4th in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. That makes for 11 years in a row in which McKendree has ended the season in the Top 10 for college fishing’s only all-encompassing National Rankings system.

 

McKendree University has won the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia twice (2019, 2020). Like UNA ahead of them, with a win this season…McKendree would become just the second team ever to claim the title three or more times.
5) LSU-Shreveport

Rounding out the Top 5 in this rankings reveal is LSU-Shreveport. This marks the first time in which LSUS has been selected in the Top 5 of the ACA’s annual Pre-Season Poll. LSUS has now been voted in the Top 25 entering a new season four times.

2022: 24th

2023: 15th

2024: 9th

LSUS finished last season ranked 7th in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. Like Carson-Newman, who was also featured in this article, LSUS is in search of its first title in college fishing’s only all-encompassing National Rankings system this season.