JEFFERSON COUNTY, Tenn. (Oct. 26, 2026) – The Carson-Newman University duo of Riley Brown of Whitefish, Montana, and Nolan Gray of Russellville, Tennessee, topped a field of college fishing big-bass competitors Sunday to win the inaugural MLF Columbia PFG College Heavy Hitters event on Douglas Lake catching 27 scoreable bass weighing 46 pounds, 1 ounce. The victory earned the team $2,000 – $1,000 for each angler – along with Columbia PFG Heavy Hitters Championship Belts and Columbia Prize Packages. The first-of-its-kind competition showcased the next generation of bass fishing talent while offering college anglers an additional opportunity to compete for top honors, advance their competitive careers and walk away with premium technical fishing gear from Columbia PFG.

The duo wasted little time getting on the scoreboard Sunday, connecting with fish almost immediately after lines in and setting the pace with a flurry of early catches. From there, they leaned on their familiarity with Douglas Lake and a series of productive offshore schools to maintain their momentum and ultimately secure the victory.

The win was particularly meaningful for the Carson-Newman teammates, who entered the event with considerable familiarity with Douglas Lake. Gray, a lifelong resident of the area, had spent years fishing the reservoir, while Brown, a Montana native, had gained valuable experience on the lake since joining the Carson-Newman fishing program.

That local knowledge helped the pair develop a game plan during practice, when they located five or six schools of bass positioned along points, ledges and other offshore structure. Their strategy was straightforward: target a school until the bite slowed, then move to the next productive area.

“We rolled up to our first spot that morning, and I think on the first or second cast, one of us was already hooked up,” Brown said. “Once that started, it seemed like we went about 10 minutes just going back and forth, catching a fish and weighing a fish. That school ended up dying out after 30 or 40 minutes, but we were able to catch probably four or five more just roaming around.”

After their productive start, Brown and Gray spent much of the day rotating through the schools they had identified in practice, using a combination of a jigging spoon and a 4- and 5-inch Z-Man Scented Jerk Shadz on a ¾-ounce jighead to target bass holding near the bottom.

Gray said their familiarity with the lake helped them anticipate where the fish would be positioned and how to approach each school.

“I had a bit of an advantage on the fishery because I’ve lived here all my life,” Gray said. “I’ve fished the lake a lot, so I kind of knew what was going to happen. We went out there in practice and scanned for schools, found five or six of them, and we’d start on one and fish it until they wouldn’t bite anymore. Then we’d bounce to the next one.”

Unlike traditional college fishing tournaments, which typically require teams to bring their five biggest bass to the scales at the end of the day, the Heavy Hitters event featured MLF’s signature catch, weigh, immediate-release format. Every scorable bass contributed to a team’s running total, with fish weighed and released immediately at the point of capture.

The format placed a premium on both size and numbers, rewarding teams that could consistently locate and catch bass throughout the competition. It also introduced a different level of strategy and excitement, as anglers could track their opponents’ progress on SCORETRACKER® and watch the leaderboard change throughout the day.
For Brown, who had never competed in a catch, weigh, immediate-release event, the experience was a highlight of his college fishing career.

“Fishing the catch, weigh and release format was really fun,” Brown said. “I’d never done it before, and this was the first time I’d really heard of it in college fishing. It was one of the most fun days I’ve ever had on the water. Being able to watch people come up behind you and get close adds a different kind of excitement to it. It felt a lot more laid back until the end, when things started picking up and we got a little nervous because they were getting close.”

Gray echoed his teammate’s enthusiasm, noting that the emphasis on catching as many scorable bass as possible created a faster-paced competition than the traditional five-fish format.

“That was probably the most fun tournament I’ve ever fished,” Gray said. “It was different than a normal five-fish format because you’re not only targeting big bass, you’re also fishing for numbers of fish. You’re trying to catch as many as you can, and I really liked that. It kept the pressure going, and you never really had time to calm down and let everything settle. You were moving the whole time.”

That pressure became particularly evident during the final period, when Brown and Gray saw their advantage threatened as other teams began closing the gap.

With approximately 15 minutes remaining, the Carson-Newman duo returned to a point where they had previously located a productive school. Rather than fishing the same area, they explored a different section of the structure and discovered another group of bass they hadn’t targeted earlier in the day.

The decision paid off with three additional catches in the closing minutes, providing a timely boost to their total and helping secure the victory.

In addition to the competitive opportunities offered by the unique format, the inaugural Heavy Hitters event provided competitors with an impressive collection of premium Columbia PFG fishing apparel and equipment. All competing anglers received Columbia PFG gear at the pre-tournament meeting, including technical outerwear, performance apparel and footwear designed for long days on the water.

The gear packages featured a Jacquard Beanie, PFG Elite 3D Stretch Snap Back – Bass Badge, ODX Jacket and Bibs, Terminal Tech Hoodie, Pro Guide Pant, Dry Tortugas Deck Boots and Landroamer 60L Duffel. Brown and Gray also received an additional $500 Columbia gift card – $250 for each angler – for their victory.

Brown said the Columbia PFG gear was an unexpected highlight of an already memorable tournament experience.

“The Columbia gear we got at the meeting the night before was awesome,” Brown said. “I wore the bibs to blastoff, and they were amazing. That gear plus the additional gift card and prize money all made for such a great experience.”

The top 10 teams finished:

1st: Carson-Newman University – Riley Brown and Nolan Gray, 27 bass, 46-1, $2,000
2nd: Carson-Newman University – Trey Marco and Jake Rowlands, 21 bass, 40-7, $1,000
3rd: Carson-Newman University – Easton Drennon and Chase McCarter, 19 bass, 32-15, $500
4th: Middle Tennessee State University – John Mullins and Jacob Sledge, 16 bass, 29-15
5th: Drury University – Brody and Ethan Thoele, 14 bass, 29-9
6th: Mississippi State University – James Broderick and Ben Puckett, 12 bass, 21-10
7th: Oklahoma State University – Kaden Abmeyer and Nevan Osburn, 11 bass, 21-6
8th: Drury University – Caleb Coleman and Cade Lipham, 12 bass, 20-1
9th: University of Montevallo – Drake Pfeiffer, eight bass, 14-12
10th: Carson-Newman University – Connor Crawford and Carter Cunningham, eight bass, 14-1

Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Drury University’s Ethan Thoele caught the biggest bass of the event, a 3-pound, 6-ounce bass, earning his team the $2,000 Big Bass award. The award is split between teammates. Brody and Ethan Thoele.

The MLF Columbia PFG College Heavy Hitters event on Douglas Lake was hosted by Visit Jefferson County, TN. A total of 18 teams qualified for the tournament exclusively based on big-bass performance during the 2026 Columbia PFG College Fishing Presented by Abu Garcia regular season, mirroring the big-bite, earn-your-way-in Kubota Heavy Hitters format used on the MLF Bass Pro Tour . The field consisted of the top three teams with the heaviest single bass from each of the six 2026 College Fishing regular-season tournaments. The event featured MLF’s catch, weigh and immediate-release format, where every scorable bass over the 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum counted toward a team’s total weight.

The 2026 MLF Columbia PFG College Fishing Presented by Abu Garcia season featured college teams from across the country competing in six regular-season open tournaments, plus the Heavy Hitters all-star event. The top 15% of teams from each regular-season tournament advance to the 2027 Columbia PFG College Fishing Presented by Abu Garcia National Championship.

Proud sponsors of MLF Columbia PFG College Fishing Presented by Abu Garcia include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Columbia PFG, Epic Baits, Mercury, MillerTech, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular College Fishing updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.