San Antonio, TX (October 11, 2026) – The scales have closed, tournament competition has concluded, and prizes have been awarded for the 2026 AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open. This is the final major event of the fall for the 2026-27 season on the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series. The AFTCO Open saw over 300 teams from schools all over the nation descend upon Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, AR to compete in an event that featured 20 of the Top 25 ranked schools in the nation.

Grant McCraney & Parker McKee with Faulkner University entered today in 1st place after weighing in 18.18 pounds on the first day of tournament competition. Today, they managed to catch 16.30 pounds of Lake Dardanelle bass. Their two-day total of 34.38 pounds carried them to victory at the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open. The pair from Alabama bested 2nd place by close to 2.50 pounds. The first place victory paid out over $8,000 in total. This includes $5,000 in cash courtesy of AFTCO, $1,000 Garmin credit, Rapala prize package, two Turtlebox Ranger speakers, two pair of Bajio sunglasses, two AFTCO Titan Landing Nets, as well as AFTCO backpacks, gloves, and pants. The duo also claimed the G2 Gemini Jerseys Contingency Bonus.

Finishing the event in 2nd was Dylan Sorrells & Mason Carden with the University of West Alabama. They entered today in 8th place after weighing 15.96 pounds on Day 1. Here on the final day, they brought in 16.07 pounds. That took their two-day total to 32.02 pounds. The 2nd place finish earned them $2,500 in cash courtesy of AFTCO, two pairs of Bajio sunglasses, Rapala prize package, AFTCO backpacks, gloves, and pants. The duo also took home the ACA Logo Contingency Bonus. All total, they earned close to $4,000 in prizes and contingencies.

The 3rd place team of Tyler Gentry & Brice Hudler from Texas A&M University made one of the biggest moves up in the standings here on the final day of the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open. Coming into today, they were in 52nd place with 12.65 pounds. Today, they managed to wrangle up 19.10 pounds. That was the largest limit weighed in this weekend, jumping  them close to 50 places to finish in 3rd. The two Texas A&M anglers were awarded $1,000 in cash courtesy of AFTCO, two pair Bajio sunglasses, Rapala prize package, AFTCO backpacks, gloves, and pants.

View the final tournament results here.

This weekend’s tournament at Lake Dardanelle was the ACA’s second double points event of the current season to count towards the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. Carson-Newman University entered this weekend in 1st place overall and will maintain or even extend their lead in college fishing’s only all-encompassing National Rankings system. The team from Tennessee placed its two highest-finishing teams in the Top 6. The ACA will soon update the points standings and announce the latest rankings.

The event also featured extensive media coverage to include camera teams being on hand for the nationally televised series, live streaming, extensive social media coverage, and more.

The ACA would also like to thank the host site of Russellville, AR, along with the team at Lake Dardanelle State Park. It has been a great weekend, and they have worked to help make everyone feel welcome while visiting the area.