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Bass Cats Ranked 6th in Preseason Poll
MCKENZIE, Tenn. – The Bethel University Bass program was ranked 6th in the Top 25 Collegiate Bass Preseason Poll for the 2021-22 Bass Pro Shops School for the year presented by Abu Garcia.
The top ten portion of the rankings begins with arguably one of the most decorated collegiate bass fishing programs in the nation. Bethel University, who has claimed one School of the Year title and three ACA National Championships, as well as numerous other national level BASS Collegiate and FLW titles, checks in at 6th place in the Top 25 Pre-Season Poll. Coaches, anglers, and media members acknowledge and respect Bethel University's dominance near the top of the sport for the past 10 years.
Located in McKenzie, TN, Bethel University anglers have long been the favorites at just about every event nationwide, being even more dominant along the Tennessee River. Bethel is just minutes from Kentucky Lake, and many of the team's anglers come to campus with prior knowledge and experience at many of the famous Tennessee River fisheries.
During the 2021-22 season on the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, the ACA will visit two Tennessee River impoundments. The first one will be at Kentucky Lake for the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley, and the season will conclude at Pickwick Lake with the BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops.
The schedule sets up nicely for Bethel to make another historic run at the title throughout the 2021-22 season. The biggest question is, 'Can Bethel replace all the top-level fishing talent that have graduated in the past couple of years?' Led by head coach Garry Mason, look for Bethel University to once again be making headlines if they can overcome the loss of all the graduates with a fresh crop of anglers this season.
Coach Mason commented, "I am so very proud of all of the Bethel University Bass fishing team on the top ten ranking in ACA. Since 2012, the Bass program has been ranked in the top ten each year in the ACA national rankings. This past year was another great year for our team and our anglers as we finished in the 8th spot in the rankings. Now the new rankings for the upcoming season has projected us to be number six in the nation for the upcoming season. Our work is certainly cut out for us here at Bethel but I believe our guys are up to the task and our new class of freshman recruits will help carry that load."
2021 Final Ranking: 8th
School of the Year Titles: 1 (2018)
ACA National Championships: 3 (2013, 2018, 2019)
