McKendree’s Jackson, McKinney advance to final day of Bassmaster Bracket Tournament
On the third and final day of the Carhartt 2020 Bassmaster College Bracket Tournament, it was two McKendree Bearcats anglers left to vie for the title as Blake Jackson and Trevor McKinney had advanced to the tournament finals.
Thanks in large part to a strong early effort on Nov. 19, McKinney was able to take home the 2020 Carhartt Bassmaster College Classis Bracket Championship at Lay Lake near Columbiana, Alabama.
“The key to Trevor’s victory on the final day was probably (that) he got on a school of fish and when he got an active school of fish, he caught 20 bass in the first 20 minutes and had a five-fish limit and it was enough to carry him over the hump,” said McKendree coach Jon Rinderer, also the Highland High School bass fishing coach. “The lake was really tough and finding that school of fish was not easy to do for anybody all week. He got a school fired up and got like 20 fish in the first 20 minutes. It was unbelievable.”
The three-day single-elimination format event includes only the top four teams from the Bassmaster National Championship. This year’s teams included Bryan College, the University of North Alabama, Georgia Southern, and McKendree University.
For the Bracket Rounds, these four two-man teams are split apart, and each angler has to fish separately from his partner in his own boat. The pairings are set up for day one with the No. 1 and 2 seeds going against the No. 7 and 8 seeds, and seeds 3 and 4 fishing against seeds 5 and 6.
For McKendree, it was No. 7 McKinney (Benton) fishing against the No. 2 seed Connor Demario from Bryan College and No. 8 Jackson (Carterville) fishing against Bryan’s No. 1 Cole Sands.
After a slow start on day one, both McKendree anglers continued to battle until the last minute. They each caught the majority of their fish in the afternoon and both culled up in the last 30 minutes to take the win on day one. McKinney weighed in 12 pounds, 4 ounces to beat out Demario’s 11 pounds, 12 ounces; and Jackson’s 7 pound, 1 ounce limit bested Sand’s 6 pound, 11 ounce limit. Their wins allowed them to advance to day two.
As the second day of the tournament arrived, McKinney was pitted against the University of North Alabama’s No. 4 seed, Benson Dowler, and Jackson against North Alabama’s No. 3 seed, Cole Thompson. Both McKendree anglers jumped out to a quick lead and maintained their leads throughout the day. McKinney’s 7 pound, 12 ounce limit bettered Benson’s 2 pounds, 6 ounces; while Jackson’s 9 pounds, 8 ounces beat out Thompson’s 4 pounds, 9 ounces.
After knocking out the rest of the tournament field, the two McKendree anglers were set to square off on the final day to see who would be crowned Bassmaster’s No. 1 collegiate angler in the country — the most prestigious individual title in all of college fishing — and earn an incredible prize package that includes a trip to the Bassmaster Classic.
At the start of the final day began, McKinney boated over 20 bass in the first 30 minutes and had his best start of the week with a five-fish limit weighing 10 pounds, 10 ounces. Jackson caught fish steadily throughout the morning, and by the 10:30 mandatory break, he had also caught his five-bass limit and was sitting only 6 ounces behind McKinney with 10 pounds, 4 ounces.
The afternoon bite was extremely tough as Jackson could only increase his weight with a small cull, and he ended up with 10 pounds, 6 ounces for the day. McKinney culled up twice and finished the day with 11 pounds, 11 ounces to clinch the championship.
Victory package
McKinney’s victory netted him a nice prize package, which included an entry into the most coveted professional bass tournament of all — the Bassmaster Classic — with a top prize of $300,000.
It also includes the use of a Toyota Tundra truck and a fully-loaded Nitro Z20 bass boat each wrapped in McKendree University colors and logos for the year, paid entry fees into the nine Bassmaster Open events, and $7,500 to use for travel money while fishing the professional circuit for the year.
“He’s going to get quite a prize package and invitation to the Bassmaster Classic .... the majority of the fishermen in the country would get (to go to) the Bassmaster Classic but they’ll never get that opportunity,” Rinderer said.
“So, No. 1, he got the invite to the Bassmaster Classic, which is a $300,000 payout, and last place is $10,000, so he’s guaranteed $10,000 just being there, so I’m sure he’s got potential to do a lot better. To be there is an honor, and to have the opportunity is an honor.”
‘We’re sitting in a good place’
McKinney’s big win and Jackson’s second-place finish were also a boost for the Bearcats as they head into the middle of the 2020-21 collegiate bass fishing season once again as a top-tier program.
“The win is great for our program, so we’re right there and we’re on the door (step) of being No. 1 and we’d like to jump back in the lead in the next six months or so,” Rinderer said.
“We’re sitting in a good place going for the second half of the season and we feel good about it going in and we feel like we’ve got a good shot at it (the national championship) again. We’ve got to catch fish everywhere we go and be in the top five (teams).”
Coach pleased for McKinney; Bassmaster schedule
Rinderer said as great as the win was for the program, it was an even greater accomplishment for McKinney.
“It’s a life-changing event for Trevor and it’s been his dream since he was little to go to the Bassmaster Classic and he made it,” Rinderer said.
The Bassmaster College Classic Bracket will be aired on ESPN U at 8 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 12; 9 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13; and 10 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20.