There was no shuffling at the top of the Bass Pro Tour points standings last week at the season finale at Saginaw Bay. Jacob Wheeler captured his fourth career Angler of the Year title while Jake Lawrence and Drew Gill maintained the second and third spots, respectively.
Down the standings, however, was a different story. A lot of attention was paid to those anglers around the cutline for Redcrest qualification. Because of one double-qualification, the top 30 from this year's BPT points standings earned spots and three berths wound up changing hands as a result of the Saginaw Bay outcome. The field for Redcrest will be 35 anglers. The dates are April 16-19, 2026, but the location has yet to be announced.
Moving above the Redcrest cut line were:
> Marshall Hughes (31st to 24th)
> Nick Hatfield (39th to 28th)
> Dustin Connell (35th to 29th)
Dropping out Redcrest contention were:
> Nick LeBrun (26th to 35th)
> Jesse Wiggins (28th to 36th)
> Brent Chapman (29th to 37th)
Hatfield was the biggest mover of the week behind a seventh-place finish, which boosted him 11 spots in the standings. LeBrun, on the other hand, dropped nine spots after finishing 51st. Connell, the 2025 Redcrest winner, worked his way into the top 29 and therefore double-qualified, which opened up a berth for the 30th-place points finisher Edwin Evers.
Here's a look at the anglers who have qualified for 2026 Redcrest so far:
Bass Pro Tour Points
Jacob Wheeler
Jake Lawrence
Drew Gill
Cole Floyd
Alton Jones Jr.
Zack Birge
Ron Nelson
Justin Lucas
Brent Ehrler
Jeff Sprague
Spencer Shuffield
Adrian Avena
Colby Miller
Justin Cooper
Michael Neal
Mark Daniels Jr.
Jacob Wall
Keith Carson
Todd Faircloth
Matt Becker
Ott DeFoe
Wesley Strader
James Elam
Marshall Hughes
John Hunter
Takahiro Omori
Mark Davis
Nick Hatfield
* Dustin Connell
Edwin Evers
Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Champion
> TBD (Mississippi River, La Crosse, Wis., Sept. 5-7, 2025)
Toyota Series Pro Division Champion
> TBD (Grand Lake, Grove, Okla., Nov. 6-8, 2025)
Phoenix Boats Bass Fishing League All-American champion
> Matteo Turano
Top College Finisher (from national champions team) at Toyota Series Championship
> TBD (Grand Lake, Grove, Okla., Nov. 6-8, 2025)
MLF International Division winner at Toyota Series Championship
> TBD (Grand Lake, Grove, Okla., Nov. 6-8, 2025)
* Denotes double qualifier (Connell earned automatic berth by winning 2025 Redcrest)
