The 58-angler field for the 2026 Bassmaster Classic is far from complete but with the completion of the Bassmaster Elite Series season, a good majority of the spots (50) have been claimed. As of today, there are two double-qualifiers – Easton Fothergill and Pat Schlapper – which opens up Classic invitations to two additional anglers from the Elite Series Angler of the Year standings. Cory Johnston, who qualified via AOY points, won the St. Lawrence River Open, but since he didn’t compete in all four events of Opens Division 1, the automatic berth will go to the next eligible angler in the AOY points.
The next event that will yield a Classic berth is the Open Elite Qualifier at Lake Champlain, scheduled for Sept. 18-20. It’s the first of a three-tournament series to determine who will earn invitations to the 2026 Elite Series. Winners of the Elite Qualifiers will earn a Classic berth provided they compete in all three EQ events.
The 2026 Bassmaster Classic is scheduled for March 13-15, 2026 at the Tennessee River in Knoxville, Tenn.
Here’s a look at who’s locked into the Classic already and where the rest of the berths will come from:
2025 Bassmaster Classic winner
> Easton Fothergill (Grand Rapids, Minn.) *
2025 Upper Mississippi River Elite Series winner
> Pat Schlapper (Eleva, Wis.) *
Bassmaster Opens
Division 1 winners
> Clarks Hill: Chase Clarke (Virginia Beach, Va.)
> Tombigbee River: Trey Schroeder (Theodosia, Mo.)
> Upper Chesapeake Bay: Dillon Falardeau (Hixson, Tenn.)
> St. Lawrence River: Cory Johnston (Ottanbee, Ont.) ^
Division 2 winners
> Sam Rayburn Reservoir: Chris Miller (Spirit Lake, Iowa)
> Kentucky Lake/Lake Barkley: Yui Aoki (Minamitsuru, Japan)
> Norfork Lake: Casey Scanlon (Eldon, Mo.)
> Leech Lake: Laker Howell (Guntersville, Ala.)
Bassmaster Open Elite Qualifiers
> TBD (Lake Champlain, Plattsburgh, N.Y., Sept. 18-20)
> TBD (Wheeler Lake, Decatur, Ala., Oct. 2-4)
> TBD (Lake Okeechobee, Clewiston, Fla., Nov. 13-15)
Bassmaster College Bracket
> TBD (Watauga Lake, Carter County, Tenn., Sept. 26-29)
B.A.S.S. Nation
> TBD x 3 (Upper Mississippi River, La Crosse, Wis., Oct. 22-25)
Bassmaster Team Series
> TBD (Lake Hartwell, Anderson, S.C., Dec. 3-6)
Elite Series AOY Standings
> Chris Johnston (Otanabee, Ont.)
> Trey McKinney (Carbondale, Ill.)
> Kyoya Fujita (Minamitsuru, Japan)
> Jay Przekurat (Stevens Point, Wis.)
> Will Davis, Jr. (Sylacauga, Ala.)
> Takumi Ito (Chiba, Japan)
> Tyler Williams (Belgrade, Maine)
> Patrick Walters (Summerville, S,C,
> Tucker Smith (Birmingham, Ala.)
> KJ Queen (Catawba, N.C.)
> Cory Johnston (Otonabee, Ont.)
> John Cox (Debary, Fla.)
> Bill Lowen (Brookville, Ind.)
> Jordan Lee (Cullman, Ala.)
> Cooper Gallant (Bowmanville, Ont.)
> JT Thompkins (Myrtle Beach, SC
> Seth Feider (Bloomington, Minn.)
> Bryant Smith (Roseville, Calif.)
> Justin Atkins (Florence, Ala.)
> Logan Parks (Auburn, Ala.)
> Shane LeHew (Charlotte, N.C.)
> Austin Felix (Eden Prairie, Minn.)
> Drew Cook (Midway, Fla.)
> Cody Meyer (Eagle, Id.)
> Caleb Kuphall (Mukwonago, Wis.)
> Bryan Schmitt (Deale, Md.)
> Emil Wagner (Marietta, Ga.)
> Paul Marks (Cumming, Ga.)
> Kyle Welcher (Opelika, Ala.)
> Brock Mosley (Collinsville, Miss.)
> Bryan New (Belmont, N.C.)
> Lee Livesay (Longview, Texas)
> Bob Downey (Detroit Lakes, Minn.)
> Brandon Lester (Fayetteville, Tenn.)
> Wes Logan (Springville, Ala.)
> Wesley Gore (Clanton, Ala.)
> Alex Redwine (Blue Ash, Ohio)
> Justin Hamner (Birmingham, Ala.)
> Justin Loberg (Guntersville, Ala.)
> Brandon Palaniuk (Rathdrum, Id.)
> Dakota Ebare (Brookeland, Texas)
* denotes double qualifier via 2025 Elite Series AOY points
^ denotes automatic berth awarded to next eligible angler in 2025 Elite Series AOY points
