With the new rankings (Regional, College), it’s time to establish a schedule.
Since the launch, Bass Ranking fans have come to expect weekly updates on Mondays about what happened over the weekend. That’s going to continue. However, expect to start seeing updates on Wednesdays as well.
While we will still write updates on Mondays for the Majors, Minors and Womens Rankings, the sheer volume of the Regional and College rankings takes a little more time to input all the results. So, to give the back-end guys a little more time (and you give you twice as many updates a week), Regional and College Ranking fans can expect to see those updates on Wednesdays, just like today.
Regional
The first tournament of the year is in the books, and no shocker, it took place in Florida (FLW Bass Fishing League at Lake Okechobee).
However, what was shocking was how much movement there was in the FLW Gator Division Rankings. Don Demott is the new No. 1 (he was fourth) after he finished 26th on the Big O. Meanwhile, Steve Fairtrace, the former No. 1, fell all the way to seventh after he finished in 100th. Oh, and the former No. 7, Jim Folks, moved up to No. 2. That’s after ONE tournament.
College
Let’s start with the Individual rankings, where there’s now a new tie atop the rankings after the BASS College Southern Regional event at the Harris Chain of Lakes.
Instead of Auburn’s Jordan Lee and Shane Powell fighting it out for top honors (they slipped to No. 4 and No. 5, respectively), Stephen F. Austin’s Blaze Platt and Kyle Turner now are the reigning No. 1s.
Other notable moves include UCF’s Casey O’Donnell moving from 17th to 11th, Bethel University’s Matthew Roberts and Zach Parker jumping from a tie for 41st to a tie for 28th, and Bethel teammate Matthew Palmer dropping from ninth to 58th.
At the Team level, Stephen F. Austin’s Turner and Platt against supplanted Auburn’s Lee and Powell after the Tigers finished 19th at the Harris Chain.
Other notable moves included Young Harris College’s duo of Brad Rutherford and Matthew Peeler debuting in the No. 7 spot as the Harris Chain was their third event together. Bethel University’s Zach Parker and Matthew Roberts went from 24th to 18th with their recent win. In doing so, that makes three teams from Bethel in the top 20, which is more than any other school.
Finally, the School level saw a debut from Daytona State College at No. 3. Meanwhile, the Alabama fell from 20th to 26th and Young Harris dropped from sixth to ninth.
