By Chris Parker

Players to Watch in the 2026 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions

The 2026 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions tips off on Thrusday at 4 pm at Great Southern Bank Arena.

Here is what you need to know about the teams participating.

NOTE: There are two rankings listed. The MaxPreps rankings is just for high schools who compete in state associations. The ESPN rankings includes both regular high schools and prep schools.

PAUL VI (Va.)

MaxPreps Rank: No. 1
ESPN Rank: No. 6

KEY PLAYERS

Jordan Smith (2026)
RANKING: No. 2 (247), No. 3 (ESPN)
OFFERS: Duke, Arkansas, Georgetown, Kentucky, Indiana, Syracuse, Louisville, Arizona State, Florida State, Houston, Kansas State, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Virgina Tech, Miami, Mount St. Mary’s, George Mason, Providence, Villanova

Turk Brown (2026)
COMMITTED TO FLORDIA GULF COAST

Beau Daniels (2027)

Farrel Djossinou (2027)
OFFER: East Texas A&M

Aiden Gallegher (2027)
SIGNED GEORGE MASON (BASEBALL)

Brian Mitchell (2027)
RANK: No. 154
OFFERS: Coastal Carolina, Norfolk State, Hampton, FGCU

Matthew Mena (2027)
OFFERS: Tennessee State, Towson, Radford

Principia (Mo.)

MaxPreps Rank: No. 2
ESPN Rank: No. 9

KEY PLAYERS

Quentin Coleman (2026)
RANK: No. 90 (247)
COMMITTED TO WAKE FOREST

Kingston Money (2027)
INTEREST: Western Michigan, Iowa, SIUC

Gassim Toure (2027)
RANK: No. 176
OFFERS: Xavier, Illinois, SLU, UCF, Ohio

Wyatt Slay (2026)
OFFERS: SEMO, IU Indy, Liberty

Ron Henry (2026)
OFFERS: SIUC, Radford, Loyola Chicago, Delaware

Sekou Cisse (2027)
RANK: No. 182
OFFERS: Arizona State, Illinois, SLU, Ohio

Bartlett (Tenn.)

MaxPreps Rank: No. 6
ESPN Rank: No. 10

KEY PLAYERS

DJ Okoth (2028)
RANKING: No. 12 (ESPN), No. 15 (247)
OFFERS: Tennessee, Memphis, Mississippi State

Dylan Jones (2027)
RANKING: No. 65 (247)
OFFERS: Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee

Braylon Williams (2028)
OFFERS: Memphis, Jacksonville University, Radford University

Axton Perry (2026)
RANKING: No. 4 in Tennessee
SIGNED WITH SEMO

Sydney Thompson (2026)
SIGNED WITH PITTSBURG STATE

Malachi Hill (2029)
RANKING: No. 6 in Tennessee
OFFERS: Tennessee Martin, SEMO

Calvary Christian (Fla.)

MaxPreps Rank: No. 5
ESPN Rank: No. 16

KEY PLAYERS

Cayden Daughtry (2027)
RANKING: No. 14 (247), No. 20 (ESPN)
OFFERS: Arizona State, BYU, Cincinnati, Florida State, Iowa, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Texas A&M, West Virginia, FAU, South Florida, Dayton, Villanova, Sacramento State

Collin Paul (2026)
RANKING: No. 84 (247)
COMMITTED TO FLORIDA STATE

Kenneth Francis (2026)
OFFERS: Loyola, Stetson, Brown

Aiden Bolden (2026)
INTEREST: California, UNLV, Tennessee

Jacob Zhu (2026)
INTEREST: Mercer, Seattle

Wheeler (Ga.)

MaxPreps Rank: No. 8
ESPN Rank: No. 23

KEY PLAYERS

Colben Landrew (2026)
RANKING: No. 21 (247), No. 40 (ESPN)
COMMITTED TO UCONN

Kevin Savage (2027)
RANKING: No. 31 (247), No. 36 (ESPN)
OFFERS: Cincinnati, Purdue, Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, UCF, South Florida, Hampton, George Mason

Amare James (2027)
COMMITTED TO CLEMSON

Shamar Madden (2028)
DIVISION I INTEREST

Lamarrion Lewis (2026)
COMMITTED TO GEORGE MASON

Jaron Saulsberry (2026)
COMMITTED TO OLE MISS

St. John Bosco (Calif.)

MaxPreps Rank: No. 32
ESPN Rank: NR

KEY PLAYERS

Christian Collins (2026)
RANK: No. 8 (ESPN), No. 9 (247)
OFFERS: USC, Kentucky, UCLA, Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, California, Duke, Georgia Tech, Houston, Illinois, Kansas, Louisville, Vanderbilt, SMU, San Diego, Villanova, Oregon, Tennessee, UTSA, UT-Arlington, Cal State Northridge

Gavin Dean-Moss (2026)
DIVISION 1 INTEREST

Dominic Perfetti (2026)
COMMITTED TO SYRACUSE (LACROSSE)

Howie Wu (2026)
OFFERS: UC Irvine, UC Davis

Tariq Iscandari (2026)
DIVISION 1 INTEREST

Max Ellis (2026)
DIVISION 1 INTEREST