Reigning AOY and 10-time BPT winner Jacob Wheeler, three-time REDCREST Champion Dustin Connell and standout Jake Lawrence highlight 51-angler field competing for total season purse of more than $6 million
MLF Press Release
BENTON, Ky. – Major League Fishing announced today the roster of 51 pros who will compete on the 2026 Bass Pro Tour, the eighth season of professional bass fishing’s premier tournament circuit. Featuring the most exclusive and talented field of anglers in the world – from the veterans who built the Tour’s legacy to the rookies reshaping its future – the 2026 Bass Pro Tour is set to deliver the toughest competition and most rewarding payouts in professional bass fishing history.
Featuring a stacked lineup of champions, innovators and fan favorites – including Dustin Connell, Ott DeFoe, Alton Jones Jr., Wesley Strader and Jacob Wheeler – the 2026 Bass Pro Tour roster highlights anglers who have consistently raised the bar for performance and professionalism on the water. Wheeler, a four-time Angler of the Year, 10-time BPT winner and one of the most dominant competitors in modern bass fishing, returns to defend his legacy against the sport’s deepest talent pool to date.
A remarkable collection of REDCREST champions highlight the 2026 field, led by three-time winner Connell (2021, 2024, 2025), Edwin Evers (2019), Bobby Lane (2022) and Bryan Thrift (2023). Each has proven capable of thriving under pressure and performing when it matters most, adding another layer of excitement to the Tour’s eighth season.
The 2026 roster also underscores MLF’s unmatched pathway for discovering and developing new talent. Returning after a breakout rookie season that saw five Top-10 finishes in his first eight events and a buzzer-beater win that narrowly edged out Wheeler, Jake Lawrence – the 2025 AOY runner-up to Wheeler – looks to build on an incredible debut that solidified him as one of the sport’s fastest-rising stars.
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