Updated: 2/27/2026

Wheeler leads, but margin shrinks

Reigning Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year Jacob Wheeler remains entrenched in the No. 1 spot of the first 2026 edition of the BassFan World Rankings but his lead over his closest challenger has diminished since the end of the 2025 season.

Wheeler, who opened the Bass Pro Tour season with a pair of top-10 finishes, has 227.399 points, good enough for a roughly 15-point edge on Trey McKinney, who maintained his grasp on the No. 2 spot. The gap between the pair was nearly 23 points at the close of last year. McKinney kicked off his third year on the Bassmaster Elite Series with a 9th-place effort Lake Guntersville and a 20th at Lake Martin.

BPT pro Drew Gill remains in third, but he trails McKinney by just 2 1/2 points.

Zack Birge, another BPT competitor, improved five spots to fourth on the strength of six straight top-20 finishes, including a fourth-place showing in this year’s season opener. Elite Series pro Cory Johnston moved up three spots to fifth.

Kyoya Fujita dropped one spot to sixth while fellow Elite Series pro Jay Przekurat fell three spots to seventh. Spencer Shuffield made a 10-spot jump to eighth and Justin Lucas improved three slots to ninth. Cole Floyd slid four spots to 10th.

Two top-10s to open the BPT season helped Justin Cooper improve 17 spots to 11, less than a point behind Floyd.

Meanwhile, reigning Elite Series AOY Chris Johnston dropped five spots to 12th and Michael Neal went from 10th to 13th.

The biggest overall mover in this edition was Elite Series pro Dakota Ebare, who shot up 95 spots to 47th.