B.A.S.S. announces field for Opens EQ division

B.A.S.S. announced today that more than 150 anglers have signed up for the 2024 Bassmaster Open Elite Qualifiers division, which requires competitors to fish all nine events in an attempts to gain one of nine spots on the 2025 Elite Series.

“The field just keeps getting tougher and more impressive for the EQs,” said Chris Bowes, vice president of tournaments for B.A.S.S. “That’s the way it should be for a trail that is the proving ground for the Bassmaster Elite Series. When anglers survive the grind of fishing nine tournaments against this roster, they can feel confident they’re ready for a shot at the top level of professional bass fishing.”

Like last year, the field is a.mix of established stars and up-and-coming young talent.

Among the notables are three current Japanese Elite Series pros – Kyoya Fujita, Kenta Kimura and Masayuki Matsushita. In 2023, Fujita claimed an Elite Series win at Lake Champlain as well as four other Top 10 finishes, while Kimura earned three Top 10s and finished fifth in the Opens EQ points standings.

Mississippi pro Cliff Pace, winner of the 2013 Bassmaster Classic, will join this year’s EQs lineup, along with four-time B.A.S.S. winner Randall Tharp. Other former Elite Series pros in the field will include Darold Gleason, Chad Grigsby, Brett Hite, Charlie Hartley, Mike McClelland, Ish Monroe, James Niggemeyer, Garrett Paquette, Russ Lane, Gary Clouse, Yusuke Miyazaki, Casey Scanlon and Shane Lineberger.

Other recognizable names in the field include Idaho pro Cody Meyer, a former FLW Tour angler with more than $1.4 million in career earnings, and Alabama pro Joey Nania, who won his second Open at Lake Eufaula, Okla., in 2023 – and qualified for his second Classic – before finishing 18th in the EQ standings, less than 100 points from an Elite berth.

With the schedule still split into three divisions, winners of all Opens will still earn a spot in the 2025 Classic, provided they fish all three events in that division.

Registration for both boaters and nonboaters remains open for all 2024 Bassmaster Opens tournaments at www.Bassmaster.com/Opens.

The complete Elite Qualifiers field is as follows:

Alabama
Matthew Adams, Oxford
Josh Butler, Hayden
Cody Detweiler, Guntersville
Jacopo Gallelli, Horton
Sam George, Athens
Laker Howell, Guntersville
Connor Jacob, Auburn
Logan Johnson, Jasper
Russ Lane, Prattville
Andrew Loberg, Grant
Joey Nania, Cropwell
Tripp Noojin, Bryant
Tucker Smith, White
Trey Swindle, Cleveland
Brady Vernon, Sterrett
Garrett Warren, Hoover

Arizona
Tai Au, Glendale
Brett Hite, Phoenix

Arkansas
Greg Bohannan, Bentonville
Beau Browning, Hot Springs National Park
Scout Echols, Monticello

California
Seiji Kato, Los Alamitos
Ish Monroe, Oakdale
Christian Ostrander, Turlock

Colorado
Ty Faber, Pagosa Springs

Florida
Bobby Bakewell, Orlando
Tommy Dunaway, Havana
Tim Frederick, Leesburg
Teb Jones, Yalaha
Scott Kerslake, Okeechobee
Chris Kingree, Inverness
Clint Leonard, Saint Cloud
Brandon McMillan, Clewiston
Blake Smith, Lakeland
Mike Surman, Boca Raton
Jackson Swisher, Lake City
Randall Tharp, Port St. Joe

Georgia
Allen Armour, Cumming
Elijah Benson, Dawsonville
Tony Dumitras, Winston
Paul Marks, Cumming
Cody Stahl, Barnsville
Emil Wagner, Marietta
Kelvin Wilcox, Hazlehurst

Idaho
Cody Meyer, Eagle
Brent Shores, Boise

Illinois
Richard Lowitzki, Hampshire
Trevor McKinney, Noble
Ryan Partake, Marseilles
Bart Stanisz, Chicago

Indiana
Billy McDonald, Greenwood
John Voyles, Petersburg

Iowa
Chancy Walters, West Des Moines

Kentucky
Chris Beaudrie, Princeton
Lafe Messer, Warfield
Matt Messer, Warfield
Dalton Smith, Taylorsville

Louisiana
Darold Gleason, Many
Alex Heintze, Denham Springs
Alex Murray, Lake Charles
Clark Reehm, Elm Grove

Maryland
Brian Mullaney, Ijamsville

Michigan
Chris Hellebuyck, White Lake
Garrett Paquette, Canton
Bo Thomas, Edwardsburg

Minnesota
Easton Fothergill, Grand Rapids
Chad Grigsby, Maple Grove
Brad Leuthner, Victoria
Jim Moynagh, Shakopee
Nathan Thompson, Eagan
Keith Tuma, Brainerd

Mississippi
Keith Brumfield, Vicksburg
Brett Cannon, Kiln
Cliff Pace, Ovett

Missouri
Mike McClelland, Blue Eye
Andy Newcomb, Camdenton
Casey Scanlon, Eldon
Trey Schroeder, Theodosia
Joe Wieberg, Freeburg
Zachry Williams, Shell Knob

Nebraska
Brock Belik, Orchard

Nevada
Cody Steckel, Las Vegas

New York
Billy Gilbert, Hamburg
Zach Goutremout, Chaumont
Phillip Kroll, Otego

North Carolina
Shane Lineberger, Lincolnton
Brayden Rakes, Winston-Salem

Ohio
Charlie Hartley, Grove City
Richard Kaluba, Litchfield
Kyle Weisenburger, Columbus Grove

Oklahoma
Austin Cranford, Norman
Kollin Crawford, Broken Bow
Lance Crawford, Broken Bow
Allan Nail, Sand Springs
Matt Pangrac, Shawnee

Pennsylvania
Jonathan Dietz, Corry
Derrick Sadlowski, Monaca

South Carolina
Sean Anderson, Leesville
Kyle Austin, Ridgeville
Chris Blanchette, Edisto Island
Sean Clayton, Clover
Cole Drummond, Effingham
Derek Lehtonen, Woodruff
Lance Owen, Greer
Jacob Thompkins, Myrtle Beach
Tucker Veronee, Gilbert
Avery Williams, Murrells Inlet

Tennessee
Jason Abram, Piney Flats
Miles Burghoff, Dayton
Gary Clouse, Winchester
Sam Hanggi, Knoxville
Jason Lambert, Savannah
Tristan McCormick, Burns
Freddy Palmer, Estill Springs
Kyle Palmer, Winchester
Jimmy Washam, Stantonville

Texas
Jason Borofka, Lavon
Paul Browning, Monahans
Caden Cowan, Stephenville
Kevin Dritschler, Prosper
Bryan Finch, Belton
Joey Hanna, Corsicana
Andrew Hargrove, Moody
Andrew Harp, Linden
Scott Isaacs, Ladonia
Dylan Mayo, Athens
Mike Mayo, Athens
Mike Mitchell, Seven Points
Yusuke Miyazaki, Forney
James Niggemeyer, Van
Danny Ramsey, Trinidad
Blake Schroeder, Whitehouse
Jack Tindel III, Orange
Tim Tyndell, Mineola
Andrew Upshaw, Hemphill
Wyatt Wimberley, Broaddus
Jack York, Emory

Virginia
Chase Clarke, Virginia Beach
Jack Dice, Lynchburg
Jeremy Radford, Huntly

Wisconsin
Andrew Behnke, Fond du Lac
Jacob Bigelow, Cecil
Bailey Bleser, Burlington
Brian Post, Janesville
Adam Rasmussen, Sturgeon Bay
Nick Trim, Galesville
Josh Wiesner, Fond du Lac

Canada
Paul Bouvier, Kingston
Evan Kung, Pickering
Danny McGarry, Newcastle

Japan
Yui Aoki, Minamitsurugun
Kyoya Fujita, Yamanashi
Kenta Kimura, Hirakata Osaka
Daisuke Kita, Otsu Shiga
Masayuki Matsushita, Tokoname-Aichi

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