On October 5, 145 high school teams (9-12 grade) and 46 junior teams (6-8 grade) competed at Lake Cumberland in Jamestown, KY in the 2024 Bradley Roy High School Open, presented by Railblaza. This tournament showcased several firsts in the tournament’s 12-year history. The Top 5 from Saturday fished a completely unknown-to-them mystery lake on Sunday; they also finished in the exact same order. Additionally, the first repeat winner was also crowned this year. The tournament is an officially sanctioned high school event by the Kentucky Bass Nation.
SATURDAY OCTOBER 5
Two spots in the 2025 High School National Championship were awarded to Saturday’s top finishers: Zavian Smith and Hagan Wheeldon of Lake Cumberland Bass (first) and Brandon Smith and Phoenix Parks of Park Hill Athletic Club (second). Zavian Smith also won the 2022 Bradley Roy HS Open, making him the first angler to repeat as champion. In 2022 he fished without a partner.
The winning team (Zavian Smith/Hagan Wheeldon) weighed a bag of five fish totaling 14.15 pounds, while the runners-up (Brandon Smith/Phoenix Parks) weighed five fish for 11.50 pounds.
- Third place – Kyler Claunch/Riley Preston – Boyle County HS: 11.09 pound bag
- Fourth place – Landon Pierce/Eli Childers – Casey County HS: 8.53 pound bag
- Fifth place – Tyce Flaker/Carson Knopf – St. Xavier HS: 8.20 pound bag
Dawson and Austin Carrico of Thomas Nelson HS team caught the Railblaza Big Bass, weighing 4.41 pounds.
SUNDAY OCTOBER 6
Roy, a five-year veteran of the Bass Pro Tour, convened the top five teams at the Riverside Inn in Jamestown at 4:30 CDT on Sunday morning. He led a convoy southwest, passing famed Dale Hollow Lake on the way. The teams didn’t know their destination until they arrived at Mill Creek Lake in Tompkinsville, KY.
“I wanted to mix things up for the mystery lake this year. I did my research, talked to Kentucky Fisheries staff members, and took a successful scouting trip to Mill Creek Lake a few weeks ago,” said Roy. “It was fun watching these high school anglers tackle a new lake, knowing it was a first for all 10 anglers in the field.”
Each team were assigned boat officials trained by Roy and provided two sets of MLF-supplied scales. Teams were given 15 minutes to scout around the 99-acre, electric motor-only lake. The teams fished two 2.5-hour sessions, with a 15-minute break in between. Roy streamed commentary on his Facebook page as he covered the action.
Kentucky Christian University and Campbellsville University offered four-year scholarships to teams in the Top Five. The potential scholarships totaled over $700,000. Smith/Wheeldon and Smith/Parks earned spots in the 2025 High School National Championships.
Significant general scholarships and prizes for all teams were made possible by First Southern National Bank, Lowrance, City of Jamestown, Angler’s Outpost & Marine, Farmers National Bank, Land Big Fish, Lexington Ice Center, Gumm Concrete, Sun Tropic Outdoors, Dominator Performance Reel Tuning, Whitaker Bank, Bob Allen Motor Mall, Neat Companies, Ark Fishing, Bass Pro Shops, Railblaza, Grundéns, Solar Bat, Triton, Mercury, and D&L Tackle.
“I want to thank everyone who helped us pull this tournament off for the twelfth consecutive year. If you have ever run a tournament, you know the work involved,” said Roy. “We have an awesome staff, family and sponsors. Even though this tournament has my name on it, I am just a small part and none of this happens without them.”
For a video of the event, visit: https://youtu.be/MdlWJ8AdCN4?si=q6bqCLneJdMcL5ua
For complete tournament results, visit https://kybassnation.org/tournament-results/
For more information on Bradley Roy, visit www.BradleyRoy.com.
