Bradley Roy’s 12th Annual High School Open Results
4 weeks ago by Chris Munchow
Modified Oct 11th, 2024 at 2:18 PM
The 2024 Bradley Roy High School Open, presented by Railblaza, was one of several firsts in the
tournament’s twelve-year history. The Top 5 from Saturday fished a completely unknown
mystery lake on Sunday, finishing in the exact same order. The first repeat winner was also
crowned this year.
145 high school teams and 46 junior teams (6-8th grade) competed on October 5th at Lake
Cumberland in Jamestown, KY, and the top five fished at Mill Creek Lake in Tompkinsville, KY, the
following day.
The tournament is an officially sanctioned high school event by the Kentucky Bass Nation. 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(1st) and Brandon Smith and Phoenix
Parks of Park Hill Athletic Club (2nd).
The winning team weighed a bag of five fish totaling 14.15 pounds, while the runners-up weighed
five fish for 11.50 pounds.
3rd place – Kyler Claunch/Riley Preston – Boyle County HS: 11.09
4th place – Landon Pierce/Eli Childers – Casey County HS: 8.53
5th place – Tyce Flaker/Carson Knopf – St. Xavier HS: 8.20
Dawson and Austin Carrico of Thomas Nelson HS team caught the Railblaza Big Bass, weighing
4.41 pounds.
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.
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 and 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.
“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 ten anglers in the field.”
Each team was assigned boat officials trained by Roy and provided two sets of MLF-supplied
scales. Teams were given fifteen minutes to scout around the 99-acre, electric motor-only lake.
Roy streamed commentary on his Facebook page as he covered the action. The teams fished two
2.5-hour sessions, with a fifteen-minute break in between.
On Sunday, Kentucky Christian University and Campbellsville University offered four-year
scholarships to teams in the Top Five. The potential scholarships totaled over $700,000.
On Sunday, Smith/Wheeldon and Smith/Parks earned berths 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, Grundens, 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
Media contact: J.D. Blackburn | [email protected] | (615) 479-7991
For complete tournament results, visit https://kybassnation.org/tournament-results/
For more information on Bradley Roy, visit www.BradleyRoy.com.