Written by Brady Turner, staff writer
DAYTON, TN – The Bryan College fishing team, called The Bryan Anglers, was started in the 2014-15 school year. Over their short seven years of existing, the team has had great success. They have won three national championships and have been named Cabala’s school of the year in 2017.
When explaining how talented the team is, Michael Keen, the head fishing coach at Bryan said, “When we take the water in a bass master tournament, they cut off the limit at 250 boats. That is 500 guys on the water. When you can finish in the top 10 that’s pretty good.”
The Bryan Anglers, as of right now, have six boats in the MLF (Major League Fishing) National Championship and two boats in the Bassmaster National Championship.
To get to these National Championships, a boat has to finish in top so many to qualify for that trail’s National Championship. Then they must fish in that National Championship against all other anglers of that lake.
There are no divisions in college fishing. Bryan College is up against all teams in the country whether it be Division 1 big named schools or other small colleges just like Bryan.
Keen shared a story about the team going to Clemson’s lake to compete. He was told, “You know you guys are fishing for second place? Clemson has this one in the bag.”
Keen said he replied with, “Well that’s nice to know.”
Keen shared the results of that tournament saying, “Not only did we win, but we beat Clemson by 3 or 4 pounds.”
As mentioned earlier, there are no divisions on the water, which makes The Bryan Angler’s 9th in the country ranking even more amazing.
Keen says, “The folks in the fishing community have a lot of respect for Bryan College.”
