LSUS finishes No. 9 in School of the Year Standings, third straight top-10 finish

LSUS finishes No. 9 in School of the Year Standings, third straight top-10 finish

SHREVEPORT - For the third straight season, the LSU Shreveport Fishing Team can call itself one of the best in the nation.

The Pilots finished the campaign ranked No. 9 in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year Standings following the Association of Collegiate Anglers national championships in May.

The No. 9 ranking comes on the heels of a No. 6 finish in 2024 and No. 7 in 2025 in a sport that has no divisions based on college size.

The biggest difference from previous top finishes is that the program has undergone a changing of the guard, shifting from experienced anglers as part of coach Charles Thompson's early recruiting classes to the younger but extremely talented later recruiting classes.

"To have three top-10 finishes in the first (six years), that sends the message that we are performing the way we need to perform," Thompson said. "I can't be happier for these guys.

"Even through the tough times in the middle of the year, they stood up at the end of the year and fought back."

LSUS anglers typically put together strong finishes as late spring fishing tends to match the styles of fishermen who grew up on shallow water with plenty of grass and other cover.

The team rallied to score a host of points late in the season, which included a 13^th-place finish from junior Mason McCormick and freshman Colton Caskey at the ACA national championships on Pickwick Lake in northern Alabama.

The pair sat in fourth place after a huge first day, and the high ranking helped the program fend off other teams trying to crack the top-10 in the season standings.

Caskey is one of eight freshmen on this season's roster, part of a youth movement on a roster that does have a few experienced hands, including Caskey's partner McCormick.

"The freshmen had to adjust to so many things," Thompson said. "I can't imagine the tough times having to adjust to school, adjust to the high caliber of college fishing, and for some, adjusting away from home.

"Then the thought process of having to hold up to the tradition of being a top-10 team in the country as a freshman. It's a lot, but I'm really excited about our future."

All six of LSUS's boats finished in the top 100 of a 197-boat championship field, including No. 28 (Johnny Hudson and Triston Richardson) and four total in the top 65.

Richardson is a junior and Hudson a sophomore. Top finishers also included a freshmen pair in Carsen Adcock and Will Powell (No. 57).

These anglers were attracted to LSUS because of the initial surge of success, which included a 20^th-place finish in 2022 and 15^th-place standing in 2023 before the three top-10 showings.

While Thompson would say the leadership transition from the old guard who built the foundation hasn't been flawless, he saw a resilience this season that will help LSUS push further toward a top-five standing.

"They responded, and they never quit," said Thompson, who referenced a slow start to the spring season. "They stayed resilient and they closed strong.

"Even our four boats who weren't in the championships, they were asking to go just to watch and support. They wanted to be there, and that's the type of team they wanted to build."