The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

Lamar State College Orange's first-year fishing team is No. 1 in the national Bass Pro Shops 2020-21 national rankings issued this week.

The rankings are based on points awarded for high finishes. The Gators' high standing comes as a result of high finishes in two of the four tournaments held in July, the 2020 FLW Southern held at Fort Gibson Lake in Oklahoma and the 2020 FLW Northern on Lake Erie.

"That's not just junior colleges. That's all the two- and four-year schools in the country, the Division III, Division II and Division I schools," an excited Dr. Tom Johnson, LSCO's president, said. "How often is it that somebody from around here is ranked No. 1 in the nation?"

Ohio State University, a school accustomed to No. 1 ranking in college football polls, is No. 20 in fishing.

Second, third, fourth and fifth place in the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Fishing rankings are Adrian College, Lawrence Technical Institute, Central Michigan and Grand Valley State, all located in Michigan and all having participated in three tournaments held in Michigan in July and August.

Oklahoma State and Bowling Green are tied for sixth with Texas A&M-Galveston eighth, Rogers State University of Oklahoma ninth and Kent State University of Ohio is 10th.

Angelo State, Texas A&M Commerce, East Texas Baptist University, Texas State University, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Kilgore College and Stephen F. Austin State are other Texas schools that rank in the top 25. LSCO is the only Texas school ranked that fished in any tournament other than the summer opener in Oklahoma.