Expanded Elite Series Field Will Feature 104 Anglers In 2023
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After a record-breaking 2022 Elite Series season that awarded eight Century Belts, crowned four first-time champions and garnered over 18.5 million views on FOX and the FOX Sports channels, B.A.S.S. announced the new expanded field for the 2023 Elite Series.
Next year, 104 anglers will compete for an Elite Series purse of over $6.9 million. Joining the ranks of the most prominent circuit in sportfishing are 12 qualifiers from the hotly contested St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by Mossy Oak Fishing, the TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation champion and legendary Bassmaster Classic champion and two-time Angler of the Year Larry Nixon.
“I can’t wait for the 2023 season to start and think the schedule sets up really well for big catches, big drama and big excitement,” said the Elite Series Tournament Director Lisa Talmadge. “The Elite Series field is absolutely stacked, and fans are going to love following their favorite anglers as well as meeting this talented crop of rookies. And the new guys in the field have such broad appeal to those who love bass fishing, from a true icon of the sport in former Classic and AOY champion Larry Nixon to Cole Sands, who won a College Series National Championship just two years ago.”
With the exception of four anglers who retired, the entire 2022 Elite roster is returning next year. This list of returning anglers includes 2022 Bassmaster Classic champion Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., who also claimed a blue trophy on Chickamauga Lake last season. Idaho pro Brandon Palaniuk took Progressive Insurance Bassmaster Angler of the Year honors — his second time to earn the coveted title — while Jay Przekurat of Stevens Point, Wis., earned a Century Belt with all smallmouth — a feat never before accomplished — to claim a victory on the St. Lawrence River en route to winning Falcon Rods Rookie of the Year.
FULL ANGLER LIST BELOW
