BIRMINGHAM — Grayson Morris and Tucker Smith, who have won back to back B.A.S.S. high school national championships, will be the first high school duo allowed to fish at the Bassmaster Classic.
The announcement was made in front of a raucous crowd in Briarwood Christian School’s (BCS) auditorium on Thursday morning. Smith recently graduated from BCS while Morris is still a student at the school. They were joined for the announcement by their boat captain J.T. Russell, who is a BCS alum.
Grayson Morris, who said he had been fishing since he was five years old, told the media that he “had no idea” when asked if he knew about today’s recognition from Bassmaster.
“When they made the announcement I was super surprised,” he added. “I can’t wait till March.”
In 2020, the Bassmaster Classic will be in Birmingham from March 6-8. It is the competition’s 50th anniversary. The fishing will take place on Lake Guntersville. Morris and Smith will be participating, but not as official competitors.
“I remember watching the Bassmaster Classic on TV when I was a little boy, and now I get to go out there and do that,” Morris happily told Yellowhammer News.
Academy Sports and Outdoors is giving the duo’s boat a new coat of paint for the special occasion.
“I think it looks good. It will look good out there at the Bassmaster Classic,” he said of the freshly-painted boat.
“To be the first high schooler’s, that’s a great honor,” Smith told reporters after the event. He also thanked his coaches for making everything possible.
“It’s going to be crazy to fish against those guys,” he said of the anglers he will be sharing a lake with come March.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.
