Story by Ken Duke | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
There is currently no prize for being the top rookie in the NPFL, but if anybody out there is interested in sponsoring such a thing, you’ll get plenty of exposure. It’s a great investment and marketing opportunity. Rookies have been a big part of the NPFL since its inaugural season in 2021, and they continue to be a compelling story in 2025.
Let’s start at the beginning. What is a rookie?
Well, for my analysis here, I decided that a rookie was an angler with less than half a season of fishing as a boater at “the highest level.” By that I mean, the Bassmaster Elite Series, the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour, the old FLW Tour, and the NPFL.
“Rookie” has nothing to do with age or earnings or anything else—only experience competing as a boater at the “tour level.” You could be 60 years old, fishing the NPFL for the first time after a career in plumbing and having fished only regional tournaments—or having fished the Elite Series as a co-angler—and you would be a “rookie.” You may have fished the Bassmaster Classic or the Redcrest or the Forrest Wood Cup as an amateur qualifier, but you could still be a “rookie.”
With that out of the way, I have a statistic that I think will surprise you.
Of the 280 anglers who have fished the NPFL, 180 of them were rookies. I know, because I checked … each and every one of them. It was tedious but ultimately revealing and — I hope — interesting.
In 2021, 74 of the 108 anglers who started the season were rookies. It 2022, it was 37 of 121. In 2023, it was 18 of 76. In 2024, it was 39 of 125. This year it’s 12 of 118.
That’s a lot of “rookies.” But just because we call them “rookies” doesn’t mean that they’re inexperienced or untalented. Many of those anglers are as good as anyone on the planet, and the NPFL gave and continues to give them a platform to prove it.
Seven rookies won NPFL events in their rookie season. Five of those wins came in the first season. John Soukup won twice. Brandon Perkins, Buck Mallory, and Taylor Watkins also won that year as rookies. Since then, rookie wins have been hard to come by. Gary Adkins did it in 2022, and Bailey Gay did it last year, but no other rookies have won in the NPFL.
One rookie standout managed to win the prestigious Progressive Angler of the Year Award. That was Gary Adkins in 2022. He was a 55-year-old rookie, but a rookie, nonetheless.
When I go back and retrofit my rookie definition and apply it to the AOY standings, I can tell you that the retro rookies of the year are as follows:
2021 Brandon Perkins 2nd in AOY
2022 Gary Adkins 1st in AOY
2023 Will Harkins 2nd in AOY
2024 Brock Bila 3rd in AOY
It’s a talented group … obviously.
This year’s rookies are still getting their bearings. None are off to a stellar start, but it’s early and all still have the potential to qualify for the 2026 NPFL Championship.
Here’s who they are and where they stand after two events:
Angler, Hometown AOY Rank
Keith Bardolf, Abbeville, AL 27
Derek Lehtonen, Woodruff, SC 34
Sean Alvarez, Anderson, SC 52
Stacey James, Campobello, SC 62
Chad Marler, Jasper, TX 67
Russ Simpson, Given, WV 95
Andrew Ready, Auburndale, FL 97
Austin Garland, Kernersville, NC 99
Tavin Napier, Harriman, TN 102
Kevin Madeley, Brookeland, TX 108
Jessie Ayers, Antlers, OK 113
Gary Bean, Chickamauga, GA 116
As the league adds talent, the challenge of excelling as a rookie gets tougher. These 12 anglers have their work “cut out for them.”
I’m rooting for them.
Who’s your pick for a breakout season?
