Highland Park Bass Team Wins Texas State Championship

Diligence, teamwork and attention to detail delivered the highest reward to the Highland Park Bass Team when they won the Texas High School Bass Association State Championship on Lake Conroe to cap off a 7-0 2024-25 tournament season.

The two-day championship event included 182 teams from more than 100 schools, with every participating team having qualified through five regular season events and then through regional championships held across the state. Highland Park, which had four qualifying teams in the championship, had a winning margin of nearly 9 pounds (based on two-day weights of its top three teams), and two HP Teams finished in the top four. For comparison, no other school had more than one team in the top 20.

“Time spent on the water,” said HP senior Cullum Brown when asked about factors that contributed to Highland Park’s unparalleled success in the largest high school tournament organization in Texas. Brown, who, with his partner Dylan Sorrells, weighed 43 pounds, 3 ounces for third place overall, said that when he is out practicing, he ALWAYS sees other HP anglers doing likewise.

“There is also a great sense of community,” Brown said, noting that he can always count on other team members to share the things they’ve learned, with everyone working together toward make good decisions on the water.

Data-based decisions that won’t be swayed by emotions when things do not go as planned are central the HP Bass Team approach, and such decisions are impossible without dedicated, systematic practice time and outstanding teamwork to compile the best data.

That approach puts HP teams at or near the top of the leaderboard, tournament after tournament, even with fields of more than 200 boats, and helped deliver the state championship victory.

Each HP team had a specific game plan for the championship and adapted based on conditions and what the fish revealed. For Brown and Sorrells the plan involved brushpiles on hard spots and a combination of crankbaits and Carolina rigs, with the Carolina rigs becoming primary on day two.

“They don’t just find spots,” said parent advisor Scott Schoenvogel about the team members’ practice approach. “They know the exact angle and distance from a spot required to fish it effectively. That attention to detail has created a high level of consistency this year.”

Schoenvogel pointed toward a culture of learning, practice and dedication that has been instilled by anglers’ parents who are heavily involved with the team and reenforced through the example of the team’s senior leadership.

Ryan Brown, one of those referenced parents, and a past parent advisor for the bass team, said that the families of all the anglers are the unsung heroes in HP’s success, noting that it takes tremendous support in the form of time, resources and encouragement for team members to perform at the highest level.

Another aspect of the HP culture that has made a critical impact throughout the season is a commitment to remaining focused until the absolute end of every competition day, no matter how things have gone. Diligence has produced several final-hour fish that have been difference-makers throughout the season.

A perfect example occurred late in the championship. Myles Vineyard, who fished solo and finished fourth among all teams with 39.93 pounds, struggled to get quality bites on Day 2 and had only four keepers with15 minutes of fishing time remaining. He remained focused and stuck with his plan, though, and ended up catching an 8.7-pound bass on his final cast to anchor a 22-pound limit.

Highland Park Bass Team members qualifying for and competing in the Texas State Championship were Dylan Sorrells and Cullum Brown, Myles Vinyard, Miller Rosamond and Lee Wagner, and Ryan Segulyev.l

Notably, Dylan Sorrells has earned a fishing team scholarship at the University of Montevallo based on his high level of performance at the high school level.

Find the HP State Championship Team on Instagram

Cullum Brown - @cullumbfishing

Dylan Sorrells - @sorrellsdylan

Myles Vinyard - @myles_vinyard_fishing

Ryan Segulyev - @ryan_segul

Miller Rosamond - @miller_rosamond_

Lee Wagner - @leewagner155