Chestnut Ridge senior to join Adrian College's bass fishing team
NEW PARIS, Pa. – Chestnut Ridge High School senior Alexander Fitzpatrick's resume of accomplishments is lengthy while participating in bass fishing.
His performances while fishing over his career lended to college coaches gaining interest in his services throughout the recruitment process.
Fitzpatrick officially committed to Adrian College, one of the top bass fishing teams in the country, Tuesday afternoon.
"One of the key points is I feel like they're the best-funded team," Fitzpatrick said. "The kids are nice on the team.
"That's another big thing.
"It's just a nice school."
Adrian College is located in Michigan. Coach Seth Borton started the program in 2015.
The Bulldogs' roster is made up of natives from California, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Adrian competes at the varsity level in a sport that is typically club-based. The Bulldogs compete in Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Series. Adrian finished as the 2024 national champions and ended up in the 10 for the past seven years.
The Bulldogs finished as the 2019 school of the year and won the 2026 Lake Seminole Major League Fishing event.
The Bulldogs compete in tournaments across the southeast portion of the United States in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee.
"That's one of my favorite things," Fitzpatrick said. "They travel the country, being able to fish in different places like that. It's like a dream."
Fitzpatrick will major in cybersecurity. He will room with future teammate and Northern Cambria senior Parker Shutty at Adrian. Fitzpatrick and Shutty both compete for Patton Bass Club.
"We fish on the same club at Patton Bass Club," Fitzpatrick said of Shutty.
"I know him pretty well."
Fitzpatrick remembers his time fishing very fondly.
"I started fishing in tournament bass fishing with my dad when I was probably like 12," Fitzpatrick said. "We made a team with a kid from the Breezewood area. We started fishing in different tournaments and ended up winning a couple. It kind of clicked from there."
Competing on a body of water fuels Fitzpatrick, who uses a LiveScope and 360 imaging to detect fish.
"I just like the competitive part," Fitzpatrick said. "It's kind of weird with two people just trying to compete instead of a big team like track with 30 kids."
Tournaments usually have a five-fish limit and the winner is determined by the collective weight.
Fitzpatrick has a 3.8 grade-point average and is a member of the National Honor Society at Chestnut Ridge. He finished first at the 2025 Bass Nation state qualifier and took second at the Bass Nation Division 3 Rivers event in Pittsburgh. Fitzpatrick also picked up first-place finishes in the 2023 and 2024 Pennsylvania Bass Nation state qualifier and Central Division events, 2022 Pennsylvania Bass Nation Junior State Championship and 2021 Pennsylvania Bass Nation Last Chance Tournament at Shawnee Lake.
In 2023, he placed seventh in a 106-boat field.
Fitzpatrick is the son of John and Tracy Fitzpatrick.
Jake Oswalt is a copy editor for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @TheWizOfOz11.
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