HICKORY, N.C. — The Catawba Valley Community College bass fishing team has signed Vermont product Brendan Vinton to its 2022-23 recruiting class.

"I am very excited and thankful to be heading to CVCC as a member of their bass team," Vinton said. "Lake Champlain is one of the best fisheries in the country, but having the opportunity to fish year-round and sharpen my southern fishing skills is so exciting. I'm not even in North Carolina yet and my coaches — Angela and John Mayo — treat me so well and like I'm already part of the team."

Vinton leaves Randolph Union/Randolph Technical Career Center as one of the most successful athletes at the Vermont state level. His four years of fishing at Randolph Union banner in the Vermont Principals' Association (VPA) state championships were nothing short of exceptional.

During his senior year, Vinton led Randolph Union to a third-place state championship finish, and as a freshman and junior, he helped lead his school to a pair of state runner-up titles.

These accomplishments were overshadowed, however, by his sophomore year — when his boat finished as state champion.

Outside of his time fishing for Randolph Union, Vinton has a number of impressive accomplishments, including being named the 2020 Champlain Bass Series High School Angler of the Year, earning a spot on the 2021 and 2022 Bassmaster All-State Fishing Teams and winning the 2022 Eastern Division Co-Angler Championship.

He also has a first-place finish in the 2021 The Bass Federation (TBF) Youth Angler Federation Sate Championship, and he is the first high schooler to ever make Day 3 of the TBF National Championship.

CVCC bass fishing head coach Angela Mayo is excited to add an angler of Vinton's talents to her roster.

"I am looking forward to having Brendan be a part of our fishing program here at Catawba Valley Community College," Mayo said. "We have worked hard to become one of the top programs in the country and signing an angler like Brendan is a testament to that hard work and dedication. Brendan has had an outstanding high school career, and I am anxious to see him perform at the collegiate level. Having grown up fishing northern lakes for smallmouth bass, Brendan will bring a unique set of skills to the team that anglers from our area don't have."

Vinton joins Tennessee product Zeb Roberts as a member of the Catawba Valley Community College bass fishing team's 2022-23 recruiting class.

For more information about the Catawba Valley Community College bass fishing team, please visit www.gocvcc.com/sports/fishing or contact Mayo at amayo095@cvcc.edu.