2026 MoYak Elite AOY Mid-Season Report

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by MoYak Fishing Series
2026 Elite AOY Mid-Season Report

Wide Open at the Turn

Four events are in the books. Three remain. And with two drops still coming, the 2026 MoYak Elite Angler of the Year race is nowhere close to settled.

After Lake of the Ozarks, Mark Twain, Table Rock, and Stockton
With Truman, Bull Shoals, and Pomme de Terre still ahead, the leaderboard tells only part of the story. Some anglers have already absorbed a bad finish. Others still have their worst days waiting. And a few sitting outside the Top 20 are much closer than they appear because they have already taken a zero or missed event.

The Four-Horse Race at the Top

1st Overall

Micah Funderburgh — 1,475.75

Micah has been the model of consistency. No finish below 323 points. No disasters. No obvious weakness.

364.50
376.50
411.00
323.75

The scary part? He has not needed a win. He is simply stacking high finishes every stop.

2nd Overall

Tyler Alexander — 1,457.50

Tyler may be the most dangerous angler in the field. His lowest finish is 343.50, and he has avoided the kind of bad day that ruins an AOY campaign.

379.00
390.50
344.50
343.50

Only 18.25 points separate first and second. That is basically one good fish.

3rd Overall

Richie McMichael — 1,441.75

Richie has quietly done what AOY contenders do: show up everywhere and stay near the top.

359.50
383.75
337.75
360.75

Four events. Four strong finishes. He looks remarkably stable.

4th Overall

Chad Davison — 1,432.75

Chad might have the highest ceiling of anyone in the top group.

299.75
346.25
393.75
393.00

After a decent opener, he has been on an absolute tear. If you are looking for momentum entering Truman, it is Chad.

The Sleeper Contender

5th Overall

Johnathan Dominguez — 1,346.75

The standings say he is almost 130 points out. The scores say something different.

386.75
341.50
320.75
297.75

If he puts together a Top-5 run over the final three events, he can erase a lot of that gap once drops start coming into play.

Biggest Movers

Spencer O’Neal

Spencer started the year with a rough 259-point finish at Lake of the Ozarks. Since then, he has climbed back into the Top 6.

259.00
359.25
331.25
387.50

That is one of the strongest recovery stories of the season.

Eric Easter

After a middle-of-the-pack Mark Twain result, Eric responded with a strong Stockton performance.

333.00
306.50
295.25
380.00

Stockton may have saved his AOY season.

Adam Denningmann

Adam’s season has been a roller coaster, but Table Rock proved he has winning-level upside.

263.75
304.00
387.25
291.00

Dangerous Anglers Outside the Top 20

Troy Enke

Current AOY: 971.00

355.50
336.25
Missed Table Rock
279.25

The missed event is dragging him down now, but because AOY uses drops, he already has one of his two throwaway scores accounted for. Three strong finishes could move him quickly.

Noah Whitten

Noah has already taken a hit that will eventually be dropped.

261.00
333.25
376.25
Missed Stockton

He is a legitimate dark horse for a huge second-half climb.

Trevor Motzkus

Three scores over 314 points despite missing Mark Twain. He is much closer than his ranking suggests.

Jared Fosnow

This may be the most misleading ranking on the board.

191.00
372.25

If he fishes the final three tournaments and posts strong finishes, he could leapfrog dozens of anglers.

The “What Happened?” Category

Mike Keafer

Opened with a tournament-best 402.50, then followed with a zero, 314.00, and 173.75.

That is the highest peak and one of the most volatile seasons in the field.

Joe Walters

Started with 369.50 but followed with 211.25, 297.25, and a missed Stockton event.

Still dangerous if he gets hot.

Randy Hoehn

Opened with 322.25 and has been fighting uphill since. One good tournament could move him twenty-plus spots.

Rookie Watch

Roger Daegele

The highest rookie on the board and firmly inside the AOY conversation.

Andrew Fallert

A Stockton rebound kept him in striking distance.

Ethan Dague

A huge 355.75 at Stockton shows serious potential.

If Rookie of the Year were awarded today, Roger Daegele appears to have the inside track.

What Truman Could Mean

Truman feels like the pivot point of the season.

  • Only Bull Shoals and Pomme remain after Truman.
  • Anglers will start calculating drops.
  • The leaderboard will compress.
  • Every missed event becomes magnified.

The leader today is Micah Funderburgh, but the real story is that nobody has separated. The gap from 1st to 4th is only 43 points. One tournament win can erase that in a single day.

Mid-Season Prediction

Tier 1: AOY Favorites

  1. Micah Funderburgh
  2. Tyler Alexander
  3. Chad Davison
  4. Richie McMichael

Tier 2: Need a Big Truman Finish

  • Johnathan Dominguez
  • Spencer O’Neal
  • Zach Woolverton
  • Eric Easter

Tier 3: Dangerous Dark Horses

  • Troy Enke
  • Noah Whitten
  • Trevor Motzkus
  • Jared Fosnow
Micah Funderburgh owns the lead, but Chad Davison owns the momentum. Tyler Alexander and Richie McMichael remain right in the middle of the fight, and the drop-score format means several anglers lurking outside the Top 20 are far closer to contention than the standings suggest.

With three tournaments left and two drops still to come, this AOY race is far from settled.