Kevin VanDam (born October 14, 1967), often called simply "KVD," is a professional bass fisherman from

Otsego, Michigan Otsego is a city in Allegan County, Michigan, Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,120 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is within Otsego Township, Michigan, Otsego Township, but is administrat ...

. He is the all-time money winner in professional bass fishing, having earned $7,089,388 through August 2022 according to Major League Fishing. He has captured four

Bassmaster Classic The Bassmaster Classic (known as the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic for sponsorship reasons) is a tournament in the sport of professional bass fishing, organized by the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society. It was first held in 1971 on Lake Mead, N ...

titles (2001, 2005, 2010, 2011), seven Toyota Tundra Angler of Year titles (1992, ‘96, ‘99, ‘08, ‘09, '10, '11) and was also the FLW Angler of the Year in 2001. VanDam has predominantly fished the

Bass Anglers Sportsman Society The Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (B.A.S.S.) is a fishing membership organization with more than a half a million members. It is geared toward bass fishermen, mainly in the United States but with members located worldwide. The society publishe ...

(BASS) Bassmasters tournament series during his career but was also a founding member of

Major League Fishing Major League Fishing (MLF) is a professional bass fishing league and sports television show that airs on Outdoor Channel, World Fishing Network and Discovery Channel. The league's headquarters are located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The MLF was establish ...

Career

VanDam began his career in 1990 at the age of 23. In 1992, he became the youngest person to win the BASS Angler of the Year title, at age 25. He and Rick Clunn are the only anglers to have won four

titles. His 25 career BASS tournament series wins are the most career wins on the Bassmasters tournament trail. His win of the Bassmaster Elite at Grand Lake on April 29, 2018, marked his 25th Elite Series victory. Vandam also has 111 top 10 finishes, 173 top 20 finishes, and 214 top 30 finishes through July 23, 2017. VanDam was honored with the first-ever Outdoorsman of the Year

ESPY Award The ESPY Awards (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, and often referred to as the ESPYs) is an annual American awards show produced by ESPN since 1993, recognizing individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-r ...

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

in 2002. VanDam is sponsored on the BASS Bassmasters tournament trail by Busch Beer, Nitro, Mercury Marine,

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

, Strike King, Mustad, Plano, MinnKota, Lew's,

Bass Pro Shops BPS Direct, LLC, trade name, doing business as Bass Pro Shops, is an American privately held sporting goods retailer that offers hunting, fishing, camping, and other related outdoor recreation equipment, marine manufacturing and sales, and outd ...

, Humminbird, Oakley, D&R Sports, Hydrowave, and RMR Industries. In February 2023 VanDam announced his intention to retire from tournament fishing at the end of the 2023 Bass Pro Tour season.

Stats

* 3 Major League Fishing Cup * 4 Bassmaster Classic Titles * 8 Angler of the Year Titles ( 7 B.A.S.S., 1 FLW) *Career winnings: more than $6,300,000 (B.A.S.S. and FLW) *Career Top Ten finishes: 111 *Times in the BASSMASTER Classic: 26 *Tournaments Won: 25 (B.A.S.S.) *Tournaments Runner-Up: 16

Personal life

Born in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

, and graduated from Otsego High School, VanDam still resides there with his wife, Sherry, and sons Jackson and Nicholas.

References

External links

Official WebsiteAnglers' Legacy featureBass Fan bio
(extensive stats)
Kevin VanDam CATT/Outdoor Alliance Fishing seminarThe Woman Behind the Man
(ESPN story)
Bassmaster.com profile
*(http://www.outdoors365tv.com)
Kevin VanDam Announces Final Season Of Tournament Fishing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vandam, Kevin 1967 births Living people Sportspeople from Michigan American fishermen