Wabash Valley College Bass Coach, Todd Gill, is excited to announce the signing of Cooper Lobek for the 2025–2026 collegiate bass season. Lobek signed on Saturday, November 2nd at the Salem High School Bass Bingo Night in Salem, Illinois.
Cooper is the son of Pat and Kristi Lobek of Salem, Illinois. He is a senior at Salem Community High School and fishes on the ICASSTT series, the IHSA series, and the Major League Fishing High School series. Lobek has two top five finishes and has qualified for state three times on the ICASSTT series. Cooper started fishing at a young age with his Dad and began fishing competitively his freshman year. His goals for fishing in college include expanding his horizons as an angler. He hopes to compete in multiple events with the ultimate goal of winning. He also desires to help keep the Wabash Valley College Bass Team in the top 10 for School of the Year and to help promote the WVC Fishing Team and its sponsors. Cooper's planned major is ag business. His favorite lake to fish on is Lake Guntersville. Outside of fishing, Lobek enjoys playing football, baseball, and wrestling. He also enjoys hunting, golfing, and hanging out with friends in his free time. Cooper would like to thank his Dad for getting him in to fishing; he is the one who took him fishing at a very young age and helped cultivate his love for fishing. He has been blessed to have his Dad as his boat captain for three years now. Cooper also wanted to thank David Snow, James Sager, and Hunter Russell for helping him with tips and tricks, and Coach Mike Russell who has done so much for everyone on the Salem Bass Fishing Team. He also wanted to thank his Mom for being helpful and supportive of his journey; he wouldn't be where he is today without having that support from his Mom and Dad. Lobek is excited about his opportunity to be a part of the Wabash Valley College Bass Team.
Those interested in learning more about the Wabash Valley College Bass Team can visit www.wvcwarriorathletics.com, click on Club Teams and select Bass Fishing. High school juniors and seniors that have an interest in a campus visit can fill out the recruiting questionnaire and Coach Gill will contact them to discuss the team and schedule a campus visit. You can also keep up with WVC Bass Team news by following them on Facebook @WVC Bass Team and on Instagram @wvcbassteam.
