2016 World Champion Cooper Davis Announces Retirement From Unleash the Beast
By Darci Miller
Davis, who joins the CBS booth for the 2024 Unleash The Beast season, will continue riding for the Carolina Cowboys in PBR Teams.
PUEBLO, Colo. – Earlier this week, 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis announced a new direction for his career.
Having achieved everything possible for an individual, he is retiring from the Unleash The Beast to focus on winning a PBR Camping World Team Series Championship with the Carolina Cowboys.
“I have been blessed with a career beyond my wildest dreams,” Davis posted on Instagram. “I was able to rodeo with some of my heroes & best friends, making the NFR 1x, winning rookie of the year in the PRCA, going to the PBR Finals 8x, winning the Finals my rookie year, and a World Champion in 2016. The only thing left to accomplish is to win a PBR Teams Championship, which is why I’ve made the decision to designate the rest of my riding career to just riding in the PBR Team Series. I want to be able to give my team 100% and feel that it will extend my riding career several more years.”
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It’s a shocking announcement from Davis, a perennial world title contender who’s finished outside of the Top 10 just once since 2015 (2022, when he competed in just four premier series events due to a broken neck). He was ranked No. 9 in 2023 with two event wins.
Still just 29 years old, Davis has 297 career premier series rides, 37 of which were for 90 points or more, and 13 event wins, including the 2015 PBR World Finals. His highest-scoring ride – 94 points on Chiseled – came in 2021, when Davis finished No. 3 in the world standings. In fact, seven of his nine highest-scoring rides have come since 2020.
Davis, however, has been frank about the toll the demanding PBR schedule has taken on him – he took a month off following his win in Billings, Montana, in April to recuperate before the PBR World Finals in May, where he went a disappointing 1-for-7.
After the summer break, however, he came roaring back to be the most valuable rider for the Carolina Cowboys this season, finishing No. 4 in the regular-season MVP race thanks to his 15-for-25 (60%) season.
A fully rested and healthy Davis will be an extremely dangerous piece for the Cowboys in the years to come.
But that’s not to say Davis won’t still be a staple on the Unleash The Beast this year.
It was also announced earlier this week that he joins the CBS broadcast booth alongside Craig Hummer and two-time World Champion Justin McBride.
“I am happy to let everyone know I will be joining the broadcast booth for the upcoming UTB season!” Davis said. “I am grateful for the career I’ve had so far and looking forward to what’s to come.”
Tune into CBS Sports Network on Nov. 12 at 8 p.m. ET to see Davis make his debut during the PBR Tucson in Tucson, Arizona.
While he’s not on TV, Davis will take the season to spend some well-deserved time with his wife, Kaitlyn, and 8-year-old son, Mack.
“I’m also looking forward to being home with my family more and not missing out on watching my little guy grow up,” Davis said. “I would like to thank all of my sponsors that have stuck with me and believed in me throughout my career. I would also like to thank (Kaitlyn) for always pushing me to work harder, being the voice of reason when I need it, and for all that you do. I would like to thank my family, friends, and fans for all of the support through the years.”
Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media
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