By the Numbers: 2023 PBR Team Series Draft Ushers in Next Wave of 5-On-5 Talent
By: James Youness
PUEBLO, Colo. – Sandwiched between two of the biggest weekends of bull riding action, aka the 2023 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast in Fort Worth, Texas, the eight organizations which make up the PBR Team Series gathered inside the Cowboy Channel Studios to usher in the next wave of 5-on-5 talent during the 2023 PBR Team Series Draft on Wednesday, May 17.
While each of the eight teams ended the inaugural 2022 PBR Team Series slate with a first-round selection, only five different teams actually drafted riders during the opening round, including the Carolina Cowboys, Missouri Thunder, Kansas City Outlaws, Oklahoma Freedom and Texas Rattlers.
2023 PBR Team Series Draft Results:
Round 1 (Overall Picks 1-7)
Carolina Cowboys – Sage Kimzey (Strong City, Oklahoma)
Carolina Cowboys – Josh Frost (Randlett, Utah)
Missouri Thunder – Joao Lucas Campos (Porto Feliz, Brazil)
Missouri Thunder – Kade Madsen (Honeyville, Utah)
Kansas City Outlaws – Cassio Dias (São F. de Sales, Brazil)
Oklahoma Freedom – Brady Turgeon (New River, Arizona)
Texas Rattlers – Creek Young (Springfield, Missouri)
Opting into some swapping action leading into the draft, the 2022 PBR Team Series Champion Nashville Stampede decided to send its No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft to the Carolina Cowboys earlier this spring, welcoming established riders in Mason Taylor and Ednelio Almeida to the squad in exchange for the selection.
Later making an exchange with the Kansas City Outlaws to acquire the No. 2 selection as well, the Cowboys added the well-documented talents of seven-time PRCA Champion Sage Kimzey and 2023 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Champion Josh Frost with the first two selections in this year’s draft.
Stealing the show and now, with a reloaded roster, climbing towards the top of the projected standings for the 2023 campaign, Head Coach Jerome Davis and company couldn’t be happier with how things turned out for the Richard Childress-owned entity.
“We’re really excited about bringing Sage and Josh on board and we got some young talent out of Brazil tonight, too, so we’re pretty pumped. I couldn’t ask for a better team than what we’ve pulled out of here with tonight and I feel like we made some really good picks. We’ll see what happens from here out, but I’m pretty pumped,” Davis offered moments after the draft concluded.
“They’re gritty and they’re tough and they know how to ride, they just have to take care of the body, but that’s bull riding. If we look at the big picture, it looks pretty bright.”
With the 2023 PBR Team Series slate set to begin July 24-25 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, we’re taking a look at some of the biggest numerical takeaways from the 2023 PBR Team Series Draft in this week’s By the Numbers:
Lucky No. 13: Throughout the three-round draft, 13 riders were immediately slotted into protected roster spots, with Kaiden Loud (Stampede), Leonardo Ferreira (Outlaws), Eduardo Matos (Thunder), Jeff Askey (Ridge Riders), Daniel Feitosa (Cowboys) and Felipe Furlan (Thunder) rounding out riders with guaranteed paychecks through the first two PBR Team Series events of the regular season. The Missouri Thunder welcomed four of the 13, including a pair of Top 4 overall selections in Joao Lucas Campos and Kade Madsen. Campos, who recently stormed onto the scene with a first-place showing at the 2023 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals in Corpus Christi, Texas, May 5-6 en route to punching his ticket to the 2023 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast the next weekend, courtesy of his favorable finish.
“That draft was a huge draft for us. It was a great day and a big relief off of our shoulders. We’ve been working hard on it, ever since November. As soon as the PBR World Finals were over, we went to Brazil and scouted all over the world, so it was a good day for us,” Thunder coach Ross Coleman shared earlier this month during World Finals.
“The most important part, yes, is for JLC to perform well at the World Finals. He’s doing good and just needs to keep the ball rolling. After this is over, we’ll take care of business and get to work back at home. I tell you what … this has been a great experience, the whole Teams thing in general, but were working on these other boys getting their visas set up to get over here to America ASAP, then we’ll get them training.”
No. 4 for No. 18: As one of several trades which occurred prior to the May 17 draft date, the Arizona Ridge Riders acquired the No. 18-ranked Unleash The Beast talent in Colten Fritzlan in exchange for the No. 4 overall selection in the 2023 PBR Team Series Draft. Fritzlan went on to finish the World Finals in 12th place courtesy of his flashy 2-for-3 start to the season-ending event. After enjoying a productive season on the premier series tour, which included six Top 10 finishes and an event title at the PBR Ty Murray Invitational, presented by The Downs Racetrack & Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico, his Top 20 finish represents his highest year-end ranking to date.
“Our inaugural season was incredible,” said Ridge Riders General Manager Michael Lane.
“2022 came right down to the final moments of the Championship, and we almost brought the title home to Arizona for our fans. We are beyond proud of our team of extremely talented bull riders who will continue on as Ridge Riders this season and very excited for Colten to join the team. Now, more than ever, we are dedicated to claiming the championship at the end of the season.”
On the opposite end of the deal, the Missouri Thunder elected to draft a familiar face in Kade Madsen, brother to Briggs Madsen.
“He is a real cowboy, I know his brother too, obviously. We’ve seen him around a little bit the last couple of years, but he actually goes to a lot of events on the West coast, where I grew up,” Coleman offered.
“There’s an amateur bull riding association out there that he’s been winning for the last couple of years, and the way he does his deals … from interviews to the personality he has and the humbleness that he has to him, he’s a superstar in the making. He’s very aggressive with his feet, he rides bulls really well. He’s also a great bareback rider, great bronc rider, cowboy in general. Hardworking, comes from a great family. His mom and dad are great folks out of Utah, and they put him to work all of his life, so he’s ready to go to work for us now.”
Cowboys Double Down: Building on its mid-March acquisition of the No. 1 pick, Carolina decided to mix things up just a few days before the draft, as the team elected to send a talented Brazilian rider in Wingson Henrique da Silva, alongside the No. 5 selection in the 2023 PBR Team Series Draft, to the Kansas City Outlaws in exchange for moving up the board three spots to the No. 2 spot. Silva, who began his World Finals with a 0-for-2 slate adjusting to the bright lights of the largest stage in the industry, may have seen his Team Series stock skyrocket while the two-weekend event continued, as the 23-year-old rookie finished the showcase with a 4-for-6 effort. Seeing his fellow countryman Rafael Jose de Brito bring home the Triple Crown feat, capturing the World Finals, Rookie of the Year and World Champion honors, Silva managed a second-place result in the Rookie of the Year race and eventually exited the contest with a silver finish while rising to the No. 4 rank on the season.
As mentioned above, stacking the No. 2 pick with the No. 1 overall selection (acquired via trade with Nashville) in an effort to scheme up the dream duo of landing both Frost and Kimzey, Carolina has assembled more of a family than a team. Or, at least, that’s how Davis feels about the situation.
“These guys, Sage and Josh, travel together. Josh and Daylon (Swearingen) are big buddies. Cooper (Davis) and Sage are big buddies, so there’s a lot of camaraderie on the team, and with all of the buckles and world titles and winners on this team, they’re just going to build each other up and I hope it goes according to plan. I’m really excited about the new season,” Davis shared.
No. 6 (+5): With just one spot available within its protected roster, the Oklahoma Freedom elected to draft an up-and-coming talent in Brady Turgeon with the sixth overall selection in the 2023 PBR Team Series Draft. The talented 19-year-old made his Unleash The Beast debut earlier this spring, and in six premier series competitions leading into the World Finals, the New River, Arizona, native managed Top 10 finishes in three of the six, including ninth, fifth and third-place showings. In similar 6-based fashion, the Freedom made the most selections overall out of the eight organizations, opting into welcoming some new faces to its practice player roster, including Alex Cerqueira, Elizmar Jeremias, Roscoe Jarboe, Jacob O’Mara, and Coy Pollmeier, brother to Tate Pollmeier, who resides on Oklahoma’s protected roster. Cerqueira and Jeremias both enjoyed opportunities to perform alongside the Top 40 or so ranked riders in the world this season, as the pair logged a few appearances on Unleash The Beast, partially courtesy of their standout efforts while participating on the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour. With established threats in Eli Vastbinder, Chase Outlaw, Derek Kolbaba, two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood, Casey Roberts and company currently solidifying the team’s protected roster riders, the team now has several quality riders who are set to compete for the team’s three practice roster spots as the summer approaches.
Zero Picks, First Place Aspirations: As the only team not to make a selection during the 2023 PBR Team Series Draft’s opening three rounds of protected roster eligibility, the Austin Gamblers have plenty of firepower awaiting the start of the summer series. Highlighted by the likes of two-time World Champion and 2022 PBR Team Series MVP Jose Vitor Leme, the Michael Gaffney-coached squad wasn’t afraid to move some draft assets in building one of the league’s most talented teams. Acquiring rising superstar Dalton Kasel midway through the first year of 5-on-5 action, two of the world’s top-ranked riders are surrounded by plenty of electric cowboys in their right, including Ramon de Lima, Austin Richardson, Lucas Divino and Ezekiel Mitchell. While the team’s two leaders from Year One actually struggled at the 2023 World Finals in Leme and Kasel, combining for a 3-for-15 effort overall, it was Richardson’s 89.75-point conversion atop Black Gold which earned a Round 2 win and helped the 23-year-old to a 14th place finish, the only round-winning effort throughout the team’s roster. However, Lima turned in the third-best effort throughout the eight-round event, taking home 370 UTB points en route to finishing the 2023 season ranked No. 10 overall.
Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media