By the Numbers: Standings, Rosters Staying Fluid Ahead of Sept. 28 Trade Deadline
By: James Youness
PUEBLO, Colo. – While the PBR Camping World Team Series pack continues to prove that any of the league’s eight teams can produce a potent showcase at a moment’s notice, the landscape of 5-on-5 competition continues to shift with trades being executed and riders being signed left and right leading into the 2023 PBR Teams Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada Oct. 19-22.
As coaches and front office members across the country prepare to finalize their rosters ahead of the league’s trade deadline and corresponding regular season roster lock (set to take place next week on Sept. 28), some fan, and potential team favorites now find themselves in new locker rooms with three regular season events remaining.
Smack dab in the middle of the (controlled) chaos, the Oklahoma Freedom are one of three teams sporting a 10-9 record through the first seven events of the season.
But after dealing an established star in Eli Vastbinder and placing Chase Outlaw on its reserve roster (thus allowing any of the other seven teams to sign him), they’re sticking out a like a sore thumb in shaking things up during year two.
Opting to send its first-round selection during last year’s inaugural PBR Teams Draft, the Freedom sent a veteran in Vastbinder (alongside a second-round pick in the 2024 PBR New Rider Draft) to the Texas Rattlers earlier this week in exchange for youngster Dawson Gleaves.
With Vastbinder bringing a 2-for-13 record to his new team via his slow, albeit briefly banged-up start to the season, he’ll also be expected to right the ship in that department.
But he’ll also be counted on to help lead the team in the locker room, in the stretch circle and beyond, as a majority of Cody Lambert’s squad is in their 20s, short Joao Ricardo Vieira (who’s looked much closer to his 20s than his true 39-year-old self after recording his 400th career ride last weekend in Ridgedale, Arizona).
Meanwhile for Gleaves, who’s shown some flashes, but continues to adapt to the best bovine athletes in the world, will look to build on his 2-for-11 start to his rookie season, now under the guidance of Head Coach Cord McCoy and Assistant Coach Kody Lostroh.
As the bench bosses worked with Freedom General Manager Brandon Bates in bringing this “Freedom 2.0” vision to life, they would see another inaugural pillar depart a few days after trading Vastbinder.
Allowing the defending PBR Teams Champion Nashville Stampede to swoop in and sign Outlaw to its Reserve Roster Tuesday morning, the Freedom lost out on one of the most electric riders in recent PBR history, but one who’s still recovering from injuries.
For Stampede Head Coach Justin McBride and company, who have a slew of established riders vacating their Injured Reserve already, it’s another piece of the puzzle for his veteran-heavy squad. Very much expected to make another run next month inside T-Mobile Arena during the 2023 PBR Teams Championship, McBride will potentially have a variety of talented options to tap in Sin City.
Furthermore, as injuries continue to pile up and teams are reminded of the importance of rostering quality depth riders for the long run, guys like Mason Moody, Alisson de Souza, Leandro Machado are back in the fold, now riding with renewed hopes and a fresh start.
With McBride and the Stampede signing Moody to the squad last week ahead of Thunder Days, the living legend watched on as the 20-year-old provided an impressive 89-point conversion atop Too Tall during his first PBR Teams regular season event of his young career.
Getting in on the fun, and seeing instant returns as well, the Arizona Ridge Riders signed Machado last week.
Directly inserted into the lineup, the Gamblers may have struck gold.
Stepping in and delivering an 86.75-point ride during his 2023 PBR Teams debut, Machado helped solidify the win over the team’s developing rival, the Austin Gamblers.
With the circuit set to welcome two new teams during the 2024 season, teams are already beginning to prepare their rosters and personnel approaches, as each squad will be forced to protect a certain number of riders, while leaving the rest of its roster susceptible to being selected by either of the new teams.
With the PBR Camping World Team Series set to invade Greensboro, North Carolina, Sept. 22-24, we’re taking a quick look back at some of the numerical takeaways from Thunder Days in this week’s By the Numbers!
10-9, 9-10: While mediocrity is rarely involved in any rider’s or team’s goal when it comes to bull riding (and anything in life, really), being right in the middle of the pack may be exactly what some of these teams are happy with seven events into the dramatic 2023 PBR Camping World Team Series campaign. Entering this weekend’s Cowboy Days showdown in Greensboro, three teams sit locked with 10-9 records, including the No. 2 Texas Rattlers, No. 3 Kansas City Outlaws and No. 4 Oklahoma Freedom. Further proving each team is dedicated to earning a top spot in next month’s season-ending showdown, the No. 5 Carolina Cowboys and No. 6 Arizona Ridge Riders each sit just one game back, respectively, with identical 9-10 records. With the No. 1 Austin Gamblers slipping to 14-5 on the season, fresh off an uncharacteristic 1-2 record last weekend, will the No. 7 Nashville Stampede or trending No. 8 Missouri Thunder be able to improve upon their 6-13 starts? One thing is for sure: This is a different Stampede squad. Now just one win away from matching its 2022 season total (7-20-1), McBride and company aren’t settling in for another historic run.
Four-Straight: After beginning the year alongside the Ridge Riders with an 0-7 start, the Stampede have now won at least one game in each of the tour’s last four events (2-1, 1-2, 2-1, 1-2), including two during the team’s Stampede Days homestand and another two in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. But getting in the win column at least once in Austin, Texas, and even last weekend in Ridgedale means a lot more than what appears on paper. With three-time World Champion Silvano Alves making a case to record his 500th career ride during the final events of the 2023 Teams season, the team’s youngsters in Kaiden Loud, Bruno Carvalho, Moody and company are soaking up as much as they can from the talented Brazilian. Showing up more and more as the season progresses, Alves’ team-leading 10-for-19 (52.6%) record continues to play a role in setting the bar for all of the tour’s riders. That includes Joao Ricardo Vieira, who recently met a legendary milestone of his own on Sunday.
Mr. 400: The entire bull riding world will stop and celebrate the moment Alves reaches his 500-ride mark, similar to the way the Texas Rattlers and surrounding riders lifted JRV’s spirits in watching him best Whip for 87.5 points. Etching his place in the history books, he joined 2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi (635 rides), two-time World Champion J.B. Mauney (538), three-time World Champion Silvano Alves (497), Valdiron de Oliveira (430), two-time World Champion Chris Shivers (411) and Missouri Thunder coach Ross Coleman (402) in the exclusive 400+ club.
Still No. 1: Gamblers’ star Jose Vitor Leme may have to wait a little while before he eclipses the 400-ride mark himself, but at the same time, sometimes it feels like he’s on his way to ride 400 bulls within a single season when he’s on fire. Sporting a fresh haircut, to match his team’s recently debuted white uniforms, Leme nearly turned in another flawless 3-for-3 performance, but found himself matched with two-time World Champion Bucking Bull Ridin’ Solo Sunday afternoon. Eventually hitting the dirt in 4.8 seconds, as the revered bovine enjoyed an eye-popping 46-point score, Leme’s most recent ride streak came to an end at six, but his reign atop the MVP standings did not. Entering this weekend’s showdown out east, he continues to lead teammate Dalton Kasel by a mere 87.25 points.
3-for-3: If the Oklahoma Freedom are indeed interested in getting younger, perhaps its in order to build around Caden Bunch, who just posted his first 3-for-3 showcase at a PBR Teams event last weekend. Selected with the last pick in the 2023 PBR Teams Draft, Bunch has exceeded expectations for the Freedom, and then some. Now 5-for-6 on the season, all five of his conversions came have come in September, including his three most recent rides in Missouri (87.75 points atop Neon Street, 88 points on Whip and 85.25 points dancing with Milk Mustache.
2 Infinity & Beyond: Of all the storylines leading into this weekend’s Cowboy Days celebration, none could be as encouraging as seeing the Missouri Thunder continue to piece things together amidst their hometown crowd.
While the team wasn’t able to pull out the overall event win during its first trip to the tie-breaking extra outs, Joao Lucas Campos gave it his all during his fourth event of the weekend. Completing the slate with a 3-for-4 record, he was dispatched from Mike’s Motive in a quick 2.83 seconds, but nonetheless guided his squad to its first 2-1 showing of the season. Receiving some high-end help from teammate Kade Madsen, who dazzled the hometown crowd with an electric ride atop Lapua with a 90-point mark, JLC and company will have all of the momentum in the world when they continue their developmental process this weekend in Greensboro.
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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