Carolina Cowboys Poised to Make a Run this Summer Following 2023 PBR Team Series Draft
By: James Youness
FORT WORTH, Texas – While most of the movement and corresponding drama leading up to Wednesday night’s 2023 PBR Team Series Draft involved the Carolina Cowboys in some form or fashion, as the organization acquired the No. 1 overall pick from the Nashville Stampede two months ago before doubling down on this year’s talent pool by also trading for the No. 2 overall pick on Monday afternoon, there won’t be time for any theatrics once Season Two gets underway.
But with an insanely stacked lineup heading into the 5-on-5 season, which is set to begin July 23-25 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, featuring the likes of 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis, 2022 World Champion Daylon Swearingen, 2020 Rookie of the Year and World Finals event winner Boudreaux Campbell and beyond, the Jerome Davis-led squad will be hard-pressed not to find itself in the middle of the conversation when it comes to championship aspirations.
Adding the well-documented talents of seven-time PCRA Champion Sage Kimzey and 2023 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Champion Josh Frost with the first two selections in this year’s draft, the organization has officially entered “win now” territory.
“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.”
Wednesday’s three-round Protected Roster draft, which saw a total of 13 selections, took an hour top to bottom, but the organization had spent the last few months debating their approach and just how many chips they’d be pushing in.
Working alongside Cowboys’ General Manager Austin Dillon, Davis communicated his vision, and now, the rest is history.
“From the very beginning, Sage has been on our radar. We had talked to Sage and this has been a long time in the works. We knew that he’d be gone if we tried to get him at No. 5, so we had to get something going in a trade, and we did,” Davis shared.
“Then there’s Josh Frost. He was always relevant in the conversation. So, I said, ‘Austin, we need that second spot’ and he said, ‘Alright buddy, let me see what I can get done.’ We really wanted Josh and it worked out so that we could get it done. I’m pumped,” Davis shared.
“These guys, Sage and Josh, travel together. Josh and Daylon are big buddies. Cooper 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.”
Hearing his name called just moments after Kimzey, Frost reflected on the moment and journey which led to Wednesday’s night’s result.
“It felt really good. I was pretty excited when I heard the Carolina Cowboys had the first and second picks. Sage and I are really good friends, and when we were talking about doing this deal, we were secretly hoping there would be some way to end up on the same team, and didn’t really see a route to it, but Carolina pulled it off and I think it was a pretty big power move by them to be able to get up there and get us No. 1 and No. 2 in the draft because we’re both pretty good bull riders,” the expansion series Champion said with a hint of confidence.
The selection didn’t necessarily come as a surprise to the talented Randlett, Utah, native, but with all of the recent transactions heading into the draft, he wanted to see it in writing, and got his wish.
“We dang sure had conversations with Austin and Jerome, but at the end of the day, even for Sage, until they said our name up there on the stage, nothing was official. Just like Carolina getting the first pick, there were a lot of moves and all of the teams were trying to come out with the best team that they could, so nothing was for sure until today.”
Preparing to switch gears as the 2023 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast are set to resume Thursday, May 18 inside Dickies Arena before setting sail for the PCRA’s finale, he understands his goal is the same, regardless of format or location or who’s cheering him on.
“It’s a lot of fun during the individual season, but now I’ve got three or four guys in the locker room who I know are really pulling for me to do well, so I think that’s going to help. I just love riding bulls and blessed to get to do it for a job,” Frost shared Wednesday through a series of grins.
“That’s the one thing I’ve always been good at, is riding bulls. I live it, I breathe it. When I get done here (at World Finals) I’m in contention to win the PRCA gold buckle right now, so I get on a lot bulls. I feel like the only way to be a good bull rider is by riding them, so I’m excited to get after the Teams season after this, be in Cheyenne and start the year off with a bang.”
Despite fielding an impressive roster during the opening season of competition as well, the organization’s postseason run ended on Night Two of the 2022 PBR Team Series Championship gauntlet in Las Vegas after exiting the regular season with a 15-13 record and fourth-place ranking.
“We’ll have camp again, maybe in July. We’ll have the Navy SEALS come out again and work through some stuff. We might not be as hardcore on the guys as we were before,” Davis concluded.
“The team that we have now is a little more mature than what we had then, so they kind of know the deal. We’ll go through some other stuff during camp as well, and that’ll be some time here in the near future.”
Davis will be present in Fort Worth, Texas, for the duration of the PBR’s season-culminating showcase, as the final four rounds of competition begin Thursday evening at 7:45 p.m. CST and continue to invade Dickies Arena until Sunday’s championship round on May 21.
Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media
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