Confident Kolbaba has Freedom on Track for Success

By: Justin Felisko

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Oklahoma Freedom general manager Brandon Bates spent the days leading up to the 2022 PBR Team Series Draft, presented by ZipRecruiter, nervous about how he should approach the draft to ensure his team could select Derek Kolbaba.

Bates knew the other seven teams in the inaugural PBR Team Series would want Kolbaba – the 26-year-old bull rider coming off an eighth-consecutive PBR World Finals qualification – on their team.

The question was how soon would Kolbaba go in the draft?

Would someone take Kolbaba in the first round?

And would it make sense for the Freedom to pick Kolbaba with the first selection of the second round and ninth overall if the opportunity presented itself?

Bates trusted his gut belief – that the streaky Kolbaba in fact has another gear in him, and that he could regain his World Championship-contending form from 2017 – and he indeed selected him ninth overall.

Bates finally got to see Kolbaba build off that confidence this weekend in Anaheim. Kolbaba rose to the occasion at the Honda Center by going 2-for-3 to propel the Freedom (3-4) to a 2-0 event record and third-place finish overall.

In fact, Bates made sure to greet Kolbaba with a hug after Kolbaba’s 87.75-point ride on Navajo Joe helped the Freedom edge past the Nashville Stampede (2-5) 87.75-85 on Saturday night.

 
Kolbaba has also ridden Navajo Joe for the exact same score Friday in the team’s 174.75-86 victory over the Ariat Texas Rattlers (2-5).

“We had a conversation, and Brandon kind of asked where I felt that I was and I said, ‘I didn’t think I had reached where I want to go yet in my career,’” Kolbaba recalled leading up to the draft. “I know I have another level to get to, and I know that there was going to take something to get there and it was nice to see someone who had the confidence in me. That kind of boosted my confidence a bit in myself and so I’ve always said that’s what bull riding is all about. Ride the momentum and confidence and keep striving to get a little better.”

Kolbaba had an opportunity to get Oklahoma the event victory in the Bonus Round, but his 1.9-second buckoff against Concho was not enough to break a three-way tie between the Freedom, Austin Gamblers (5.59 seconds vs. July) and Missouri Thunder (2.97 seconds on Top Shelf).

Regardless, Kolbaba has been relatively red-hot for the Freedom in the past four games. Kolbaba had ridden four consecutive bulls and posted the top individual score in each of those games.

“I feel good, body feels good and I’m just kind of letting everything flow,” Kolbaba, who was the team’s leadoff rider this weekend, said before the Bonus Round. “I want to start it off and show the guys what we’re striving for each game and if that boosts everybody else’s confidence and makes them ride a little bit better, then perfect. For me, it’s just going in there and getting the job done and believing in myself that I can do it every time.”

Kolbaba is tied for fourth in the PBR Team Series MVP race and is 4-for-9 (44.44%) this season.

Freedom assistant coach Kody Lostroh said he believes Kolbaba is at such a good point in his life that things are starting to line up for him inside the arena.

“Derek’s been known for a while to be an all or nothing guy, but he also has had so many 7-second rides in his career,” Lostroh said. “If you can have those great moments and then ride them for 7 seconds, it isn’t a mechanical problem. It’s just finally getting over that hump, right? So, we’ve had some pretty good talks about just keeping things simple. It’s not a complicated game, so we keep things simple and we’re not reinventing the wheel, we’re just improving on these guys’ skills, because they all have it.

“There’s no magic potion, it’s just honing it in the right way. Honestly right now, Derek is loving life. He’s got his first kid on the way. He’s enjoying this team aspect. You can tell he’s really gotten behind and taken some of these young guys under his wing and just been a team player. When life is good, it’s easy to compete at your best. It’s so fun to see it for him, because it’s like, I hate to say it, but he can do no wrong right now.”

The Freedom head into next weekend’s game against Kansas City (2-5) at Stampede Days in Nashville sitting fifth in the PBR Team Series standings.

Oklahoma has yet to be at full strength with two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood, veteran Chase Outlaw and first-round pick Eli Vastbinder out because of injuries, and that could have created a leadership void in Anaheim.

Kolbaba, though, did not take that as a requirement for him to step up. He knows it is up to all five riders in the lineup to make things happen for the Freedom, but it just worked out where he was the hero on Saturday.

“I didn’t really feel like it was up to me,” Kolbaba concluded. “At the end of the day, everybody else does too. It doesn’t take just one guy. That’s what really great about the group of young guys that we’ve got. They’re all trying really freaking hard and they’ve got as much talent as anybody. To look ahead an know who we’ve got coming, I feel pretty confident in this team right now.”

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

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