Kansas City Outlaws Bringing Chemistry, Dynamic Duo into 2024
By James Youness
PUEBLO, Colo. – At the end of each 5-on-5 season, there will forever be just one winner and seven losers, with the Texas Rattlers crowned the tour’s most recent world champions.
With just two opportunities to shine during last month’s 2023 PBR Camping World Teams Championship, the Kansas City Outlaws may have exited the postseason tournament as one of the league’s most disappointed squads.
After turning in a 12-16 regular season record during year one of the camaraderie-driven tour, en route to entering Las Vegas as the No. 7 seed, an 0-2 showing in the playoffs wasn’t the most shocking of outcomes during their first PBR Teams campaign.
But by the time the 2023 season rolled around, General Manager Jim Smith had transformed his team into a contender. And year two would bring a new level of expectations within the black and orange locker room.
“We’ve said from day one that we’re not just here to build a team of bull riders; we’re here to build a team of men, of husbands and fathers,” Outlaws’ Head Coach J.W. Hart shared in Las Vegas.
“Some of them don’t have kids, some of them don’t have wives, but I promise they’re all getting better.”
If it weren’t for the Austin Gamblers, who finished the 2023 Camping World Team Series regular season with a stunning 19-9 record, the Outlaws would currently own the best record all-time, courtesy of their 18-10 finish (with the previous record being a three-way tie at 16-12 from the inaugural season).
One hell of a turnaround.
Ending the 10-event slate ranked No. 2 overall, it was quite the season for Hart and company from the big picture perspective. Yet, when we zoom in on Kansas City’s successful formula, there were undoubtedly a pair of standout Brazilians who ushered in the transformation.
Acquiring standout Wingson Henrique da Silva ahead of the summer series by sending its first-round selection in the 2023 PBR Teams Draft to the Carolina Cowboys, Kansas City watched on as one of the circuit’s most skilled riders put on a show.
Helping his organization capture the Outlaw Days title during their second-ever homestand event, Silva turned in a 2-for-3 effort after completing a quality 88.25-point ride during his first out of the campaign in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the weekend before.
Finishing his first season sporting orange and black, he turned in a welcomed 12-for-21 record, featuring several outstanding rides. But none shined as bright as the youngster’s trip during the final Last Chance Game of the tournament. Producing this postseason’s top ride score inside T-Mobile, he solidified his successful year with an event-high 92.5-point mark aboard Flyin Wired.
Marking the 24-year-old’s best score to date, it also represented the highest mark of the 2023 playoffs and remains tied for the fourth-best score in PBR Teams history.
Surprisingly enough, trading for Silva wouldn’t be the biggest takeaway from the Outlaws’ second go around the electric 5-on-5 tour.
Those honors belong to witnessing a rising superstar carve out of the beginning of his own legacy.
A certain talent the organization selected No. 5 overall during the 2023 PBR Teams Draft.
And his name is Cassio Dias.
A documented competitor within PBR Brazil’s circuit, the 21-year-old has quickly made a name for himself since first competing in the United States just over one year ago (November 3, 2022).
Taking advantage of his PBR Teams debut, just like Silva did the weekend before, Dias stormed right into the limelight during his first opportunity with Kansas City. Ripping off a rank 89-point conversion atop War Daddy, his time was now.
Never looking back, he went on to will his squad to its second event title of the season two weeks later in Nashville, Tennessee, courtesy of a flashy 4-for-4 weekend, clinching the team’s second win in the first four events with a rank 91.25-point performance dancing with Mike’s Motive.
Later teaming up with fellow countrymen Sandro Batista and Leonardo Castro Ferreira to earn the team its third event victory of the year, Dias has been more than happy leading the charge but is even more delighted when the team is firing on all cylinders.
“It’s a confidence that you see from one end of the locker room to the other. There’s nobody that takes anything for granted but there’s nobody that thinks they’re the best one in there. They all think they’re equal and that’s really important for our team,” Hart shared.
“It’s unbelievable to see a team of guys this young, who are so unselfish, and who pull for the next guy. They do what’s needed to help that guy get better.”
A stacked resume nonetheless, he nearly added a rather impressive feat to his portfolio, finishing second in the 2023 MVP race, just 87 points behind now two-time MVP Jose Vitor Leme.
Despite rostering a pair of Top 10 finishers in the individual aggregate race (Dias: No. 2, Silva: No. 8) and securing a first-round bye during the three-day elimination gauntlet, Kansas City unfortunately found itself heading home by the time Saturday night rolled around.
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With Dias serving as the lone Kansas City rider to meet the 8 during its first matchup of the night, it was the Arizona Ridge Riders, who exited victorious, thanks to a pair of conversions from Eduardo Aparecido and Chase Dougherty.
Undeterred, yet aware of the situation, Hart again readied his men for battle.
But in a sport where every single point counts, (especially within a Last Chance Game, where three teams enter and one team continues on), even a best effort can come up short.
When the round concluded and each of the three teams had amassed two qualified rides each, Kansas City found itself ahead of the Oklahoma Freedom, but still 1.25 points behind the Missouri Thunder.
Adding fire to an already spicy, league-wide conversation as to whether first-round byes are actually helpful, teams to take the opening night of postseason competition inside T-Mobile Arena off are officially 0-4 (two teams each season), with a No. 3 seed (Rattlers) and No. 8 seed (Nashville Stampede) the two victorious squads.
Results aside, the Outlaws may have struck gold in 2023 by welcoming the pair of heavy hitters. The bonds created as a team; as a family, though, are perhaps the richest treasures for a group who’s going to be looking for revenge in 2024.
Most importantly, they’re all clicking on the same page. Having fun. As a collective unit.
“I think every team will say that they’ve created something special, and we’re no different. We love our chemistry. We love our system and the culture that we’ve built inside this team,” Hart said.
“No disrespect to anybody, but we’re just so proud of what we’ve built and the culture that we have inside the Kansas City locker room.”
Kansas City fans can catch Dias, Silva and several other Outlaws’ riders competing within Unleash The Beast and Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour events throughout the winter before the team is back in action next summer!
Photo courtesy Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media
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