Kansas City Outlaws Ink Standout Brazilians Cassio Dias, Leonardo Castro Ferreira in 2023 PBR Team Series Draft
By: Kacie Albert
FORT WORTH, Texas – With the fifth overall pick in the 2023 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Team Series Draft, the Kansas City Outlaws selected 2022 PBR Brazil Champion Cassio Dias (São F. de Sales, Brazil). Also holding the ninth overall pick, drafting second in the second round, the Outlaws inked Leonardo Castro Ferreira (Cassilandia, Brazil).
“We started our Draft plan back in December and executed it perfectly today,” said Kansas City Outlaws’ General Manager Jim Smith. “The plan started with finding a great Assistant Coach to compliment J.W. Hart and the Outlaws in Guilherme Marchi. We spent hundreds of hours identifying talent and today was the culmination of five months of hard work.”
“I think we got four out of our five picks,” added Head Coach Hart. “If anyone can beat that, they might have beat us in the Draft. But I really believe we got the guys we wanted, and we’re looking forward to the offseason and getting ready for Cheyenne.”
These riders are guaranteed a place on the Outlaws’ protected roster for the first two events in the 2023 PBR Team Series season in Cheyenne, Wyoming, July 24-25 and during their homestand in Kansas City, Missouri, Aug. 3-5.
In all, 147 new riders declared for the Draft this year. The 115 who did not get selected automatically become unrestricted free agents.
The team also welcomed Julio Cesar Marques (Brazil) and Brady Portenier (Caldwell, Idaho) in the accompanying Practice Squad Draft, during which the Outlaws passed on their picks in Rounds 3-5.
“Adding Wingson [Henrique da Silva], Cassio, Leonardo, Julio and Brady to our current guys from last year make us deeper and stronger,” Smith added. “Each of these new guys already has the Outlaw attitude that J.W. and Guilherme expect. We are looking forward to imposing that attitude on our opponent each week during the PBR Team season.”
Three spots remain open on the Outlaws’ practice squad.
The Kansas City Outlaws’ complete roster now includes:
Koltin Hevalow (Smithville, Missouri) – Protected Roster
Marcus Mast (Middlebury, Indiana) – Protected Roster
Bob Mitchell (Steelville, Missouri) – Protected Roster
Kyler Oliver (Roy, Utah) – Protected Roster
Wingson Henrique da Silva (Naviraí, Brazil) – Protected Roster
Cassio Dias – Protected Roster
Leonardo Castro Ferreira– Protected Roster
Julio Cesar Marques – Practice Squad
Brady Portenier – Practice Squad
The Kansas City Outlaws will host their second annual homestand, Outlaw Days, on Aug. 3-5 in Kansas City, Missouri, at T-Mobile Center. The action begins at 7:45 p.m. CT on Thursday, August 3 and Friday, August 4, and 6:45 p.m. CT on Saturday, August 5.
Tickets for the event are on sale now, and start at $20, taxes and fees not included. They can be purchased online at AXS.com, PBR.com and t-mobilecenter.com, or by calling PBR customer service at 1-800-732-1727.
Three-day ticket packages are available, offering fans a 15% discount on select price levels.
Connect with the Kansas City Outlaws on social media at @KCOutlawsPBR on Facebook, @KCOutlawsPBR on Twitter, @KCOutlawsPBR on Instagram, and @KCOutlawsPBR on TikTok.
Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer
© 2023 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.