Division A Power Rankings, Presented by South Point Hotel Casino & Spa

By: Justin Felisko

PUEBLO, Colo. – The Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by U.S. Border Patrol, begins Friday night, and we will finally get our first look at the Division A teams taking the dirt at the Pendleton Whisky Let ‘Er Buck Saloon at South Point Arena.

Not only will the competition format be completely new, but so too will the venue in many ways. With the Monster Energy Team Challenge taking place with no fans, the PBR has constructed a custom soundstage to host the bull riding inside South Point Arena featuring an estimated 880 LED panels to give the head-to-head competition a barroom, saloon-style intimate setting.

This week’s PBR Monster Energy Team Power Rankings, presented by South Point Hotel Casino and Spa, will rank the six teams competing in Division A for the next two weekends.

All six teams are capable of winning Division A, but the ultimate key is to at least finish inside the Top 3 of the Division (based upon win-loss record) and advance to Championship Weekend in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on July 10-12.

Division A teams will each play six total games in the next two weekends.

Every game will be comprised of 12 collective outs, with each team attempting six bulls. Three riders per team, as selected by the General Manager, will attempt two bulls per game. The winner of each game will be the team with the top combined aggregate score from their six outs.

With that being said, I am looking forward to seeing how the next two weeks go in Vegas (and likely having to eat my words when my opinions below blow up in my face).

1. TEAM COOPER TIRES (CAPTAIN: JOSE VITOR LEME)

 
When the No. 1 rider in the PBR world standings – Jose Vitor Leme – pairs up with the six-time and reigning PRCA champion Sage Kimzey, expectations immediately skyrocket. Team Cooper Tires should be the favorite to win Division A, and if they do not at least advance to the playoffs it would be a true disappointment.

Leme and Kimzey have had tons of success in Las Vegas and could easily consider Sin City a second home. Leme is 25-for-36 in Las Vegas at all levels of competition and won the 2017 World Finals in his first premier series event on American soil by going 6-for-6. Kimzey has won the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo three times in Las Vegas already, and he is 40-for-60 at the NFR. Kimzey is also 9-for-14 in Las Vegas in PBR competitions.

However, each team at the METC will be using three riders every game. Therefore, a team still needs to get rides from their No. 3 rider, and likely their No. 4 (alternate) rider.

Team Cooper Tires would have been even more stacked if 2016 PBR Brazil champion Dener Barbosa was able to return to the United States, but the replacement that General Manager Cody Lambert and Leme selected in Stetson Lawrence is still a real solid pick.

Lawrence surprisingly went undrafted, but the free agent pickup is coming off third- and fourth-place finishes in his last two Unleash The Beast event (4-for-6). Meanwhile, Keyshawn Whitehorse, who was an alternate for Team USA at the Sydney Global Cup, can step in when needed as well.

TEAM INSIGHT
World Finals Qualifications: 13
National Finals Rodeo Qualifications: 6
Some Accolades: Six PRCA bull riding championships, 2017 World Finals event winner, three NFR average victories, three Calgary Stampede titles, two Velocity Tour Finals event average victories, 2019 Velocity Tour Championship, 2014 PBR Canada championship, three Global Cup team victories, 2020 Global Cup USA event average winner.

Pre-Game Reading: Leme and Kimzey form powerhouse squad

HOW THEY CAN WIN DIVISION A: Leme rides like he did throughout the first half of the UTB season – most event wins (4), qualified rides (25), riding percentage (73.53%) and 90-point rides (6) – and Kimzey translates his six PRCA titles and 66.66% riding percentage at the NFR to success at the METC.

2. TEAM UNION HOME MORTGAGE (CAPTAIN: SILVANO ALVES)

 
Silvano Alves has always thrived in Las Vegas even as he has become less of the bull rider that won three World Championship. He is 46-for-74 at all levels of competition in Sin City.

Alves will need to channel his past success in Las Vegas to lead Team Union Home Mortgage, especially after four-time PRCA champion J.W. Harris pulled out of the event leaving Team Union Home Mortgage with a much younger squad.

However, Alves’s philosophy of just riding bull after bull may benefit him in this competition where the team that rides the most bulls is your winner. In a format like this, old school Alves can thrive.

Alves also has started to heat up recently following the worst start of his career. He went 4-for-6 at the last two events in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and he has been training with world No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme.

Mason Taylor and Luciano de Castro are wild cards for this team, but they have the potential to be Top 10 bull riders in the PBR, just as Taylor demonstrated earlier this season. The issue may just be how healthy Taylor, who has been dealing with nagging injuries to his riding hand and hip, and Castro are.

Castro had struggled with a lower-body injury in 2020, and he is arguably one of the biggest question marks in Division A.

The 2015 PBR Brazil champion was terrible in the first half of the PBR season, going 2-for-21 at all levels and struggling because of a knee injury. However, some still believe Castro has the ability to turn things around.

Castro stayed in the United States after being cut from the Unleash The Beast, showing his commitment to the sport, and has been rehabbing/practicing in Decatur in hopes of getting an opportunity.

Now it will be up to him to be one of the team’s home run hitters with Taylor.

TEAM INSIGHT
World Finals Qualifications: 14
NFR Qualifications: 0
Some Accolades: Three PBR World Championships, 2014 World Finals event win, 2015 PBR Brazil championship, two Last Cowboy Standing titles, 2018 Global Cup Australia team victory, 2010 World Cup team victory

Pre-game Reading: Mast cherishes opportunity to join Team Union Home Mortgage

HOW THEY CAN WIN DIVISION A: Alves rekindles his World Champion form in Vegas, and young guns Mason Taylor and Luciano de Castro live up to their potential and ride like the Top 10-15 potential they have shown in glimpses throughout their brief PBR careers.

3. TEAM CAN-AM (CAPTAIN: FABIANO VIEIRA)

 
Similar to Team Union Home Mortgage, Team Can-Am features one veteran stalwart and a group of young and up-and-coming riders. It is also the only team with all four of its riders ranked inside the Top 45 of the PBR world standings.

No. 10 Fabiano Vieira will be tasked with leading Can-Am to Sioux Falls, and he begins the competition with the sixth-best riding percentage on the premier series among riders in the METC that competed on the UTB in the first half.

How far Can-Am goes will depend on potentially two Brazilian newcomers to the PBR this year in No. 18 Mauricio Moreira and No. 43 Rafael dos Santos.

The two roommates have shown glimpses of their own potential a la Taylor and Castro. Moreira posted a 91.75-point ride on Big Black in Duluth, Georgia, and averages 87 points on five rides, while Santos finished fourth overall in his UTB debut in Guthrie, including an 88.25-point ride on Milk Man. However, Moreira and Santos both ended the UTB first half with four consecutive buckoffs.

Also watch out for No. 23 Ezekiel Mitchell. Vieira’s last pick may end up becoming one of his best. Mitchell ended the first of the Unleash The Beast with Top-10 finishes in four of the last five events he competed in.

TEAM INSIGHT
World Finals Qualifications: 9
NFR Qualifications: 0
Accolades: 2017 Music City Knockout victory

Pre-Game Reading: Moreira considers Vieira part of the family

HOW THEY CAN WIN DIVISION A: At 37 years old, Fabiano Vieira stays healthy and does not aggravate his chronic shoulder injuries, for one. Can-Am will need a fully healthy Vieira, who became the fourth oldest bull rider to win a premier series event in Guthrie, to have a chance at winning the division crown. Then one of Moreira, Santos and/or Mitchell are able to take the next step in their career development and, for the two young Brazilians, adjustment to the United States bull power.

4. TEAM LAS VEGAS (CAPTAIN: STETSON WRIGHT)

 
Team Las Vegas is composed strictly of non-PBR bull riders, but that does not mean they cannot make some noise at the METC.

Stetson Wright – the 2019 PRCA All-Around World Champion – finished No. 3 in the 2019 PRCA bull riding standings and should be a threat in Vegas.

The 20-year-old is the youngest Team Captain, but he has the potential to be a top contender if he were to make a crossover to the PBR, something he said he is getting close to doing in the future. Wright is only No. 23 in the PRCA standings, but he also was dealing with a torn right MCL in the winter. Wright was able to take some time off to let the MCL heal, as well to get some old plates and screws out of his jaw, which he broke last year during the summer rodeo run.

Chase Dougherty is one of the dark horse riders that maybe can break out in Division A competition when it comes to newcomers to the PBR. Dougherty won the 2018 NFR by going 7-for-10 and finished runner-up to Kimzey. The now 22-year-old had his 2019 season cut short last September by reconstructive shoulder surgery on his free arm shoulder. He was 20th in the PRCA standings at the time of his injury.

Meanwhile, Garrett Smith – the 2017 Canadian Professional Rodeo Association champion – won the Cave Creek PRCA event two weeks ago, and Brady Portenier is having the best season of his PRCA career and is ranked No. 8 in that association’s standings.

TEAM INSIGHT
World Finals Qualifications: 0
NFR Qualifications: 5
Some Accolades: 2019 All-Around PRCA World Champion, 2018 NFR event average winner, 2017 CPRA bull riding champion

Pre-Game Reading: Wright thrilled to be riding for childhood idol Murray

HOW THEY CAN WIN DIVISION A: Wright rides like a Top-5 caliber bull rider and at a similar clip as bona fide superstars Leme and Kimzey. Meanwhile, Dougherty breaks out in Vegas like he did at the NFR, and Smith and Portenier put forth consistent efforts.

5. TEAM YETI (CAPTAIN: DEREK KOLBABA)

 
In many ways, I can easily see Team YETI threatening to win Division A, especially if Derek Kolbaba rides like he did at the 2018 World Finals where he went 3-for-6 with three 90-point rides, or when he won five premier series events and finished runner-up in the 2017 world title race. Once Kolbaba catches fire, he can be hard to stop, and it will be a fun competition if he gets on a heater these next two weekends.

Cole Melancon, meanwhile, is one of only two Americans with two victories at the PBR Global Cup, and brings the kind of confidence and toughness to the arena that you want to see on a team. The Texan may also have benefitted from a few weeks off after leaving Guthrie with a bruised thigh, knee and calf. Melancon – the Iron Cowboy champion and leading contender for 2020 Rookie of the Year – struggled in Guthrie and ended the first half in an 0-for-7 slump.

It will be interesting to see how Jordan Spears does in his first PBR-sanctioned event. The 28-year-old is a four-time NFR qualifier who went 6-for-10 last year at the NFR, finishing third in Vegas and No. 6 in the PRCA standings.

General Manager Jerome Robinson will also be a sound leader for this team and can offer great coaching points to his unit.

TEAM INSIGHT:
World Finals Qualifications: 5
National Finals Rodeo Qualifications: 7
Some Accolades: Three Global Cup Team USA victories, 2020 Iron Cowboy champion

Pre-Game Reading: Kolbaba says Team YETI will be ready for physical grind

HOW THEY CAN WIN DIVISION A: Kolbaba and Melancon get on a roll like they have done in the past, and Team YETI receives strong contributions from Spears and Eli Vastbinder. Similar to this past Global Cup, Melancon thrives in a leadership role in helping lead Team YETI to victory.

6. TEAM WRANGLER (CAPTAIN: COLTEN JESSE)

 
Team Wrangler can sneak into contention very quickly with the leadership of Colten Jesse and Brennon Eldred, two riders who have competed in multiple Global Cups.

Eldred, especially, will be a rider I am keeping an eye on at the Monster Energy Team Challenge.

The 25-year-old was outstanding at the first three PBR Global Cups, going 5-for-7, but that event allowed coaches the ability to match their riders up with a bull from their respective pen. So the METC will be very different with riders not being paired up for the best matchup.

Eldred was still one of the riders most excited about the team format of the Global Cup, and you can bet he is going to be focused and ready for this new event.

Jesse is off to the best start of his career and is ranked No. 8 in the world standings, and he should provide stable leadership to the team.

Roscoe Jarboe was a rider that likely would have been an option for Team YETI, but Jesse scooped him up before Kolbaba could. Jarboe is 28th in the PRCA standings and last qualified for the NFR in 2018, and went 5-for-10.

General Manager Ross Coleman will also be sure to have his team motivated.

TEAM INSIGHTS
World Finals Qualifications: 4
NFR Qualifications: 7
Some Accolades: 2017 Global Cup team victory

Pre-Game Reading: Jesse talks having a chip on the team’s shoulder

HOW THEY CAN WIN: Beyond Jesse carrying the torch, Jarboe or Joseph McConnel become a weapon for Team Wrangler, and Eldred, who missed the first month of the season with a broken hip and then sustained a concussion in his first event back, thrives in the METC format like he did at the Global Cup.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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