Big Picks and Some Surprises at 2024 PBR Teams New Rider Draft

John Crimber goes No. 1 and will ride for his dad, Paulo, with the Florida Freedom.

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In four drafts held thus far in the nascent PBR Teams league, the most hyped young talent in league history went exactly where he was expected to start Wednesday night’s 2024 New Rider Draft.

While 385 bull riders declared for the draft, there was no drama whatsoever surrounding the destination of the top pick, held by the Florida Freedom.

Team owner Heath Freeman cut off any speculation walking into DraftKings Nashville wearing a Freedom jersey with the name CRIMBER on the back. 

This was no rinky-dink Nike baseball uniform. The letters were big.

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In selecting John Crimber, the 18-year-old phenom who nearly won the individual 2024 PBR World Championship, the Florida Freedom has created a father-son marketer’s dream for South Florida’s bull riding team.

He will join his dad, Freedom Head Coach Paulo Crimber, for the team competing in their first season at Amerant Bank Arena just north of Miami.

Following two national high school titles, Crimber had one of the best-ever rookie seasons in PBR individual competition going 29-for-66 (43.93%) with one event win and five runner-up finishes.  

Florida has already been good to young Crimber. That first elite series win came in Jacksonville in late February.

In his Texas-with-a-whiff-of-Portuguese drawl, Crimber said that being drafted No. 1 “feels really good, especially being on the same team as my dad. I’m excited to get rolling and bring a championship to Florida. I don’t think it’s going to change much; he’s been there my whole career. He might get on my butt a bit more for falling off.”

With the No. 2 pick, the expansion team replacing the Freedom in Oklahoma City, The Wildcatters, led by legendary rider J.B. Mauney, chose Crimber’s best friend, Clay Guiton.

The 18-year-old from North Carolina carries an attitude Mauney respects as much as the kid’s 7 top 10 finishes and two 90-point rides in his rookie Unleash The Beast season.

“You have to watch them behind the bucking chutes, when they make the whistle, when they buck off,” Mauney said. “You have to look at how they carry themselves. Winners carry themselves different than losers.”

Mauney, who said he rode bulls with Guiton’s dad, has known Clay since he was born. He likes the way he competes.

“He means it, and he tries hard,” Mauney said.

With the third pick, the New York Mavericks chose Hudson Bolton, an 18-year-old lefty who made a name for himself at the Teams Combine and earlier as a 17-year-old going 4-for-4 to win the International Finals Rodeo.   

The Kansas City Outlaws, selecting fourth, then shocked some in taking 21-year-old Maikon Calixto Rocha, newly arrived in America and a mystery to most fans.

But remember, KC has a penchant for selecting unknown riders who quickly become household names.

Eleven days ago, one of those athletes, Cassio Dias, concluded one of the best regular seasons in PBR individual bull riding to win the gold buckle inside AT&T Stadium.

With their 18th pick, the Outlaws would then go for Heitor Santos Ferreira, who Coach J.W. Hart called a great talent though still “unseen and unknown.”  

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Assistant Coach Guilherme Marchi said the 18-year-old is “the diamond we were looking for.”

With Dias, Marchi’s South American scouting prowess has already yielded a rider who may become an all-time great. In a simple sport predicated on staying on the bull for 8 seconds, Hart won’t question the cowboy who did that more times than anyone in the sport’s history.

“I trust Guilherme,” Hart said. “When he says there’s a diamond down there, I never waver.”

With the fifth pick, the Carolina Cowboys, coming off a disappointing 11-17 season, took Ethan Winckler – an ebullient 18-year-old from Texas, instantly dubbed “Baby Gorilla” by announcer Matt West.

In high school Winckler was an outside linebacker with 99 tackles in his sophomore season. The kid’s ever-present smile shouldn’t fool anyone; he’s determined, tough and durable.

“Ethan has a sports background. He has the right mindset. We want guys who can be gritty and get it done,” said Cowboys GM Austin Dillon.

Now, Winckler will be riding with world champions Cooper Davis, Daylon Swearingen, and Sage Kimzey.

“It’s crazy to be in the locker room with your mentors, but I’m ready to get at it,” Winckler said.

Several team executives left DraftKings Nashville thrilled that the riders they coveted remained available for the taking.

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With the seventh pick, the Wildcatters’ Brandon Bates could barely believe his good fortune in snatching Kase Hitt, a talented 19-year-old left-hander from Oklahoma who won the Teams Combine along with seven pro rodeos in his rookie season. 

“I’m shocked other teams allowed us to get him, and we’re gonna make them pay for it,” Bates said without a hint of humor in his voice.

With Hitt suddenly on his team, Mauney was beaming as if Philip Morris had slashed the price on Marlboro Reds.

Meantime, Hitt is over the moon to ride for Mauney.

“He’s the best ever in my opinion,” he said. “It brings extra pressure. He’s a cowboy, and if you don’t try your butt off, he’s probably gonna drop you.”

Mavericks GM Chris Pantani had a piece of folded yellow paper in this pocket that said: “MARCO RIZZO NO MATTER WHAT.” 

The cowboy with two Top 5’s in his first seven elite events before breaking his leg in Billings in April was available for the 11th pick.  

“It feels good,” Rizzo said. “I was sitting back there thinking ‘Dad gum nobody likes me.’ I was watching Kody (Lostroh) growing up. He’s gonna boost my riding. I’m here to win.”

Coach Lostroh had back-up plans if Rizzo wasn’t on the draft board for him. They weren’t needed.

“When he was available, my heart jumped out of my chest,” Lostroh said. “He brings so much more to our team than bull riding. He’s a great human. Even as a young guy, he’ll be someone the other guys look up to.”

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The Arizona Ridge Riders happily grabbed JaCauy Hale with the 17th pick. The 22-year-old INFR Champion made a big impact when receiving an invite to the Ty Murray Invitational in Albuquerque to put up a 90-point ride on Mahan, one of his two round wins at the elite level. 

“JaCuay fits into our team – the culture of our locker room is talented and humble guys,” said Ridge Riders Head Coach Colby Yates. “He’s a tough kid with so much talent.”

In selecting Brazilians Andrei Scoparo and Lucas Martins Costa along with Montana cowboy Gavin Knutson, Nashville Stampede GM Tina Battock said her team is “walking away with our Top 3 choices, so we are really, really happy.”

Assistant GM Keith Ryan Cartwright says Scoparo, a rider championed early on by Silvano Alves, has the potential to crack the Stampede’s starting lineup.

Scoparo was the reason the Stampede traded back into the first round, Cartwright said.

Likewise, the Missouri Thunder were thrilled to land Tristan Parker with the 15th pick. Parker, an NFR qualifier is a past PRCA Rookie of the Year. He’s pegged to be rugged and durable from hitting the rodeo trail.

“It’s so cool to see these PRCA guys come over to the PBR,” said Thunder Coach Ross Coleman.

With 15 rookies competing at the recently concluded 2024 PBR World Finals, and first-year riders placing in eight of the premier series top 10 spots, including four of the top 7, the draft was heavy on youth.

The Texas Rattlers, a powerhouse the first two seasons, used the 9th pick to snag 18-year-old Oregon cowboy Shane Scott, and also grabbed Donnie Rutherford, a 21-year-old Aussie with the rare ability to ride better on bulls away from his hand. 

But several veterans also went in the first two rounds.

Brennon Eldred, 29, rested and feeling better than he has in years, landed with Kansas City as the eighth overall pick. The Nashville Stampede selected three-time Brazilian finals qualifier Lucas Martins Costa, 28, with their 13th pick. And the Carolina Cowboys took NFR qualifier Braden Richardson, 29, of Jasper, Texas, with the 20th pick.

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Earlier this year, PBR Commissioner and CEO Sean Gleason had heard worries that a perceived lack of new riders would affect the draft. Gleason called the talent-rich draft an unqualified success, noting 153 new riders declared their eligibility.

For a league that keeps notching impressive milestones, including a recent media rights deal expanding its hours on CBS Sports and adding new partner Merit Street Media, which will bring fans every ride live, the Nashville draft was another marker for a very bright future ahead.

“The depth of talent selected by our 10 teams at the 2024 PBR Teams New Rider Draft was nothing short of incredible,” Gleason said. “The biggest challenge teams will face is looking at their loaded rosters and choosing their starting five. I cannot wait for the new PBR Camping World Team Series season to start in July in Oklahoma City.”