The Nashville Stampede selected 2018 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) World Champion Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) as their first pick in the inaugural PBR Team Series Draft, presented by ZipRecruiter, held in Fort Worth, Texas on May 23. Among eight teams, the Nashville Stampede had the second pick in the first round of the draft for the new bull riding league that begins competition in late July.
“Our team has spent countless hours studying rides and meeting with riders in preparation for today’s draft,” said Nashville Stampede General Manager Tina Battock. “We are confident that the team we’ve assembled, under the direction of Coach Justin McBride, will represent the city with enthusiasm and be the team to watch this season.”
“Draft day was awesome, it was a great night,” said Nashville Stampede Head Coach Justin McBride. “I am still waiting for someone to say we couldn’t make that pick, because we literally got every pick that we hoped to get. I feel like anytime that a draft gets over, and you walk away feeling like this, it definitely speaks to the prep work that our entire team did to get to this point. I am really proud of everybody, all the work that everyone has put in that’s what the Nashville Stampede is about to become.”
“That means a lot to me to be part of the team,” said newly selected Nashville Stampede rider Pacheco. “I am really happy to have the opportunity to be part of the team coached by Justin McBride. I am a big fan of him. I watched him ride a lot before I came to the United States, and I am so happy.”
Pacheco’s selection comes less than one day after he finished No. 2 in the race for the 2022 PBR World Championship. Competing with a broken foot, Pacheco contended for the gold buckle until the final out of the season.
Throughout the 2022 PBR Unleash The Beast campaign, Pacheco logged two event wins and five 90-point rides. He also went a torrid 28-for-51, covering 54.90% of his bovine athlete opponents.
The Nashville Stampede also selected:
- ROUND 2 (7th of the Round, 15th overall) – Dener Barbosa (Paulo de Faria, Brazil)
- ROUND 3 (2nd of the Round, 18th overall) – Ryan Dirteater (Hulbert, Oklahoma)
- ROUND 4 (7th of the Round, 31st overall) – Manoelito de Souza Jr. (Itamira, Brazil)
- ROUND 5 (2nd of the Round, 34th overall) – Joao Henrique Lucas (Bastos, Brazil)
2022 PBR Team Series Draft was held at Texas Live! in Arlington, Texas, a day after the 2022 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast concluded at Dickies Arena in nearby Fort Worth, Texas, crowning Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) as 2022 PBR World Champion.
The eight founding teams of the inaugural PBR Team Series – Austin Gamblers, Arizona Ridge Riders, Carolina Cowboys, Kansas City Outlaws, Missouri Thunder, Nashville Stampede, Oklahoma Freedom, and Texas Rattlers – participated an initial 5-round draft, beginning the process of selecting which riders will be competing on their respective teams when the season begins on July 25-26 at Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
All PBR riders in good standing with the league were eligible for the 2022 PBR Team Series Draft as long as they declared by May 6, 2022. Riders who declared for fewer than 10 events are eligible for a two-round supplemental draft on June 2.
In tonight’s initial draft, teams were eligible to select up to five riders, unless they traded a draft pick. The June 2 supplemental draft, comprised of riders declaring availability for fewer than ten regular season events (but no fewer than five regular season events), will help teams fill seven protected roster positions.
When they begin their 10-event regular season, culminating in a Teams Championship in Las Vegas November 4-6, teams will have ten riders in total, including seven “Protected Roster” riders and three “Practice Squad” developmental riders.
The bull riding games that make up the 11-event season will feature five-on-five, head-to-head competition between two teams. Each regular season event day will feature all teams in a game.
The inaugural draft order was determined by a lottery held on Jan. 7 in New York City when the Nashville Stampede were awarded the second pick.
Prior to the lottery draw, the PBR issued Draft guidelines which specified the two PBR-owned teams (Carolina Cowboys and Oklahoma Freedom) would select in the last two positions in the draft order, and, further, that the draft would be conducted in a “snake” format in which the first team to select in Round 1 would receive the last pick in Round 2 (i.e., Pick 16), the first pick in Round 3 (i.e., Pick 17), and so forth.
The Nashville Stampede will host its inaugural homestand on Aug. 19-21 at Bridgestone Arena.
The bull riding action for the 2022 PBR Team Series’ Stampede Days at Bridgestone Arena begins at 7:45 p.m. CDT on Friday, August 19, 6:45 p.m. CDT on Saturday, August 20, and 1:45 p.m. CDT on Sunday, August 21, times subject to change.
Tickets for the three-day event are on-sale now, and start at $20, taxes and fees not included. Tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com and PBR.com, at the Bridgestone Arena Box Office, or by calling PBR customer service at 1-800-732-1727.
For more information about Nashville Stampede, visit pbr.com/teams/stampede/, Nashville Stampede on Facebook, @NashvilleStampede on Instagram, or @Nash_Stampede on Twitter.
About the Nashville Stampede:
Nashville Stampede are based at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, where the team will hold its inaugural Stampede Days homestand on August 19-21, 2022, the fourth event of the 10-event PBR Team Series regular season. The Stampede are coached by two-time PBR World Champion Justin McBride. Under the leadership of General Manager Tina Battock, the Stampede are owned by Morris Communications Company, LLC (MCC), which is part of a privately held company with diversified holdings in media, real estate, property development and agribusiness. MCC is based in Augusta, Georgia. MCC’s current media holdings include Morris Media Network (MMN) which reaches millions of consumers with diversified content brands in print, digital, products and live events including Western Horseman, Barrel Horse News, Quarter Horse News, Road to the Horse, EquiStat and the National Barrel Horse Association. A portfolio of lifestyle publications and digital assets serve outdoor/sporting/travel enthusiasts with Alaska Magazine, Milepost, Gray’s Sporting Journal, Charlotte Magazine, Orlando Magazine, Savannah Magazine, Where Visitor publications and more, including the Nashville Stampede, one of eight founding teams in the new PBR Team Series.
About PBR (Professional Bull Riders):
PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 500 bull riders compete in more than 200 events annually across the televised PBR Unleash The Beast tour (UTB), which features the top 35 bull riders in the world; the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT); the PBR Touring Pro Division (TPD); and the PBR’s international circuits in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico. In June 2022, PBR will launch PBR Team Series – eight teams of the world’s best bull riders competing for a new championship. The organization’s digital assets include PBR RidePass on Pluto TV, which is home to Western sports. PBR is a subsidiary of IMG, a global leader in sports, fashion, events and media. For more information, visit PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at Twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.
