WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – With the second overall pick in the inaugural PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Team Series Supplemental Draft, the Carolina Cowboys drafted 2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas).
The supplemental draft held today was comprised of riders declaring availability for fewer than 10 regular-season events (but no less than five regular-season events), helping teams fill seven protected roster positions. Today’s draft follows an initial five-round draft teams participated in on May 23 to begin filling their core rosters.
Since making his rookie debut on the premier series in 2015, Davis has been a force. In 2015, after changing his diet and lifestyle after being called “fat” by a bull riding legend, Davis dropped 25 pounds in two months, markedly improved his riding percentage in the second half, and capped the year by becoming just the fourth rookie in history to win the PBR World Finals.
In 2016, despite breaking his collarbone late in the season, Davis returned to action in less than two weeks to finish a triumphant sophomore campaign, winning the year’s PBR World Championship after an intense three-way battle with J.B. Mauney and Kaique Pacheco.
Davis has remained a consistent competitor in the seasons since, annually contending for the PBR World Championship. Following his gold buckle campaign in 2016, Davis concluded 2017 No. 3 in the world, 2018 ranked No. 7, the 2019 season No. 5 in the world, 2020 as the No. 8 man on the planet, and 2021 in the No. 3 position.
In 2022, despite a strong start to the year, including three consecutive Top 15 finishes on the elite Unleash The Beast, Davis sustained a shoulder injury that required surgery and relegated him to the sidelines for the remainder of the season. Davis, however, remained on top of the competition, joining fans weekly as a commentator for the PBR broadcasts on RidePass on Pluto TV and CBS Sports Network.
He will continue his recovery, and as the Carolina Cowboys’ No. 1 supplemental pick, join the new team once he is cleared for competition.
The Carolina Cowboys will host its inaugural homestand on Sept. 9-11 at LJVM Coliseum, the seventh event of an 11-event PBR Team Series season that begins in late July.
Prior to Thursday’s Supplemental Draft, the Carolina Cowboys also signed four new riders, welcoming Junior Patrik Souza (Sonora, Brazil), Lane Nobles (West, Texas), Wingson Henrique da Silva (Navirai, Brazil) and Nathan Hatchel (Castle Rock, Colorado) via free agency.
Davis, Souza, Nobles, Silva and Hatchel join 2022 PBR World Champion Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York), Mason Taylor (Maypearl, Texas), Boudreaux Campbell (Crockett, Texas), Ramon de Lima (Rio Branco, Brazil) and Cannon Cravens (Porum, Oklahoma), who were selected by the Carolina Cowboys during the five-round PBR Team Series Draft.
The Carolina Cowboys are operated by Richard Childress Racing with 2018 Daytona 500 Champion Austin Dillon serving as General Manager. Dillon, who drives the iconic No. 3 Chevrolet, is currently in his ninth year of competition in the NASCAR Cup Series. A former champion in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (2013) and NASCAR Truck Series (2011), Dillon is a 19-time winner in NASCAR’s top-three touring series.
Bull riding legend, PBR co-founder and North Carolina’s own Jerome Davis will lead the Carolina Cowboys in their inaugural season as head coach. Both a PRCA World Champion bull rider and member of the prestigious PBR Ring of Honor, Davis was paralyzed from the chest down in 1998 after being thrown from a bull. Despite his riding career coming to an end, Davis remained in the industry growing Davis Rodeo Ranch, based in Archdale, into one of the PBR’s top stock companies alongside his wife Tiffany, who will join the team’s front office as Assistant General Manager.
The bull riding action for the 2022 PBR Team Series’ Cowboy Days at LJVM Coliseum begins at 7:45 p.m. ET on Friday, September 9, 6:45 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 10, and 1:45 p.m. CT on Sunday, September 11, times subject to change.
Tickets for the 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 LJVM Coliseum Box Office, or by calling PBR customer service at 1-800-732-1727
For more information on Carolina Cowboys, visit https://pbr.com/teams/cowboys/, Carolina Cowboys on Facebook, @carolinacowboyspbr on Instagram, or @CARCowboysPBR on Twitter.
Article Courtesy of PBR
Picture By Andy Watson/ Bull Stock Media