AUSTIN, TEXAS—The Austin Gamblers, Central Texas’ newest professional sports team set to compete in the inaugural PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Team Series, have signed four new riders—Dakota Louis, Ezekiel Mitchell, Griffin Smeltzer and Blake Smith—via free agency. These signings follow the initial PBR Team Series Draft on Monday night. Eight teams in the new bull riding league to begin regular-season competition in July participated in a five-round draft to begin building their rosters.
Louis, the 29th-ranked rider in the world, won two events this past season, including the PBR Cooper Tires Invitational last month in his home state of Montana. The 29-year-old has eight non-premier series event wins and one Unleash The Beast victory in his 12 years on the PBR tour. He recently qualified for the 2022 World Finals held in May in Fort Worth, Texas.
Mitchell, a Rockdale, Texas native, is the 36th-ranked bull rider in the world. The 25-year-old has 11 non-premier series event wins in seven seasons on the PBR tour and has three career 90-point rides at all levels. Mitchell competed at the 2022 World Finals.
Smeltzer, the No. 51-ranked rider in the world, has competed across the PBR the past three years since making his debut in 2020. The 22-year-old Canuck from Claresholm, Alberta, has won two non-premier series events, including most recently on the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour in late April in Wichita, Kansas. In 2022, Smeltzer also earned his career-first Glen Keeley Award, presented annually to the top-ranked Canadian in the world standings at season’s end.
Smith, the No. 66-ranked rider in the world, completed just his second season with the PBR in 2022. The 20-year-old Canadian from Abbey, Saskatchewan, began this past season with a bang, winning the Lloydminster PBR Winter Classic in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Canada this past December.
Louis, Mitchell, Smeltzer and Smith join Jose Vitor Leme, Austin Richardson, Lucas Divino, Claudio Montanha Jr. and Conner Halverson, who were selected by the Gamblers in the PBR Team Series draft.
Austin will host Gambler Days, a three-day weekend homestand in which all eight teams compete against each other, at Moody Center from Aug. 26-28—the first professional sporting event at the facility. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting PBR.com, Ticketmaster.com, MoodyCenterATX.com or by calling PBR Customer Service at 1-800-732-1727.