PUEBLO, Colo. – With the first PBR Team Series regular season campaign officially in the books and all eight seeds decided for next weekend’s PBR Team Series Championship (Nov. 4-6), it’s safe to say that the inaugural slate of five-on-five action succeeded in providing an electric, innovative platform for the world’s best bull riding talent.

While two-time PBR World Champion Jose Vitor Leme ultimately captured the first Team Series MVP award and corresponding $50,000 bonus en route to helping his Austin Gamblers secure the No. 1 ranking and first-round bye heading into the Team Series Championship, not all aspects of the campaign were chalk.

Some would say that the circuit’s first regular season was actually full of surprises, some more pleasant than others. Whether teams mainly stuck to their draft-day selections or mixed things up a few times throughout the season, all eight organizations executed free agent signings at one point or another.

How key were those free agents to achieving their ultimate goal?

That’s where the fun starts.

Featuring several of the series’ Top 25 overall riders, even representing a team’s best rider on the year, below is each team’s qualified ride leader among its free agents as the proven wildcards look to finish the deal next weekend at T-Mobile Arena.

Arizona Ridge Riders – Alisson de Souza

His milkshakes brought all the bulls to the yard, and damn right, his score’s better than yours. One of the hottest and most motivated riders to begin the year, Alisson de Souza was Arizona’s crown jewel of a free agent signing. Representing one of three Ridge Riders to finish the regular season ranked among the Top 10 in the MVP race, Souza’s 12-for-25 (48%) showcase was good enough to rank No. 10 in the league after finishing ranked No. 50 in the world during last year’s Unleash The Beast tour. After going a perfect 3-for-3 during this summer’s Tryon Chute Out preseason event in Tryon, North Carolina, the veteran recorded qualified rides in five of his first seven regular-season opportunities, leading Arizona to a successful start alongside teammates and fellow Top 10-finishers Luciano de Castro and Eduardo Aparecido.

Austin Gamblers – Ezekiel Mitchell

With captain and MVP Jose Vitor Leme leading the way for the No. 1-ranked Austin Gamblers, the veteran has inspired his team to strive for greatness. Mitchell and the crew accepted the challenge, as Mitchell’s 9-for-22 (40.9%) record carried the young rider to a No. 21 ranking in the MVP race while seeing four of his teammates rank within the Top 20 during the inaugural series of action. Despite being signed as a free agent, Mitchell’s contributions to the league-leading squad didn’t go unnoticed. Riding a hot streak over a three-weekend stretch throughout August, Mitchell went a combined 6-for-8, but his season-best ride didn’t come until Oct. 16 at Ridge Rider Days when he bested Born to Sin for 86.5 points. It was ultimately the ride that clinched Austin the No. 1 seed.

Carolina Cowboys – Wingson Henrique da Silva

Similar to Arizona’s Souza, Silva began the first-ever PBR Team Series action hot, going 2-for-2 in Bismarck, North Dakota, at the Dakota Community Bank & Trust’s preseason event. The 23-year-old went on to log an 81.5-point score aboard Juju during his first outing of the year July 25 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, but struggled to stay consistent for the Cowboys. Ending the regular season ranked No. 43 with a 3-for-18 (16.7%) showing overall, the young rider should be able to build on his first campaign of action beginning Nov. 4-6 as T-Mobile Arena prepares to host the PBR Team Series Championship.

Kansas City Outlaws – Marcus Mast

While free agents around the league stepped up for their respective squads, Marcus Mast led his in qualified rides, as one of only two free agents to accomplish the feat this season. Seemingly stunning the Team Series circuit event after event, Mast was the Outlaws’ go-to guy. Signed to the squad in May after ending the 2022 season ranked No. 131, Mast did a 180 and then some, leading Kansas City with 16 qualified rides (16-for-31, 51.6%). After finishing the season third in the MVP race and his club trading first-round draft selection Dalton Kasel to the Austin Gamblers, Mast’s leadership in the chutes and locker room alike continue to lead the way for the Outlaws.

RELATED: Behind the numbers: Qualified ride leaders for each PBR Team Series squad

Missouri Thunder – Adriano Salgado Since qualifying for his first World Finals in 2021, Salgado has been one of the PBR’s hottest young riders. Since going 13-for-25 (52%) this season for the Missouri Thunder en route to pacing his squad in qualified rides, he’s now one of the hottest talents to ride in the PBR Team Series. Finishing No. 6 in the MVP race, Salgado consistently “belly-rubbed” his way to greatness all season long, logging rides in nine of the 10 regular season events.

Nashville Stampede – Thiago Salgado

Finishing ranked No. 23 overall during the PBR Team Series is quite the accomplishment. Doing it at 20 years old is a whole other story. Enter Thiago Salgado, back-flipper extraordinaire and talented bull rider – and Adriano’s brother. Pacing free agents on his Nashville Stampede squad with an 8-for-25 (32%) showing this season, Salgado has been showing off for head coach Justin McBride and company. While the team enters next weekend’s Team Series Championship as the No. 8 seed, it’s still full of talented potential, with the likes of Ryan Dirteater, Silvano Alves and others hungry to prove they aren’t really at the bottom of the barrel. Having logged only four less rides than teammate Kaique Pacheco this season, Salgado’s time to shine could be sooner than some anticipated.

Oklahoma Freedom – Casey Roberts Also knocking out his first season of Team Series action as a 20-year-old, Casey Roberts posted a 5-for-22 (22.7%) record during his time as a regular within the Oklahoma Freedom lineup. While the young Freedom rider may have only logged five rides, each were important to his squad’s chances of prevailing the matchup victorious and scored above 85 points. The highlight of Roberts’ season arguably came during his second outing of the year, when he championed Magicbru for a game-best 90.25 points.

Texas Rattlers – Daniel Keeping

While it’s the Rattlers’ in-state rival Austin Gamblers who had the best hand throughout 10 competitive regular-season events, the Texas Rattlers may have landed one of the best wild cards in PBR Team Series history in Daniel Keeping. In limited but impactful action this season, Keeping went 9-for-12 (75%) and was quickly recognized as a force to be reckoned with as Texas made its unforgettable run to a first-round bye. Helping his squad capture three consecutive event titles, racking up an impressive six-straight rides (still active, dating back to Rattler Days) and posting one of the campaign’s best-scored rides (92.5 points on Blue Duck), Keeping is here to ride.

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media