PUEBLO, Colo. – In only 111 days, Daniel Keeping went from undrafted PBR free agent to the No. 1 bull rider in the world.

Is that kind of crazy?

“I don’t think it’s as crazy as people think,” a nonchalant Keeping said minutes after winning the PBR Minneapolis Invitational on Saturday night at Target Center. “It’s called process of God’s choice, and God’s choice is this right now, and I’ve just got to keep living in it.

“But we ain’t done yet. Now it’s worry about the next one. Ride them left or right and go back to the basics.”

“I’ve been studying them older guys, like Silvano (Alves) and them,” Keeping said. “Sometimes you don’t need a wild bull (in the champ round). You just need a bull that gets the job done for you. Two times in a row, Flapjack put me in the money spot and won the round, so you can’t beat that. They all feel like a dream when you stay and ride them right, but Flapjack, man, that’s my go-to bull. Him and Blue Duck. They both are really good and up under themselves, no power, just fun.”

Keeping went a perfect 3-for-3 in Minneapolis, riding Pearl Jam for 87.25 points in Round 1 and MagicBru for 88.25 points in Round 2, while his 7-for-9 start to the season has him atop the PBR Unleash The Beast standings for the first time in his career.

Keeping has continued to become a budding star with his humility outside of the arena and ensuing growth inside of it by going 11-for-16 for the Texas Rattlers and becoming a PBR household name after coach Cody Lambert decided to sign him as a free agent on Aug. 22.

RELATED: Keeping thriving with the Texas Rattlers

The 23-year-old only had five qualified rides in PBR competition on his resume until 2022, primarily getting his bull riding fix as a crash dummy against wild and young practice pen bulls for stock contractors throughout Texas.

Keeping admitted to PBR.com this weekend that there were certainly still some nerves when the UTB season began.

“I mean, it is still a little nerve racking, and you still have a lot of people cheering you on here and at home,” Keeping admitted Friday night in Minneapolis. “It isn’t like, ‘Oh my God!’ It is just doing my job correctly and doing it right. Showing everyone that all the work I am doing at home is paying off finally.”

Keeping’s calm and cool composition does not mean he is not thinking about the ultimate goal either, saying as much this weekend even prior to winning his first career UTB event.

“Just like everybody else, I want to get that gold buckle and win Rookie of the Year,” Keeping said. “You can’t just jump to the highest step without going up a couple steps first.”

Keeping’s process will continue this coming weekend as his stock continues to soar like a rocket ship.

The once unknown Texas Rattler now is set to take a 28-point lead in the world title race over No. 2 Cooper Davis into the PBR Manchester Invitational on Saturday and Sunday in Manchester, New Hampshire. Round 1 airs exclusively on RidePass on Pluto TV Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

When did Keeping realize that he indeed could one day find himself atop the PBR standings?

Was there a lightbulb moment in this career turnaround that Keeping casually downplays week after week?

“Honestly, it kind of started with Teams, as everybody says, when I was getting real consistent on good bulls,” Keeping said. “Not decent, but really good bulls. It kind of clicked, and I had a talk with Cody (Lambert), Ednei (Caminhas), Joao (Ricardo Vieira) in there. They kind of coached me a little, and I opened my eyes and said, ‘You’re capable of this. You’ve just got to tell yourself you’re capable of it.”

Photo courtesy Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media