PUEBLO, Colo. – Even with the quickest of glances looking around the entire 2023 PBR Camping World Team Series landscape, it’s easy to see the 5-on-5 tour is packed with an abundance of talent.

With riders hailing from Brazil, Australia, Mexico, the United States and beyond, the league has become not only a place for established riders to earn their dues, but a bit of a melting pot, continuing to welcome breakout talents like Cassio Dias, Daniel Keeping, Vitor Losnake and others to remind fans the next wave of elite cowboys aren’t on the way.

They’re HERE!

Thankfully for Oklahoma Freedom Head Coach Cord McCoy and team, they’ve been able to watch on as Caden Bunch attempts to join that group of standouts while repping the stars and stripes.

Surely his team-best 9-for-14 (64.3%) record paints a nice picture of what the 20-year-old is capable of.

But it doesn’t quite tell the whole story.

If he’s hoping to elevate his status, and paygrade, he’ll need to shine for the Freedom this weekend as they prepare to take on the defending 2022 PBR Teams Champion Nashville Stampede during Friday night’s Game 2.

Originally selected during the inaugural 2022 PBR Teams Draft, No. 40 overall, Bunch saw some action during year one, but between some injuries, developmental adjustments and a pretty stacked Freedom lineup, only received three opportunities (0-for-3) throughout the season.

Year two, however, had other plans in store for the youngster.

“Some of those guys, it’s really tough to wait on while those guys are developing,” McCoy shared.

“Caden, he was one of our very first original draft picks from our starting five from year one. To see him now, be a more complete, kind of our ace in the hole, has kind of been a great deal. He's making a difference for the whole team.”

RELATED: First-round matchups for 2023 PBR Teams Championship finalized as regular season concludes

The organization very much planted its flag in believing in Bunch this season, and overall, shifted towards a bit of a youth movement when the Freedom traded former team captain Eli Vastbinder to the Texas Rattlers. Further loosening its grips on some of its aging veterans, Oklahoma designated Chase Outlaw to its Reserve Roster, thus allowing their first-round opponent in the Stampede to sign him to their own Protected Roster.

Don’t get it twisted though.

McCoy and the organization obviously still wish the best for Outlaw and his career. 

In recognizing a pair of storied competitors across the chutes from his team this weekend, McCoy shared just how special it’s been watching on as history unravels itself.

RELATED: Silvano Alves has 500 career rides. Here are the 10 best

“That’s huge, especially for the guys who realize what it takes to do that. The handful of guys who have even made it into the 100s marks,” McCoy said in reference to Silvano Alves surpassing the 500-ride mark.

“Chase and I were just talking about that when he hit 200. There’s not that many ahead of you. When you start talking about 3, 4 and 500, you’re counting on two hands the guys who have done it at this level. You’ve rode 500 of the very best bulls in the world. Man, that’s such a feat that God blessed you to be able to get on 500, let alone keep a high riding percentage for over a decade and making it to the 500 mark. It’s Superman stuff.”

For as much respect as he has for the three-time World Champion, he’ll be directly rooting against him and his squad Friday night when things get serious.

As far as Nashville is concerned, it’s been a bit of a wash this season overall, as the team has been forced to deal with injuries all year long (and, technically, before the season even started.)

Seeing 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco get banged up during the 2023 Unleash The Beast season, Justin McBride’s team was behind the eight ball to begin with.

With Bruno Carvalho, Dener Barbosa, Mason Moody (it’s a long list, really) and other regular contributors sidelined as the campaign rolled on, McBride has come to terms with the fact that he won’t be bringing his BEST roster of riders to Las Vegas.

But more so, the healthiest.

RELATED: Injury-plagued Nashville Stampede not counting themselves out of a second consecutive PBR Teams Championship

“It’s bull riding, so the best-laid plan can, and will, always go to shit,” McBride offered.

“But yeah, if you told me seven out of the nine that you can have on the Protected Roster would be out with injury, I would be a bit surprised.”

Navigating the injury-ridden waters, McBride coached his team to an 11-17 regular season record, securing four more wins than the squad earned during their inaugural season, but isn’t quite ready to compare last year’s championship-contending team with this year’s banged up group.

What he does still have this postseason, though, are the services of Silvano Alves. And THAT means the defending champs have every shot in the world to get the job done once again.

“The more seasoned of a guy that you have, the simpler you can keep things because they’ve been around long enough. They’ve been through the highs and lows to know that all of the magical shit is just that. It’s not real, it doesn’t matter,” McBride added.

“There’s a handful of things you have to do right every time. Those real veterans, those solid veterans … they get that. I think when you tap into that with them, you get another gear out of them that you don’t always see. You see it at times, but it consistently shows up with Silvano. With Outlaw. It’s easy to get something that they didn’t even realize was still in there.”

The pair of veterans are primed to attempt an upset as the No. 7 seed takes on the No. 4 Freedom Friday night in Game 2.

As for McBride?

You’ll find the sport’s all-time No. 1 ranked rider (as decided by PBR’s 30th Anniversary Top 30 campaign) atop the chutes, cheering on fellow legends and attempting to will his team to back-to-back championships.

After defeating the Freedom in Game 1 of last year’s 2022 PBR Teams Championship, can the defending champs get the job done again?

With the 2023 PBR Camping World Team Series set to conclude inside T-Mobile Arena Oct. 20-22, PBR.com is breaking down each first-round matchup, continuing with the No. 4 Oklahoma Freedom taking on the No. 7 Nashville Stampede!

Regular Season Record: Oklahoma (14-14) | Nashville  (11-17) Regular Season Qualified Rides: Oklahoma (38) | Nashville (38) Regular Season Ride Percentage: Oklahoma (38-for-140: 27.1%) | Nashville (38-for-140: 27.1%) Regular Season Rides Per Game Average: Oklahoma (1.36) | Nashville (1.36) Regular Season Series: Oklahoma (3-1) | Nashville (1-3) While there are plenty of similarities between the squads when it comes to team totals from the 2023 regular season, the Freedom made sure to let the defending champs know they had their number this time around. Seeing the squads compete against each other three times in the league’s first five events, the Freedom exited the first two showdowns in the win column, albeit in close, one-score finishes. Continuing to keep things tight in their third battle, McBride’s squad was able to pull out its lone victory against Oklahoma in a dramatic 173.5-173 final during the second-ever Gambler Days. Putting an exclamation mark on the regular season series, the Freedom answered back with a convincing 267.5-0 final, ending the campaign with a 3-1 advantage over Nashville. Outside the finale, each of the first three games were close, and we’d expect nothing but the same when the two teams meet again under the brightest lights in the business Friday night. Aug. 4: 87.75-85.25 (Oklahoma W) Aug. 13: 84.75-0 (Oklahoma W) Aug. 25: 173.5-173 (Nashville W) Sept. 30: 267.5-0 (Oklahoma W)

Team MVP: Oklahoma (Caden Bunch) | Nashville (Silvano Alves) Hidden treasures come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and as the Oklahoma Freedom have found out, there were plenty of gems to be claimed throughout the inaugural 2022 PBR Teams Draft. Choosing to draft Caden Bunch with the final selection of the league’s startup draft (fifth round, 40th overall), they’ve received plenty of dividends from the guy who would be nicknamed “Mr. Irrelevant” in any other of North America’s competitive sports league (a common term for the last player selected). But after leading the Freedom with a 9-for-14 record (64.3%) in limited competition, the Tahlequah, Oklahoma, native could be the organization’s No. 1 building block. Finishing the season ranked No. 11 overall in the individual MVP race (measuring riders’ season-long aggregate score) with 789.25 points, despite attempting 15 less than bulls than eventual winner Jose Vitor Leme, the Freedom would be wise to take care of their new-found ace. On the dirt and at the bank.

While the Freedom have enjoyed the prosperous contributions from its youngster in Bunch, McBride has seen his 35-year-old leader in Silvano Alves seemingly jump in a time machine, producing at an elite rate even his younger self would applaud. Finishing No. 3 overall in this season’s MVP race, just 467.75 points back from Leme, Alves ripped off a fantastic 15-for-27 (55.6%) slate for the blue and yellow squad, almost doubling his ride total from 2022 (8-for-20). Well in Nashville’s favor, the three-time World Champion appears to be in prime form ahead of this weekend’s postseason gauntlet, most recently going a perfect 3-for-3 in Fort Worth, Texas, during Rattler Days, where he also become one of just four PBR cowboys to enter the “500 Club” following his 500th conversion aboard True Religion.

RELATED: Silvano Alves becomes fourth rider in history to reach 500 qualified rides

Game 2 Outlook: It’s never easy betting against the defending champions, but with the amount of injuries the team has sustained through year two, they’ll very much be underdogs heading into Friday night’s matchup. Entering the contest with just three less wins than the Freedom, Nashville may not have as much experience in the 5-on-5 winner’s circle, but if Head Coach Justin McBride can fire up the team with another passionate speech or two (grabbing the attention of not only his team, but eventually going viral around social media circles during last year’s run) while ensuring Silvano Alves can stay hot, the clock could once again strike midnight for the Cinderella squad.  

Across the chutes, Cord McCoy, Kody Lostroh and a locker room that’s endured a lot of changes this season. But just as a phoenix rises from ashes, Oklahoma is ready to shine inside T-Mobile Arena. Especially with Caden Bunch in their corner. Bunch hasn’t been the only rider to pop in surprising fashion, though, as Elizmar Jeremias (7-for-18) and Alex Cerqueira (6-for-21) have both stepped up for Oklahoma this season as well. With Thiago Salgado (5-for-23) the only other rider on the team’s roster to log at least five qualified rides, will the Freedom have enough firepower to contend against last year’s champs? Fans can keep an eye on Grayson Cole (2-for-6) and possibly even Roscoe Jarboe (1-for-4) to potentially emerge as dark horse candidates in helping the Freedom achieve their postseason goals.

Regardless of which team finds themselves with a lower score following Game 2, they’ll have one more opportunity to keep their championship hopes alive courtesy of Friday’s Last Chance Game, as the losers from Game 1, 2 and 3 will compete head-to-head, with just one team earning the right to continue riding on Saturday, Oct. 21!

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media