PUEBLO, Colo. – The Missouri Thunder has a new veteran in the locker room, and his name is Boudreaux Campbell.

Still just 25 years old, Campbell made his Unleash The Beast debut in 2020 and has more premier-series experience than any of his teammates besides Andrew Alvidrez, who debuted on the UTB just a few weeks earlier.

That doesn’t mean Campbell isn’t having fun with the new kids, though.

When the Thunder is together in a group, Campbell is one of the most rambunctious, joking and laughing and doing… well, whatever this is.

It’s helped make it easy for Campbell to transition into a new locker room after being traded from the Carolina Cowboys in February.

“Just getting in with this group of guys and the coaches and the staff of the Missouri Thunder has been a blessing to me,” Campbell said. “I’ve already known all the guys on our team prior to this, so just being in the same locker room and really getting to know them, we do have a lot of fun. On top of that, everybody rides bulls good, we all have good personalities, we all get along good, and I think everybody has a really key role in this team.”

Jumping from the Cowboys to the Thunder is quite the shift, as the Cowboys are more veteran-heavy while the Thunder relies on younger talent. The Cowboys have a combined nine gold buckles on the roster; the Thunder has none, though Campbell is the 2020 PBR Rookie of the Year.

But Campbell is pleased with the guys he suits up with every weekend.

“We might not have a lot of the big names or whatever everybody else thinks, but we all try hard and we all have the work ethic, and I think that goes a long way in this team aspect – not really relying on just one guy here and there,” he said. “We rely on all of our guys. So just to be able to count on every one of your guys on the team, it’s outstanding. It’s an awesome thing to see.”

And, abruptly, Campbell has gone from one of the younger, more unheralded members of his team to one of the undisputed locker room leaders.

“It adds a little pressure,” he admits. “I am one of the older guys in the locker room, but there’s some guys I’ve been riding with in this locker room. Me and Andrew Alvidrez, we grew up riding calves and steers together and stuff. I’ve known T. Parker since I was a young kid, before I ever turned pro. And Briggs Madsen – I got to go to junior nationals with him in junior high school. So I’ve known them guys my whole career, and I don’t think it’s any added pressure for me to be a role model or leader in there. I just want guys to love Jesus and love riding bulls, so I feel like that’s my key in this deal – just keep everybody lifted up, believing in the good Lord, and they already ride bulls good. You’ve just got to give them some confidence.”

The Thunder started their 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series season on the right foot. At PBR Wildcatters Days, presented by Travel Oklahoma, they went 1-2 – maybe not the record you’d want, but considering it took the Thunder more than one event to even record their first qualified ride in 2023, it’s a good sign.

In their very first game of the season, against the New York Mavericks, the Thunder walked away with a 174.75-0 win. Campbell, riding in the No. 2 spot for Missouri, contributed an 86.5-point effort on Wasted Nights.

“It’s always good to win,” Campbell said. “Winning’s fun. But like we told the guys (after the game), that’s great, that’s awesome, but that’s what we’re supposed to do every time. That’s our job, and that’s why we signed up to ride bulls. We want to ride bulls to be the very best, so there could be a lot more winning done this season.”

Campbell has already done some winning since the 2024 PBR World Finals concluded the UTB season in May. He competed in two PBR Canada events in June, finishing second in Kingston, Ontario, and first in Ottawa.

He says his strong performances have helped him with his momentum and all-important confidence heading into this Teams season.

“Confidence is key in this game,” Campbell said. “We were talking to Ty Murray before the season, and Ty said something. He’s like, ‘I learned to ride bulls when I was 12. The rest was mental and confidence and the work you put in.’ And I really, truly believe that. I feel like all these guys have known how to ride bulls for years. It’s just the work and the time and the effort we put in during the week to get ready for the weekend. That’s all I really think about. We know how to ride. You get enough confidence and put enough time and work during the week for your job, you’re going to get some results out of it.”

Campbell hopes the wins keep coming as he competes this weekend at the Big Sky PBR in Big Sky, Montana, and then heads to Cheyenne, Wyoming, for the Camping World PBR Last Cowboy Standing at Cheyenne Frontier Days on July 22-23. Fans can watch all the action in Cheyenne live on RidePass on Pluto TV.

In 2021, Campbell finished second at Last Cowboy Standing in Cheyenne to two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme, riding 2021 YETI World Champion Bull Woopaa for 95.25 points -- .25 points shy of his career high.

“I’m super excited to go to Cheyenne,” Campbell said. “I used to go to Cheyenne every year for the rodeo, and I seemed to always have good luck in Cheyenne. I always rode good in Cheyenne, and I know I got second at the Last Cowboy Standing there. So I’m really excited to get out there. It’s riding bulls in that big outdoor arena, and they usually sell it out every night, so it’s just an awesome venue.”

A few days later, Campbell will be back with the Thunder at PBR Teams: Duluth on July 26-28 (tune in on Merit Street and CBS). Missouri begins the weekend with its first bye before taking on the Oklahoma Wildcatters (2-1) and the Arizona Ridge Riders (2-0).

Competition is steep, and they’ll have their work cut out for them. But Campbell says the Thunder are simply focusing on the bulls in front of them while they chase the PBR Teams Championship.

“We’re just going to let our riding do the talking,” he said. “We’re just thinking about one day at a time, one game at a time, one bull at a time. Everybody knows their job, they know their role, and they’re just here to ride their bulls. If you ride all your bulls and take care of your job, everything else will take care of itself.”

Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media