PUEBLO, Colo. – While the PBR has been treated to an influx of new, young talent in the last year, the 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series season has also seen an influx of old friends.

Derek Kolbaba returns to competition with the Carolina Cowboys after missing almost a year with a broken neck.

Brennon Eldred returns to the premier series after more than two years away as a member of the Kansas City Outlaws.

Two-time PBR World Champion Jess Lockwood made his long-awaited Teams debut for the Nashville Stampede after missing the last two seasons due to injury.

And Cody Teel makes his first elite-level PBR appearances since the inaugural PBR Teams Championship in 2022, also riding for the Nashville Stampede.

Teel, the 2012 PRCA bull riding world champion, decided to take some time away from the PBR to return to his rodeo roots.

“It was just time,” Teel said of his departure. “Different reasons. Ultimately, just a little change of scenery and to get back over there. Honestly, I just took a break from everything as far as UTB and the team deal to go back to rodeo and do some stuff that I’d been wanting to do, for personal reasons.

“I got out of it what I was looking for at the end of the day.”

Teel joined the PBR in 2017, qualifying for the PBR World Finals six times and finishing as high as No. 3 in the world (2018). He was a member of the Missouri Thunder when PBR Teams launched in 2022, going 5-for-21 (23%).

He competed in rodeos sporadically during this time, so getting back to it full-time was truly a blast from the past. His 2023 rodeo season was his best since 2015, ending the season ranked No. 14 in the PRCA bull riding world standings and finishing the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo twelfth in the average.

But Teel knew he wanted to return for another PBR Teams season.

“I knew, coming into this year, I wanted to be part of the Team Series in some way or another,” Teel said. “I kind of explored some different teams and fell in a good spot here with the Stampede. Justin (McBride) being the coach really excited me, so I jumped on the opportunity. The door opened. Still going to some rodeos this year, and working this as well. Just excited to be back and kind of be working both ends now.”

A big impetus for Teel wanting to return on a Team, he said, is the unrivaled experience of being in a team locker room.

“It’s great,” he said. “This is such a unique atmosphere, the PBR itself, and it’s a machine – the production, week in and week out. So it’s really cool to get to see some familiar faces, riders and other PBR staff and all that. It’s exciting. It’s hard to beat the atmosphere, the crowd, and the venues we go to, so I’m looking forward to being back in it. I’m excited about the group of guys we have and the coaches.”

While Teel has been gone for a year and a half, he’s got plenty of experience under his belt and knows what to expect.

“It feels kind of like old hat,” he said. “You know, every time you nod your head, you’re going to be challenged. That’s the main deal, so you’d better be ready for that, day in and day out.”

Teel’s debut for the Stampede didn’t go as he’d hoped, as he was bucked off by Bandito Bug in his first and only out at PBR Wildcatters Days, presented by Travel Oklahoma, in Oklahoma City, in a losing effort against the Arizona Ridge Riders.

He’ll have his next chance to get on the board as PBR Teams debuts in Duluth, Georgia, on July 26-28 (tune in all weekend long on Merit Street and CBS). Teel will take on Cowtown Slim as the Stampede (1-2) square off against the Outlaws (2-0) on Friday.

Teel’s focus this season is simple.

“Ultimately, just putting the best version of myself forward, and making myself available for my team to ultimately win a team title, and contribute the best I can to help make that happen for them,” he said. “And that’s the unique thing about the team deal – it’s an individual sport, but with the team atmosphere. You’ve just got to make sure the best version of yourself is available to help contribute to the team. So that’s my main focus, is being as ready as I can to contribute to my team to win that title.”

Teel followed the PBR while he was away and definitely noted rookies, like 2024 PBR World Champion Cassio Dias and No. 2 John Crimber, taking over the league.

But this veteran isn’t letting the young guns run him out of the sport quite yet.

“There’s a great group of riders,” Teel said. “Over the history of the PBR, it’s, ‘What have you done for me lately?’ Sports are a steady stream of new guys coming and knocking on the door, ready to move in, and that’s been the case, even in the short year and a half since I’ve been gone. A lot of talent, but the main thing a guy can focus on for myself is what’s between my legs each time I nod my head. The challenge in front of me is just focusing on the bull I’m getting on and trying to win every jump, to make it simpler than that. That’s all you can really focus on.”

Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media