PUEBLO, Colo. – Naturally, all eyes will be on the Oklahoma Wildcatters as the expansion squad prepares to embrace the Week 1 spotlight while hosting their first-ever Wildcatter Days homestand July 12-14.

It’s quite clear that the first-year contingent has assembled a very capable squad off the bat.

Featuring a balanced roster, including some experienced veterans in Josh Frost, Austin Richardson, Kyler Oliver and beyond, the Wildcatters have some quality firepower, as the trio of cowboys are expected to set the tone for the newcomers (once Richardson is good to give it a go, currently designated to the team’s Injured Reserve List).

RELATED: Week 1 PBR Camping World Team Series power rankings

But it’s the youthful promise of guys like Cort McFadden, Clay Guiton, Kase Hitt and company who may ultimately take this team to where they want to go: The 2024 PBR Teams Championship!

Guiton (paired against Taz) and Hitt (set to challenge Buzz) and fellow rookie Hagen Braswell (matched up with Buckle Up Friday) will be making their respective debuts as the youngsters get their chance to impress right away.

While the fresh unit will undoubtedly endure a bit of a learning curve as they put together the puzzle pieces, fans of the Oklahoma-based group know Head Coach J.B. Mauney will be pushing his guys to succeed early and often during his first year involved in the enticing 5-on-5 circuit.

And if we know anything about Mauney, he’s looking to hit home runs more often than pop-fly sacrifices.

Yet, at the same time, the team currently lacks a “bonified superstar” to bat as a designated hitter, rather counting on a few potential clean-up-hitting candidates to spark the squad. However, they hope someone steps up to fill that role, starting as soon as Oklahoma’s first-ever PBR Teams showdown Friday night against the reigning PBR Teams Champion Texas Rattlers.

Later drawing the Arizona Ridge Riders to wrap up Saturday’s slate before hosting the two-time regular season Champion Austin Gamblers during a Sunday showdown, Oklahoma is primed to face off against three of the four teams who competed during last season’s Championship Sunday.

Quite the opening-event set of tests.

Only time will tell how successful both the Wildcatters and fellow newbies in the New York Mavericks will be to start year three of the summer series.

The one thing we can 100% confirm is that Paycom Center and its surrounding bars, restaurants and beyond will soon be transformed into a brown and blue wonderland. And if all goes well, the year one squad will have successfully kickstarted its fanbase just one week into the 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series campaign.

RELATED: PBR Teams 101: Your 2024 questions answered

However, the pressure won’t just be directed toward the new kids on the block in Oklahoma and New York.

Each of the circuit’s 10 teams have the chance to get their respective campaigns off to a fiery start Friday. An opportunity to see what revamped rosters look like competing together as a unit.

Hell, maybe even the first go to debut some spicy new uniforms, team partnerships, resourceful rookies and beyond as the race to be crowned the regular season champions begins.

But if we’ve learned one thing from the first two seasons of PBR Teams action, and sports in general, it’s that it’s not about how you start.

It’s about how you finish.

(Just ask the Cinderella story Nashville Stampede, who shocked the world en route to capturing the 2022 PBR Teams Championship, despite finishing the regular season ranked No. 8.)

(Or even the Missouri Thunder from last fall’s 2023 PBR Teams Championship, who rode their way to Championship Sunday despite lurking at the bottom of the regular season standings all season long.)

While saving some juice for the endgame run is potentially just important as ever, teams who want a guaranteed spot inside T-Mobile Arena Oct. 18-20 during the 2024 PBR Teams Championship will need to exit the regular season ranked in the Top 6 …

… with the bottom 4-ranked teams set to duke it out inside South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa for the final two spots at the season-culminating playoff gauntlet later that weekend.

So, while some teams have strategically been able to rest guys and adjust their mid-season starting lineups knowing they will automatically compete inside T-Mobile Arena, coaches and front offices may need to revisit the drawing board, as they’ve got some work to do if they hope to compete for the gold buckle.

Knowing that the league is officially embracing “Bye Games” this time around, squads will be allotted some additional opportunities to rest in real time, with just eight of 10 teams competing on any one given night throughout the 2024 campaign. The staggered Bye Game schedule begins in Week 1, with the Carolina Cowboys and Florida Freedom currently slated to watch Friday night’s opening games from the sidelines.

Have no fear, for each of the Arizona Ridge Riders, Austin Gamblers, Kansas City Outlaws, Missouri Thunder, Nashville Stampede, New York Mavericks and Texas Rattlers will be in action during the first four games of the year Friday evening.

So, be sure to download the Merit+ App and tune into Merit Street for all of this season’s PBR Teams rank rides, wreck and beyond and get ready for some 5-on-5 entertainment!

CASSIO DIAS, KANSAS CITY OUTLAWS AMONGST YEAR THREE FAVORITES For the past five years or so, tours have ebbed and flowed as the Austin Gamblers’ Jose Vitor Leme’s allowed. The two-time World Champion and two-time PBR Teams MVP (remaining the only man to earn the honors thus far) himself again looks to lead his Michael Gaffney-guided squad to greatness. And after helping to earn his team consecutive regular season championship titles, he’s very much amongst the favorites for PBR Teams MVP odds in 2024.

But if there’s one man who may have a better chance of not only leading his team to hoisting the world’s largest gold buckle on his way to earning what would be his first-ever PBR Teams MVP honors (after coming up just one ride score short in 2023), it’s none other than Cassio Dias. Fresh off his 2024 PBR World Championship season via an insane rookie Unleash The Beast showcase, the Kansas City Outlaws are right next to the Gamblers as favorites to win it all this fall. Without Dias, they would still very much be a Top 5 consideration. But after striking gold during the 2023 PBR Teams New Rider Draft, J.W. Hart and company don’t only have a franchise pillar. They have a living, breathing record-breaker on their hands.

Approaching, setting and resetting all sorts of premier series records as both a rookie and overall individual competitor by securing tons of event wins, racking up endless 90s and beyond en route to becoming just the second man to bring home both World Championship and Rookie of the Year honors, Cassio Dias is very much history in the making. And if both he and Leme can stay healthy in 2024, we’re going to be in for another spicy PBR Teams MVP race!

RELATED: Starting lineups, draw revealed for 2024 PBR Teams Wildcatter Days

WELL-RESTED COOPER DAVIS PRIMED TO PACE CAROLINA COWBOYS IN 2024 The Carolina Cowboys have been revered as one of the league’s most skilled squads in each of the series’ opening two seasons. And despite General Manager Austin Dillon serving as one of the circuit’s busiest swappers in positioning his team for success, the Cowboys haven’t lived up to their expectations just yet. But with a returning Cooper Davis, who sat out the 2024 individual season to ensure his health for the summer series, the team should be able to turn in its best effort to date, in theory.

An annual Top 10 competitor for nearly the past decade, the 2016 World Champion has done his part the past two seasons for Carolina, going 12-for-17 in 2022 before following it up last summer with a 15-for-25 effort. So, if the trend continues, which it should, given his time off and good health, he’ll be able to improve on those figures while Carolina could be cruising to its first Championship Sunday appearance during the 2024 PBR Teams Championship.

Jerome Davis will have his guys locked in and ready to go Friday night, concerned about this weekend’s game and event stakes. He also knows his team is due to make a run this year and with Daylon Swearingen, Sage Steele Kimzey and friends ready to ride, we suggest fans keep an eye on the checkered-flag squad, starting Friday night in Oklahoma City.

2024 PBR TEAMS WILDCATTER DAYS MATCHUPS Friday, July 12: Kansas City Outlaws vs. Austin Gamblers Nashville Stampede vs. Arizona Ridge Riders New York Mavericks vs. Missouri Thunder Texas Rattlers vs. Oklahoma Wildcatters Saturday, July 13: Florida Freedom vs. Carolina Cowboys Texas Rattlers vs. Missouri Thunder New York Mavericks vs. Nashville Stampede Oklahoma Wildcatters vs. Arizona Ridge Riders Sunday, July 14: Missouri Thunder vs. Kansas City Outlaws Florida Freedom vs. Nashville Stampede New York Mavericks vs. Carolina Cowboys Oklahoma Wildcatters vs. Austin Gamblers FOLLOW ALONG This weekend’s Wildcatter Days season-opener in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is set to begin Friday, July 12 at 7:45 p.m. CT as the Austin Gamblers and Kansas City Outlaws get the three-day showdown started inside Paycom Center.

With competition set to resume Saturday, July 13 at 7:45 p.m. CT, the first of 10 homestand events will conclude Sunday, July 14 at 1:45 p.m. CT as the Wildcatters look to finish out the weekend with some homefield advantage!

Fans can tune into Merit Street Media and the Merit+ App on Friday, July 12 beginning at 8 p.m. CT to take in the four opening night games live. Night two’s slate, taking place on Saturday, July 13, will also air live on Merit Street Media and the Merit+ App starting at 8 p.m. CT, while Sunday’s entire slate of games will be broadcast on Merit Street Media and the Merit+ App beginning at 2 p.m. CT.

RELATED: Where to Watch: Wildcatter Days

Spanish broadcasts of all three days of action will also air on TUDN, with night one’s action airing on Saturday, July 13 at 2 p.m. CT, Saturday’s games airing on Sunday, July 14 at 2 p.m. CT and all of Sunday’s showdowns set to be shown at 2 p.m. CT on Monday, July 15.

Fans can keep an eye on PBR.com and @PBR social media channels for the latest news, scores, wrecks and more! And be sure to download the Merit+ app for all of this season’s exclusive action!

Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media