What to Watch For: Determined Dalton Kasel keeping eyes on the prize despite hot start
Could 2025 be the year the Austin Gamblers’ standout wins it all on his own?
By James Youness
FORT WORTH, Texas – Sure, Dalton Kasel turned in a productive second-place finish last weekend in Tucson, Arizona, as Unleash The Beast made its 2025 debut in Southwestern style.
Going 2-for-3 throughout a rank weekend full of plenty of top-tier scores and high quality bucking efforts, he reminded fans and competitors alike that 2025 could very well be his year.
And while he captured a welcomed 84 points and check inked for $24,300, he’s not going to get caught up in a hot start. He’s been here and done this before.
Yet, this time around, he’s keeping his eyes on the prize. While staying calm, cool and collected, of course!
“I’m more comfortable. I’m relaxed and I know how to ride bulls, so I’m just allowing myself to do so. I’ve just been really blessed with this opportunity,” Kasel shared with Kate Harrison on Saturday’s RidePass on Pluto TV broadcast.
“We’ve practiced and put in the work to know how to do this and we just have to let the Lord take control of everything.”
Welcoming the idea of rolling with the ups and downs and recognizing they’re merely part of his quest for a World Championship – This isn’t the same Dalton Kasel that’s entered the chutes in the past. This could be the beast we’ve been waiting to see unleashed.
Initially getting on the board last weekend via a quality 88.75-point conversion aboard Dangerous Medicine, it was clear that the 25-year-old was not playing around.
Settling for a fourth-place spot in the first round of the season, it’s always a good sign to be sitting alongside company including the likes of Kaiden Loud, John Crimber, Sage Steele Kimzey, Cassio Dias and friends.
But Kasel was only looking to improve his standing in the season-opener when he returned to Tucson Arena on Saturday.
Teaming up with All Hat No Rattle during his next chance to set the bar, he didn’t relinquish the opportunity. Eventually scored a flashy 89.25 points, his spot in the short go was secured and the momentum was flowing.
“He’s got two really good bull rides. This is another one away from his hand and he hems him up and makes him look really, really good right there, 89 and a quarter. This is what Dalton Kasel does,” Cooper Davis shared via the RidePass on Pluto TV broadcast.
“He just sits up and makes a good bull ride away from his hand. Gets off good. When we talk about guys maturing, Dalton Kasel has matured into an excellent bull rider.”
“I’m going to add something here,” Craig Hummer added.
“For our fans that don’t spend a lot of time following our guys off the dirt. Dalton has matured and not become just a great rider, but a great human being.”
Which means a lot coming from the 2016 World Champion in Davis and the tour’s longtime media personality in Hummer.
Sharing the idea of “letting go” and trusting in his savior with PBR.com’s Darci Miller last season, it’s been good to see him riding free and having fun here again lately.
“I think just trusting that the Lord has a plan with everything, and not worrying about what’s going on in the rest of the world and just allowing him to work through me,” Kasel said. “And it’s going to work out, whether I was supposed to be the 60th bull rider in the world or No. 1 bull rider in the world. It’s all in His plan, and I’m happy with whatever he’s got.”
That transitioning portion of his journey may be in the past. But it’s led to another successful start to the season here in 2025.
Of course, his off-dirt sentiment is far from the only thing that’s changed since the start of last year’s premier series slate.
Adding some Championship pedigree to his resume from this past fall’s run with his Austin Gamblers, as they went on to capture the 2024 PBR Teams Championship in T-Mobile despite an uncharacteristic No. 5 regular season finish (after winning each of the league’s first two regular season titles with Austin), he officially knows what it feels like to win it all. To battle through adversity.
To be on top of the world.
Not that he hadn’t won anything significant in his bull riding career in the past – But it’s hard to match the emotions, camaraderie and skillsets needed in order to finish such a quest.
And while the likes of Jose Vitor Leme, Kaique Pacheco and recently signed veteran Sage Steele Kimzey will be suiting up alongside him in the locker room all winter long, they instead represent some of Kasel’s biggest challenges should he be able to claim the grandest prize in the Western sports industry at the end of the slate.
Kasel has been a regular contributor for the Gamblers throughout his time rocking green and black.
At the same time, he’s always been somewhat outspoken about the team’s angle of being encouraged to compete against each other throughout the summer in hoping to get the best out of the rest of the squad. So, it’s never been a problem for the Muleshoe, Texas, native to switch gears when the individual slate rolls around.
Ever-evident last weekend as he secured his second-place finish during the tour’s 2025 debut.
Edged out by only the 19-year-old phenom in Crimber, who was able to finish a flawless 3-for-3 weekend while Kasel was sent to the dirt in a close 6.20 seconds during his Championship round out aboard Always Been Crazy, Kasel sits No. 2 overall in the world standings ahead of the quickly approaching PBR Ontario. He’s happy with that hot start, indeed. But he won’t be letting it get in the way of his ultimate goal.
Capturing the 2025 PBR World Championship in Arlington, Texas.
Fans can catch all of this weekend’s action out west beginning Saturday night at 6:45 p.m. PT, with all of the season-opener’s outs airing via RidePass on Pluto TV, PBR’s YouTube channel, PBR’s mobile app and PBR’s app on connected TVs, including Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku and Google TV.
