By the Numbers: Dalton Kasel becomes fourth-ever cowboy to earn UTB three-peat out west
Surpassing No. 2 Brady Fielder amidst a 10-out ride streak, there’s a new No. 1 in town!
By James Youness
FORT WORTH, Texas – Anytime you’re amongst company including the likes of J.B. Mauney, Chris Shivers and Jose Vitor Leme, you’re doing something right.
Which is where the tour’s new top-ranked rider in Dalton Kasel finds himself after capturing three-consecutive Unleash The Beast wins.
Becoming just the fourth rider in PBR history to win back-to-back-to-back events at the premier series level, he joins the trio of World Champions in extremely rare air. And while he’s tied with both Leme and Shivers, who accomplished the three-peat in years past, he’s officially got a new goal to set, as Mauney’s legendary run included five-straight wins way back when.
Putting a cap on the legendary run with yet ANOTHER flawless performance this past weekend in Palm Desert, California, the 26-year-old paired the big win inside Acrisure Arena with consecutive victories in both Little Rock, Arkansas, and Louisville, Kentucky, as he’s made it clear he’s the HOTTEST competitor in the sport.
Despite seeing No. 2 Brady Fielder, who led the 2025 PBR World Championship race for the past eight weeks since surrendering the lead to Kasel Sunday afternoon, snap his 12-out ride streak Friday, “Mr. 90 Point” has drummed up quite the ride streak of his own, now successful in each of his last 10 outs.
Becoming just the third different man to sit atop the UTB standings in 2025, with No. 4 John Crimber holding the honors for the initial nine weeks of action before witnessing Fielder steal the show during the Australian’s epic run, Kasel has 100% earned the limelight lately.
Turning in quality conversions aboard Black Harbor (86.25 points) and Big Tasty (86 points) during the opening two rounds, Kasel positioned himself for success when Championship Sunday dawned.
Eventually matching Fatal Attraction’s every move to earn an 85-point mark, he brought his flawless 3-for-3 run into the exclusive go. An area he’s excelled in this month!
Trailing only Cort McFadden on the event leaderboard at the time, he watched as the youngster chose Doze You Down, which very well may have been Kasel’s intended selection. But knowing the bovine ended up drawing a re-ride during an attempted dance with McFadden suggests Kasel may have made the perfect selection when he opted into a journey aboard Shot in the Dark.
We’ve said it and we’ll say it again – Something has changed within Kasel when it comes to either selecting short round talent or being able to finally best the final-boss bovines, as the talent began the season with a shocking 0-for-8 record in Championship Rounds.
However, he’s now a perfect 3-for-3 during his epic run.
2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis teased fans on PBR’s YouTube stream about a month back that he’d been in Kasel’s ear when it came to selecting short round opponents.
We can’t directly credit the Carolina Cowboys standout for fueling Kasel’s sexy stretch – But we sure can’t rule out the idea he may have played a part!
Stepping into the batter’s box and completing the grand slam feat, the Muleshoe, Texas, native did what he does best: knock down rank bulls and collect big checks.
“Look, this is bad news for the rest of the guys in the locker room that he has figured out the championship round. 3-for-3 the last couple of weekends. Man, Dalton Kasel is looking good in every aspect,” Davis shared via Sunday’s RidePass on Pluto TV stream.
“When you start comparing stats to Jose Vitor Leme, you put yourself in an elite group of guys and Dalton Kasel has earned that right now.”
Scored a tame, yet event-clinching 87 points, he finished his 4-for-4 showcase in pistol-firing fashion, edging out No. 5 Andrew Alvidrez by 19.5 points in the overall event aggregate.
Averaging an 87.925-point score throughout his past 10 conversions, he’s making it rather clear of his intentions come the 2025 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast.
“I’m absolutely blessed. I couldn’t do any of this without the Lord and I’m just so grateful and so humbled by this experience. I’m thrilled with this talent he’s given me and everything that he has planned out for my life, my family’s life, I’m very grateful for,” Kasel shared with Kate Harrison via PBR’s YouTube livestream.
“It’s awesome getting to be with that set of people (Mauney, Shivers, Leme). We got next weekend, though, so we just have to keep pressing. It’s a long time before World Finals are over.”
Officially 25-for-45 (55.56%) on the season, he’s tied for the fourth-most qualified rides on the year. Which hasn’t been the case prior to his three-straight wins, as he had mostly been relying on round wins, event victories and some bonus points from his sincere 90-pointers for an extra boost at that point.
Given his nickname, Kasel hasn’t exactly met the elite mark as often as you’d think this season, with just one 90-pointer logged over the course of his 10-out ride streak. Yet, with four to his credit, he remains tied with Crimber atop the chart heading into this weekend’s PBR Albuquerque Ty Murray Invitational.
The most important number for Kasel as he looks to grow his lead atop the ranks?
The 42.5 UTB points which separates him from Fielder – a number he’ll look to increase as soon as Friday night, when the tour endures the depths of The Pit in Albuquerque, New Mexico!
Back to take a look at some of the rankest rides and craziest occurrences from the weekend, By the Numbers returns to break down Kasel’s three-straight wins, Andrew Alvidrez keeping his name in the gold buckle race and tons of other outlying numerals from last weekend’s showcase in Palm Desert, California!
Doubling Down: As the only other man to produce a perfect 4-for-4 slate inside Acrisure Arena, No. 5 Andrew Alvidrez would’ve captured his second event title of the season had Kasel not stayed red-hot in the short round. But here we are, as the Missouri Thunder standout was forced to settle for second-place honors. Not that taking home 130 UTB points and some major momentum is anything to be upset with, as he’s now nearly 55 points ahead of No. 6 Luciano De Castro. Yet, it’s not WHERE Alvidrez finished Sunday afternoon that sticks out. It’s HOW he got there!
Bringing his perfect 3-for-3 slate into the short round meant the 28-year-old was perfect through his first three outs. However, after accepting a measly 60-point score during his Round 3 dance with Hank the Tank, it was clear his third round bovine didn’t bring his best effort. Yet, Alvidrez opted into keeping the score in an effort to become one of the contest’s only men to ride four animal athletes. Eventually joining Kasel in the elite club, he came up 19.5 points short in the aggregate, meaning even an 80-point score in place of said 60 would’ve earned him a big win. That, of course, didn’t stop him from stealing the show during the short go, as he went on to best Ghost Face for a rank 91.25 points as he claimed his second round win of the weekend. Using an 88.5-pointer during Round 2’s journey atop Pay Dirt to earn his first session-topping mark, he captured two of the event’s four honors as he continues to heat up ahead of the quickly approaching 2025 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast. After securing the tour’s top-scored ride earlier this year, an elite 94-point go atop Man Hater, he now owns the No. 1 and No. T9-scored rides of the season, also up to five rounds wins in 2025.
No. 3 4 No. 3: Sage Steele Kimzey may have taken a weekend off as his family welcomed another child into the world and his dad duties expanded. But that seems to have only paid off as some additional rest for his body and mindset, as he returned to the chutes to claim yet another podium performance when Championship Sunday concluded. One of five different cowboys to manage 3-for-4 efforts inside Acrisure Arena, Kimzey reminded the pack than when he shows up in the locker room, he typically shows up on the event leaderboard. And more times than not, it’s toward the top.
Representing his fourth Top 3 finish of 2025 and eighth Top 10 result of the campaign, Kimzey initially bested Mo Money (87.25 points) and The Don (87.25), sandwiching early conversions around his second round buckoff en route to punching his ticket to Round 4. Leaning into his “black and gold” colorway, the seven-time PRCA champ elected a date with Mr. Gold, which quickly proved dividends. Able to put the finishing touches on his productive weekend, he bested the bovine for a quality 88.25 points as he cruised into another favorable finish. Of the 15 events he’s attended this season, Kimzey has recorded at least one qualified ride in 14 events. Now 376.25 points behind No. 1 Kasel, he remains within striking distance but would certainly welcome his second win of the season this weekend inside The Pit as he looks to make up some ground.
27-for-46: When the short round bull draft arrived, Cort McFadden sat atop the event leaderboard, thus was awarded the inaugural pick in the talent-selecting showdown. And while his original pick Doze You Down ended up drawing a re-ride, the 20-year-old watched what would’ve been a career-first premier series title slip away after being forced into a touch aboard Pay Dirt 6.06 seconds into his “try again” attempt. Perfect on the weekend up until that point, McFadden put his Oklahoma Wildcatters’ squad on his back as he clinched his team a 6 vs. 6 series win before going on to best Off The Tracks (87.25 points) and Snoop Dog (87.25 points).
Ending the showcase occupying the No. 4 spot on the event leaderboard, McFadden solidified his spot within the Top 10, eventually collecting 73 UTB points for the fourth-place finish, now his sixth Top 10 effort on the season. Sitting comfortable at the No. 7 rank, he seems like a near lock to be competing inside Cowtown Coliseum May 8-11 during the circuit’s 2025 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Eliminations session. Now 27-for-46 overall, it’s hard not to compare the lanky cowboy to No. 2 Brady Fielder, the only man he trails in the circuit’s qualified ride count.
87.5-85.25: The game may have witnessed just two combined rides throughout Round 1’s final 12 outs – But that doesn’t mean Friday night’s Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by Camping World, wasn’t jam-packed with drama. In fact, knowing Cort McFadden provided the eventual walk-off theatrics during the final out of the night meant it was very much one of the more entertaining contests of the season. Not as many rides as other matchups, per se, but that just means any and all 8-second efforts were that much more impactful.
Paired with In My Blood during the last out of Round 1, McFadden knocked his head-to-head showdown out of the park in epic, walk-off fashion as he was scored a game-winning 87.5 points. Good enough to earn him a No. 4 finish following the opening go, McFadden recorded his 24th conversion of the season with his Head Coach J.B. Mauney in attendance ahead of the Oklahoma Wildcatters’ second session of PBR Camping World Team Series action, with the 5-on-5 landscape set to resume competition this summer for the fourth season of camaraderie-driven antics.
While the Arizona Ridge Riders still captured the inaugural series, 2-1, thanks to a pair of wins earlier this year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Salt Lake City, Utah, they’ll have to deal with a bit of lingering frustration before getting another chance to compete as a team. On a team stacked with talent and plenty of potential, Bruno Carvalho was the lone cowboy dressed in black and white to find the buzzer. Earning an 85.25-point mark after surviving the requisite 8 atop Buckaroo, he claimed the lead during the fifth out of the showcase for Arizona. However, McFadden’s buzzer-beating effort was unmatched, clinching Oklahoma’s first win of the unique game-within-a-game series.
