By the Numbers: “Mr. 90 Point” Dalton Kasel doubles down, becomes first rider to earn three wins
Now a mere 88 points behind No. 1 Brady Fielder, the 31-toothed cowboy is on FIRE.
By James Youness
FORT WORTH, Texas – A quick glance at No. 2 Dalton Kasel can suggest a few things.
Looking at the man, himself, lately showcases a wide-smiled, 31-toothed cowboy who continues to walk into arenas and knock his performances out of the park.
He’s having fun: celebrating with co-workers, travelling with his family and showing up in a BIG WAY here down the home stretch.
Seeing he’s a mere 88 points behind No. 1 Brady Fielder as he chases down what would be a career-first gold buckle this spring suggests he isn’t messing around, either.
And for as much energy and electricity the talent has brought to table, he remained calm, cool and collected following his second-straight win Saturday night while tipping his cap to the Lord above.
Only after saluting the continued tour leader for gritting out a fourth-straight 3-for-3 finish, of course.
“It’s been an absolute blast. Brady Fielder, you saw how tough he is and he’s an amazing bull rider. I take a lot from what he’s able to do because it makes it a lot of fun and makes us step our game up, so thanks to Brady for pushing us,” Kasel shared with Kate Harrison via PBR’s YouTube stream.
“I’m staying in the middle of them and not falling off. It’s something that I’ve really just had to pray about and thank the Lord for giving me this opportunity and this talent. Just believing that everything is going to work out how he has it planned and it’s been fun that he has it like this.”
Completing a clean sweep of the event, winning all three rounds to advance to an eye-popping 11 session victories on the season, Kasel won Round 1 outright courtesy of an 89.5-pointer atop El Chapo before going on to claim the second round honors courtesy of an 89-point effort aboard Bangarang.
When the championship round bull draft dawned, Kasel surely knew he had established a favorable 3-for-4 record aboard a popular bovine by the name of UTZ BesTex Smokestack, assuring him some added confidence when he selected said bovine first overall.
But as 2016 World Champion turned Color Analyst Cooper Davis suggested, part of that selection could’ve involved playing some defense against No. 1 Brady Fielder, who has also enjoyed some quality trips aboard the bovine athlete (officially 3-for-3 all-time atop the living legend).
The call ended up being the right one for Kasel, as he went on to best Smokestack (now 4-for-5 all-time) en route to securing his second-straight win and third victory of the 2025 season.
It’s not by chance that Kasel has stumbled into a pair of consecutive premier series titles in both Little Rock, Arkansas and most recently in Louisville, Kentucky, as the back-to-back wins can be directly tied to his success in the short round.
Entering the short round atop the event leaderboard for a tour-leading sixth time Saturday evening, he’s approached the short round with a different strategy and vengeance since starting the season with a rather unfortunate mark within the exclusive go.
“Before last weekend, he was 0-for-8 in championship rounds,” Davis added to the RidePass on Pluto TV broadcast.
“The last two weekends, he’s 2-for-2. We’re seeing Dalton Kasel really step up in a big way at the right time of the year.”
While he ended up tying Fielder via an epic 90.25-pointer atop Smokestack, he still became the first rider of the season to win three rounds within one event.
Any time the ammo-fueled celebration comes out, you know he’s shooting at an impressive clip.
Officially bringing a successful six-out ride streak into this weekend’s Wrangler PBR Greater Palm Springs March 21-23, he’s about as red-hot as they come right now.
The last time we saw a cowboy capture consecutive event titles on Unleash The Beast brings us back to the end of the 2024 campaign, when Alan de Souza was victorious within a pair of Washington state-based showdowns in Everett and Tacoma, Washington, in mid-April.
So, as the legend of “Mr. 90 Point” continues to grow, we can’t help but wonder if the 26-year-old Muleshoe, Texas, native can run it back for a third-straight time in sunny California, where he’s very much enjoyed performing in years past!
Initially earning an event title in Sacramento, California, back in 2021, he eventually returned in 2022 to produce a runner-up effort en route to planting his flag out west.
Eventually capturing a 15/15 Bucking Battle win in 2023, he most recently secured a No. 11 finish in Sac-Town earlier this season. Furthering his demonstration of love for competing in the Golden State, he won a UTB title in Los Angeles, California, back in 2023 later parlayed by a fourth-place finish earlier this season in Ontario, California.
Whatever’s in that west coast water, Kasel has been drinking it and then some – so we can only expect the cowboy to show up again in a BIG way come Week 18’s showcase.
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 back-to-back wins, Man Hater continuing to distance himself from the pack and tons of other outlying numerals from last weekend’s showcase in Louisville, Kentucky!
12-Straight: A dozen donuts within a post-mass session? That sounds doable some mornings. Climbing aboard 12-straight 1,600-plus-lb. animal athletes and surviving the requisite 8 atop each and every one of them? That’s the stuff dreams are made of – yet continues to be the reality No. 1 Brady Fielder faced during last weekend’s short round dance with Mike’s Motive. Improving to a perfect 4-for-4 competing against said bovine, Fielder put the finishing touches on his tour-leading 12-out ride streak, scored a fancy 90.25 points as he completed his fourth-consecutive flawless performance.
Trailing only Kasel in the event aggregate, he finished six points behind the red-hot rider as he continues to defend his spot atop the grand perch. But knowing Kasel is now within striking distance, aka a mere 88 points, he knows he’s going to have to crank things up a notch when the tour invades sunny California Friday. It feels like we’ve been rather blessed lately when it comes to observing PBR record book-breaking feats fly off the shelves left and right as the world’s top bull riders continue to reinvent industry standards. So, naturally, Fielder is next up in said fashion, as the Australian talent has a chance to tie the legendary J.B. Mauney for the second-longest ride streak of all-time, who pieced together 16-straight conversions way back when. Needing a perfect 4-for-4 performance in Palm Springs, California, this weekend to further ink himself in the encyclopedia, can the lanky talent keep his hot streak rolling inside Acrisure Arena Friday night? Now 8-for-11 in the short round this season, he’s pretty much the safest bet in sports should he make it to Sunday’s fourth round!
Year 1, Rank 14: By now, you’ve heard of a cowboy by the name of Anderson de Oliveira. One, because he’s a Top 15-ranked rider who the circuit has been talking up since breaking out during the 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series campaign. But more recently, two, because he continues to lead the 2025 PBR Rookie of the Year race, now 94.83 UTB points ahead of fellow first-year Elizmar Jeremias after collecting a third-place finish inside KFC Yum! Center last weekend.
One of just five men to stay perfect throughout the showcase, Oliveira began his run by recording an 84.25-point effort atop Down to Fly during a Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by Camping World, out with his Nashville Stampede. Staying hot for the duration, he excelled during head-to-head showdowns with both Snap Chatter (87.25 points) and Always Been Crazy (89 points) as he went on to log his sixth Top 10 effort of his rookie campaign. Now the second-best finish to his budding resume, he’s just 27.25 UTB points outside of the Top 10 with just six showcases separating him from what would be an inaugural appearance at the 2025 PBR World Finals.
260.25: Tying the aging yet fresh talent for third-place honors, fellow Brazilian and switch-hitter extraordinaire Paulo Eduardo Rossetto wasn’t settling for being left off the podium in Louisville. Turning in Top 12 efforts in each of his last five appearances, Rossetto managed his eighth Top 12 mark of the season as he continues to be a matchup nightmare for bulls and stock contractors in every corner of the country. The favorable finish also serves as his seventh Top 10 feat of the campaign as he continues to be the most adaptable rider on the planet.
Continuing to prove that Eyes on Me remains a very solid selection in the short round this season, he teamed up with the popular bovine to put a cap on his perfect 3-for-3 weekend. Scored 89.5 points for the rowdy ride, he used a pair of healthy 85 and 86-pointers during the opening rounds to secure himself yet another spot in the short round. Where he dazzled once more, thus earning a welcome 64.5 UTB points and big smile as he added to his momentous season. Up to the No. 12 rank at 22-for-39 on the season, he remains tied with No. 3 Sage Steele Kimzey with the fourth-most conversions on tour. Which says a lot about just how consistent the 27-year-old really is!
47 Points: Another week, another wonder as reigning YETI PBR World Champion Bull Man Hater earned his 11th YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event title as the showcase’s top-performing bovine athletes. Producing a 47-point bull score Saturday evening working against Clay Guiton, the bull didn’t even allow the sophomore standout to make it halfway through the out, eventually sending the red-headed talent to the dirt in a quick 3.88 seconds.
Of course, when the very bovine who owns the sport’s all-time best bull score, a 49.5-pointer competing against Kimzey, we can’t expect much other than greatness at this point. Which is what the Jane Clark/Gene Owen-owned phenom has continued to do. Bucking not just one, but at least TWO cuts above the pack, Man Hater remains almost TWO WHOLE POINTS above No. 2 Fast Flow in the World Championship race, averaging an UNHEARD OF 48-point average, now 1.94 points ahead of the second-ranked bull, who was able to improve his own average after forcing Eli Vastbinder into a touch just 2.41 seconds into their dance. Despite producing a 46.25-point bull score, Fast Flow will need several, we mean SEVERAL, scores above the 47-point mark if he hopes to chase down Man Hater this spring. If not, we’ll see back-to-back World Champion bovines for the seventh time in PBR history!
256-85.5: When the final 12 outs of Friday night’s Kubota PBR Louisville action dawned, the Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by Camping World, took center stage as two of the summer league’s ten squads donned their matching uniforms and camaraderie-based smiles as the tenth iteration of 6 vs. 6 antics stole the show once again!
Seeing the Nashville Stampede claim a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-three series, the 2022 PBR Teams Champions knocked off their rivalrous Carolina Cowboys 256-85.5 as they raised the coveted trophy while celebrating birthday boy Caden Bunch. Both for his Round 1 conversion and for the athlete turning 22 years old within the limelight. Both Bunch and veteran Cody Jesus haven’t exactly been around the chutes much in 2025. But it was clear they were both present and enjoying themselves Friday night, as they teamed up with 2025 PBR Rookie of the Year frontrunner Anderson de Oliveira in outpacing the Cowboys, three to one.
Carolina might not be fielding much of their true PBR Teams starting lineup as they continue to let some of their young or newer riders get a feel for the action here throughout the UTB season. With Cooper Davis intertwined within the broadcast world and Derek Kolbaba continuing to heal up with an injury, they were again without two of their regular starters. But that’s no excuse for the likes of No. 27 Adriano Salgado or No. 32 Daylon Swearingen, who are very capable of putting the team on their respective backs, as they have in the past. As long as Dawson Branton and Ethan Winckler are getting quality reps, they should be alright for the approaching summer series. However, it was a newcomer by the name of Murilo Henrique de Oliveira who contributed the team’s lone score, an 85.5-point qualified ride, his first conversion on U.S. soil!
