GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Carolina Cowboys and Oklahoma Wildcatters, who compete in the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Teams bull riding league, today announced a trade sending North Carolina’s own Clay Guiton (Cherryville, North Carolina) to the Carolina Cowboys.

Via the trade, the Oklahoma Wildcatters will receive the Carolina Cowboys’ first-round pick in the 2025 and 2026 Drafts, in addition to cash considerations. 

The Carolina Cowboys are led by General Manager Austin Dillon, Head Coach, PBR Co-Founder and PRCA world champion Jerome Davis, and Assistant Coach and three-time PBR World Finals event winner Robson Palermo. Guiton joins a talent-packed Carolina Cowboys roster including 2022 PBR World Champion Daylon Swearingen, 2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis and eight-time PBR World Finals qualifier Derek Kolbaba.   

“I’m pumped to say the least,” said Carolina Cowboys General Manager Dillon. “We haven’t had a rider on the Carolina Cowboys from North Carolina. The greatest part is he’s a game changer. I feel like the 2024 Draft was loaded with talent and to get the second overall pick from last season on our team puts us in a great position in 2025. Pairing Clay Guiton, Ethan Winkler and Murilo [Henrique de Oliveira] with a Veteran locker room, we have a lot to look forward to.” 

Joining the PBR ranks shortly after his 18th birthday in October 2023, Guiton quickly proved he had the talent to excel amongst the world’s best. 

During his Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour debut in January 2024, Guiton put the bull riding world on notice, delivering a perfect 3-for-3 performance, and registering the top score in the event’s first two rounds, to win the expansion series event in Lexington, Kentucky and catapult to the premier Unleash The Beast for the rest of the season. 

Once on the elite Unleash The Beast, Guiton quickly found his groove. 

During his second outing on the premier series in 2024, Guiton registered two 90-point rides en route to a fifth-place finish in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Guiton then registered Top 10 finishes at the six subsequent events, propelling to No. 17 in the world by mid-March. Guiton’s season, however, was cut short due to injury on March 9, sidelining him from the remainder of the season. 

Despite the injuries, Guiton was selected with the second overall pick in the 2024 PBR Teams New Rider Draft by the Oklahoma Wildcatters. Guiton went 7-for-17 (41.18%) for the Wildcatters as the team finished No. 8 in the standings with an 11-16-1 record.  

With the 2025 Unleash The Beast season in full swing, Guiton continues to prove his freshman season was no fluke, pacing to qualify for his second consecutive PBR World Finals. 

Thus far in 2025, Guiton has registered five Top 10 finishes, recording a score in 14 of the 18 events he’s competed at, going 19-for-46 in covering 41.3% of his animal athlete opponents. With four events remaining before bull riding’s crown jewel, the PBR World Finals, Guiton is currently ranked No. 23 in the world, 136 points outside of the Top 10. 

Guiton joins the Carolina Cowboys following a team-best season in 2024, as the team dominated the 12-event regular season, firmly ranked No. 1 in PBR Teams before being surpassed on the final day. The Cowboys got off to an electric start making history in their season-launch game, going a perfect 5-for-5 to defeat the Florida Freedom with ease. 

The win kick-started a historic 11-game unbeaten streak and league milestones that included a late August game in which Carolina became the first squad in PBR Teams history to log multiple perfect games in one season, going a flawless 5-for-5 in overwhelming the New York Mavericks. 

The Carolina Cowboys finished the 2024 regular season a team-best No. 2 in the league with an 18-9-1 record, earning a Round 1 bye for the 2024 PBR Teams Championship. Once in Sin City, despite falling in Round 2 to the Austin Gamblers, Carolina rallied in the Last Chance Game to easily advance to their first Semifinals. As Championship Sunday began, Carolina knocked off the Florida Freedom by one ride score to punch their ticket to the Championship Game. Despite a 3-for-5 effort, Carolina fell to Austin by 105 points, concluding the Championship event second. 

The Carolina Cowboys will welcome the league for their fourth-annual PBR Cowboy Days Camping World Team Series homestand on Sept. 12-14 in Greensboro, North Carolina, at First Horizon Coliseum.
For more information on Carolina Cowboys, and for updates on the upcoming PBR Cowboy Days, visit https://pbr.com/teams/carolina-cowboys, Carolina Cowboys on Facebook, @carolinacowboyspbr on Instagram, or @CARCowboysPBR on Twitter. 

Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media