CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The World Champions Rodeo Alliance (WCRA) today announced the field of 144 rodeo athletes from across North America that will compete at the 2025 edition of Rodeo Corpus Christi (RCC), set to take place May 6–10 at the American Bank Center. The event promises five electric days of rodeo action, culminating in the high-stakes Showdown Round and the prestigious Kid Rock’s Rodeo Round on May 10.
The 2025 RCC roster features 96 timed-event athletes and 48 roughstock competitors who qualified by nominating their efforts through the WCRA VRQ leaderboard. To view the complete roster, please click HERE.
The 2025 RCC roster showcases a dynamic mix of returning champions and rising stars, all competing for their share of the $600,000 purse. RCC will also mark the final opportunity for athletes to earn a spot to compete at the transformative Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo, presented by $VET. The top two finishers in each discipline will earn a spot on the WCRA’s Free Riders—the sixth team to compete at Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo on May 16 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Bull Riding Champion will earn a qualification to the PBR World Finals Redemption Round in Fort Worth, May 14-15.
The Free Riders will consist of two athletes per discipline, competing in barrel racing, bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling, and breakaway roping. This bracket-style team competition will feature Kid Rock LIVE in concert, kicking off a weekend of Western sports that leads into the PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Championship on May 17-18 at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. The Free Riders won the inaugural Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo last May, and will once again look to the top competitors at RCC to help them defend the title, beginning this year’s event with the No. 1 seed by virtue of their win in 2024.
Several 2024 Free Riders roster members will return to RCC this year to battle for a spot on the 2025 team. These athletes include bareback rider Nick Pelke, steer wrestler Cody Doescher, saddle bronc riders Cole Elshere and Cash Wilson, team roping heeler Douglas Rich, tie-down ropers Jarvis Demery and Quade Hiatt, breakaway roper Kieley Walz, and barrel racer Makenzie Mayes.
Mayes, who finished second at the 2024 RCC, was a breakout star at the inaugural Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo. She launched her team into the lead with a lightning-fast 18.197-second run in barrel racing and later sealed the Free Riders’ victory in the final round with an 18.80-second run.
Among the additional standout storylines for the 2025 Rodeo Corpus Christi field is the debut of the first all-woman team roping team to ever compete at a WCRA open event. Megan Gunter and Jimmi Jo Montera will make history, with Montera entering as the No. 1 ranked heeler with a 10,000-point lead on the leaderboard.
Steer wrestler Tory Johnson is also set to return to Corpus Christi after suffering a traumatic injury at the 2024 event. Following a collision with a bucking chute, Johnson endured a severe head injury, including three skull fractures, hospitalized for nearly two months. The 39-year-old also sustained a fracture in his eye socket, broke everything in his right ear that controlled his hearing and balance, and suffered a spinal fluid leak. His return marks a remarkable recovery and stands as one of the most inspiring stories of the event.
Rodeo Corpus Christi will kick off with a CEAT Division Youth Showcase on May 6 (roster to be released April 24), followed by progressive rounds on May 7–9, leading into the Showdown Round and Kid Rock Rodeo Round on May 10.
Fans can watch Rodeo Corpus Christi on RidePass via Pluto TV nightly from May 6–10 at 7 p.m. CDT. Additionally, Kid Rock’s Rodeo Round will air on CBS Sports Network on May 25 at Noon EDT.
Since its inception in May 2018, the WCRA and its partners have awarded more than $19.7 million in new money to rodeo athletes. For more information about the WCRA or how to get involved through the VRQ system, visit wcrarodeo.com.
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media
