PBR Teams league to hold second combine in Sao Paulo, Brazil

01.21.26 - News

PBR Teams league to hold second combine in Sao Paulo, Brazil

All 10 teams to scout talent to prepare for 2026 draft in June.

By Andrew Giangola

FORT WORTH, Texas (Jan. 21, 2026) – PBR (Professional Bull Riders) today announced that a PBR Teams Combine will be held in Floreal, São Paulo, Brazil, Feb. 19-21.

The scouting combine, which will be attended by all 10 teams competing in the league, will be held at Jovens Touros, the only bull riding–specific arena in Brazil. PBR and PBR Brazil are working closely with Brazil’s leading bull riding associations to ensure the next generation of bull riders are in attendance. Riders and officials from the Associacao de Campeoes de Rodeio (ACR), Circuito Rancho Primavera (CRP), Ekip Rozeta (Ekip) and Liga Nacional de Rodeio (Liga) are participating.

This will be the second time that PBR Teams, launched in 2022, will hold a scouting event outside of the United States following the success of the first PBR Teams Combine in Brazil in February 2025. The first combine in Brazil resulted in 12 bull riders being drafted in May 2025, including athletes such as Riquelmi dos Santos, who made an immediate impact on the Arizona Ridge Riders. In addition, another five riders who participated in the first combine were signed as free agents during the 2025 season.

From Feb. 19-21, up to 30 of the best riders in the country who are eligible for the 2026 Draft will participate. In addition, up to 10 current unrestricted free agents, who have previously gone through a PBR Teams Draft (2022-25), will be invited to attend and be immediately available for teams to sign. The full list of combine invitees being considered is below.

The 2026 PBR Teams Draft will be held in early June at a location to be announced.

“Our first combine was an unequivocal success, and we will continue to keep scouting in the country since more than half of the league’s rostered riders come from Brazil,” said Sean Gleason, commissioner and CEO, PBR. “This is an opportunity for bull riders to showcase their skills to 10 teams hungry for talent, increasing their chances of being drafted in 2026.”

In addition to attempting bulls, the combine will also measure riders’ balance, hip abduction, and core and grip strength.

Additionally, the combine will serve as a training opportunity for select Brazilian judges, with the goal of preparing U.S.-based Brazilian judges to officiate at future PBR-sanctioned events.

Since PBR Teams launched in 2022, more than 50% of the riders on rosters have been Brazilian. Presently, 34 of 76 Protected Roster riders are Brazilian. An average of 13 Brazilians have been chosen in the league’s annual draft since inception. Brazilian riders have been very successful throughout PBR’s history:

  • The first World Champion in 1994 was the Brazilian legend Adriano Moraes, who was also the sport’s first three-time World Champion. Fellow Brazilians Silvano Alves and Jose Vitor Leme would later join him as the only other riders with three individual world titles.

  • Ten of the past 16 PBR World Championships have been won by a Brazilian: Jose Vitor Leme (2025, 2021, 2020), Cassio Dias (2024), Raphael Jose de Brito (2023), Kaique Pacheco (2018), Silvano Alves (2014, 2012, 2011) and Renato Nunes (2010).

  • In 2022, Leme was named the first MVP of the inaugural PBR Teams season and repeated in 2023. Leme also owns the two highest-scored rides in PBR history.

  • The other PBR Teams MVP (2024, 2025) is John Crimber, whose father Paulo Crimber, a pioneering Brazilian rider who qualified for 10 PBR World Finals, is now John’s coach on the Florida Freedom.

PBR Teams, launched in 2022, expanded from eight to 10 teams ahead of the 2024 season, with team valuations increasing approximately eightfold.

PBR Teams welcomed 272,315 fans to events in the 2025 season, a record. Broadcasts on CBS and the CW reached more than 28 million fans over the season.

PBR Brazil 2026 Combine Riders Under Consideration*

Ademir Izidorio
Adenilson Santos
Alex Oliveira
Andrey Barbosa
Caio Vinícius Fazan
Carlos Andre de Oliveira
Carlos Rafael Lana
Cladson Rodolfo
Cleber H. Marques
Diego de Souza Paula
Éverton dos Santos
Gabriel Morais
Gilvan Freitas
Guilherme Dias Prado
Heitor Teodoro
Higor Moisés Pereira
Jhon Carlos
João Gabriel Saran
João Paulo Velasco
João Vitor Brito
José Vicente Assis
Lucas Martins Silviria
Lucas Paiva
Luciano Pereira
Marcos Marques Silva
Mário de Negri
Matheus Bernardino
Nilson Martins Júnior
Paulo Henrique da Silva
Rafael Pereira
Rafael Sílvio
Renato Barbosa de Brito
Renan Almeida Alves Pinto
Richard Giovani Coura Fernandes
Tales Silva Xavier
Uemerson Veras
Vitor Manoel Dias
Warley de Oliveira
Winicius Santos Almeida

*Subject to change

Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media