Remote interviews with team leadership, including Head Coach Cord McCoy, and competing riders are available upon request
TRYON, N.C. (June 25, 2022) – At the final PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Team Series Preseason event of the year in Tryon, North Carolina, the Oklahoma Freedom finished fifth.
After upsetting the Carolina Cowboys on Friday night with a shutout, 173-0 victory, the Oklahoma Freedom were unable to continue the momentum in front of Saturday night’s sold-out crowd, beaten by the Arizona Ridge Riders 255.5-86.
In the bonus round, the Oklahoma Freedom elected to have Trevor Kastner (Ardmore, Oklahoma) take on Yellowknife (Blake Sharp). The Okie, however, was brought down prior to the 8-second whistle, hitting the ground in 3.41 seconds to position him fifth amongst the eight competing riders.
In the overall preseason standings, the Oklahoma Freedom finished fourth, going 2-2 in game play, amassing 606.75 aggregate and 10 Bonus Round points.
The regular season for the 2022 PBR Team Series will begin July 25-26 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, held during the iconic Cheyenne Frontier Days. Action will begin nightly at 6:45 p.m. MT. CBS Sports Network will carry the action LIVE at 10 p.m. ET.
On July 25, the Oklahoma Freedom will face the Kansas City Outlaws in the team’s first-ever regular season game.
The Oklahoma Freedom are based at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where they will host their inaugural homestand, Freedom Fest, on Sept. 16-18. For more information about Oklahoma Freedom, visit https://pbr.com/teams/freedom/, Oklahoma Freedom on Facebook, @OK_Freedom_ on Instagram, or @OKfreedom_ on Twitter.
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of all the action. PBR RidePass is available on desktops, laptops, and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv. Tune to channel 720 for the latest programming schedule.
TRYON TEAM STANDINGS: Here are the final Team standings from the PBR Tryon Chute Out Team Series Preseason Event:
- Arizona Ridge Riders, 2-0-0-8-425.50 points
- Nashville Stampede, 1-1-0-7-170.25 points
- Kansas City Outlaws, 1-1-0-6-256.75 points
- Missouri Thunder, 1-1-0-5-85.75 points
- Oklahoma Freedom, 1-1-0-4-259 points
- Austin Gamblers, 1-1-0-3-329.5 points
- Texas Rattlers, 1-1-0-2-260.75 points
- Carolina Cowboys, 0-2-0-1-0.00 points
PRESEASON TEAM STANDINGS: Here are the final Team standings for the entire preseason after the conclusion of the PBR Tryon Chute Out Team Series Preseason Event:
- Kansas City Outlaws, 3-1-0-14-607.50 points
- Missouri Thunder, 2-2-0-12-608.25 points
- Arizona Ridge Riders, 2-2-0-11-509.25 points
- Oklahoma Freedom, 2-2-0-10-606.75 points
- Nashville Stampede, 2-2-0-9-250.25 points
- Texas Rattlers, 2-2-0-7-518.25 points
- Carolina Cowboys, 2-2-0-5-606.75 points
- Austin Gamblers, 1-3-0-4-501.50 points
GAME RECAP – OKLAHOMA FREEDOM VS. ARIZONA RIDGE RIDERS:
Arizona Ridge Riders Defeat Oklahoma Freedom to Remain Perfect in North Carolina PBR Team Series Preseason Event
Oklahoma Freedom: 86.00
Arizona Ridge Riders: 255.50
In one of the best efforts delivered by a team throughout the preseason for the inaugural PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Team Series, the Arizona Ridge Riders outscored the Oklahoma Freedom by two ride scores to win their second consecutive game at the Tryon Chute Out, beating the Sooner State team 255.5-86. Alisson de Souza (Taubate, Brazil) again set the tone early for the Ridge Riders, converting on their first attempt of the game, besting White Squirrel (Obernagel/Sho-Me Rodeo) for 82 points. The score gave the Ridge Riders an early lead, after the Oklahoma Freedom’s Dawson Branton (Jefferson, Oregon) was upended by Mic Drop (UTC/Sellers Bucking Bulls) in 3.01 seconds. In the next set of outs for each team, Ross Freeman (Kountze, Texas) was unable to continue the momentum for the Ridge Riders, and while Eli Vastbinder (Statesville, North Carolina) came down short of the requisite 8, he was awarded a re-ride. With Vastbinder slammed down hard on the dismount, Oklahoma Freedom Head Coach Cord McCoy elected to sub in Branton for the re-ride, which would be the last out of the evening. As the fierce game continued, both teams converted in their next outs. With Freedom rider Briggs Madsen (Tremonton, Utah) riding Light It Up (Nothin’ But Try Ranch/Kinser/McCall) for 86 points, and Ridge Rider contender Tyce Willis (Alvord, Texas) covering Uncle Gangster (Pick-It Hammers) for 87.25 points the scoreboard read 169.25-86, with the Ridge Riders holding a slim 83.25-point lead as the game eclipsed the halfway mark. As the fourth out for the Freedom and Ridge Riders both ended in buckoffs, the tension was high as the fifth-slot riders readied for each roster. Following a heartbreaking 7.9-second buckoff by Trevor Kastner (Ardmore, Oklahoma) atop Keep’em Guessin (UTC/Sellers Bucking Bulls), Koltin Hevalow (Smithville, Missouri) had the chance to clinch the victory for his team, despite the Freedom still awaiting their re-ride attempt. Matching Feeling Dangerous (Nothin’ But Try Ranch/Kinser/McCall) jump-for-jump, Hevalow reached the 8 for a victory-sealing 86.25 points. With Branton bucking off the Freedom’s re-ride bull, the Arizona Ridge Riders’ sealed their second victory in Tryon, beating the Freedom 255.5-86. The Arizona Ridge Riders advanced to the Bonus Round with an unblemished 2-0 record, while the Freedom fell to 1-1 following their stunning upset of the home state favorite Carolina Cowboys on Friday night.
HOW TO WATCH: RIDEPASS on PlutoTV will televise all the action from PBR Team Series Preseason, LIVE. PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will also offer re-airs and on-demand replays of every PBR Team Series event. PBR RidePass is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv. Tune to channel 720 for the latest programming schedule, and click here for on-demand PBR programming.
ABOUT THE OKLAHOMA FREEDOM: The Oklahoma Freedom are based at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, joining team tenants including the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder, and their G League affiliate Oklahoma City Blue, where the team will hold its inaugural Oklahoma Freedom Fest homestand September 16-18, 2022, the 8th regular season event of the 10-event PBR Team Series 2022 regular season. The Freedom are coached by Oklahoma native Cord McCoy, a former bull rider and four-time qualifier for PBR World Finals. Under the leadership of General Manager Brandon Bates, the team is operated by Prodigal, a full-service sports and entertainment agency based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The senior staff at Prodigal has more than 100 years of experience managing sport and entertainment events and teams. PBR and Prodigal have a longstanding relationship dating to 2007, partnering annually on Unleash The Beast events in the Sooner State.
ABOUT THE PBR (PROFESSIONAL BULL RIDERS) TEAM SERIES: The PBR Team Series is an elite new league that will feature the world’s top bull riders competing on teams in five-on-five bull riding games during an 11-event season beginning in July and culminating in a team championship at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas November 4-6. During the 2022 season, each of the eight teams representing teams in Austin, TX; Fort Worth, TX; Glendale, AZ; Kansas City, MO; Nashville, TN; Oklahoma City, OK; Ridgedale, MO; and Winston-Salem, NC will host a three-day homestand. There will also be neutral site games in Cheyenne, WY and Anaheim, CA. To determine team rosters, the league held a rider draft on May 23 prior to start of the 2022 season among any bull riders who have declared for the draft during a league eligibility window. The PBR Team Series builds on the existing structure of professional bull riding with the same basic rules for judging and scoring qualified 8-second bull rides. Events will be staged in a tournament-style format with all teams competing in head-to-head matchups against a different opponent each day. Each game will feature five riders per team squaring off against another team. Full team rosters will be comprised of seven riders on the core roster and three practice squad members. The team with the highest aggregate score of qualified rides among its riders will be declared the winner of each game. The event winner will be the team with the most game wins across an event, with a special bonus round designed as a tie-breaker to determine final event standings. All PBR Team Series events will be carried on either the CBS Television Network, streaming live on Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, or RidePass on Pluto TV.