Will Lummus is undoubtedly the best steer wrestler in the world who has never won a Gold Buckle. He has finished with three Reserve World Titles in the past four seasons, and in two of those years,  including 2024, he entered Round 10 as the odds-on favorite.

It wasn’t meant to be last year, however, as JD Struxness, who had quietly climbed the standings throughout the NFR, put himself in position to claim his first World Title, then sealed it with a 3.6-second run in Round 10. Had either he or Lummus, who was 4.3, been a tenth in either direction, the World Title race, decided by less than $2,000, would have tipped in favor of the big cowboy from Mississippi.

Lummus, however, carries an ace up his sleeve as he heads to Las Vegas in 2025. For the first time, he enters the Finals as the No. 1 ranked cowboy. And while the field behind him is loaded, Jesse Brown, Rowdy Parrott, Tyler Waguespack, and the aforementioned Struxness, to name a few, the extra $30,000 cushion could be the difference that finally pushes Lummus over the top to strap on gold for the first time in Sin City.

 

1. Will Lummus – $195,115.71

Lummus grabbed the No. 1 spot in the middle of August and held on to for the last 10+ weeks of the regular season. He enters the NFR No. 1 for the first time in his career after finishing as the Reserve World Champion three times in the last four years. His Average Time of 5.41 seconds is the fastest in the PRCA.

Lummus finished the season on a high note by finishing second in Puyallup, second at the Roughrider Cup, and second in a round at the Governor’s Cup. Those three runs alone paid him a combined $26,856 in September. He was also the champion in Reno to kick off the Summer Run.

2. Jesse Brown – $162,156.51

Brown only had five wins of the season, but three of them: Puyallup, San Angelo, and Fort Worth came at some of the season’s premier rodeos. Brown is making sixth straight trip to the NFR and has finished in the Top 6 every year since 2021.

Brown noticed five wins on the year, but three of them were huge rodeos. He was the champion in Puyallup, San Angelo and Fort Worth, which was enough to make him the year-end leader in the PRCA Playoff Series Standings.

Brown ranked second in the PRCA in runs of 4.0 Seconds or Faster.

3. Justin Shaffer – $155,773

Shaffer is one of three bulldoggers to average less than six seconds in the regular season and he finished the year with a statement by winning the Governor’s Cup to jump into World Title contention.

Shaffer made his NFR debut in 2024 and placed in five rounds and won $81,087.

4. Rowdy Parrott – $150,876.62

Parrott was the only bulldogger in the regular to finish Top 5 in Average Time and Qualified Time Percentage. He finished the season by winning $27,911 at the Governor’s Cup with four straight runs of 4.3 or faster.

Parrott was in the World Title fight in 2024 that ultimately ended with him finishing fifth in the World. He finished third in the Average and won $163,766, the most of any bulldogger.

5. Tucker Allen – $150,867.48

Allen is making his second straight trip to Las Vegas and spent much of the season at No. 1 thanks to a win at RodeoHouston. During the Texas Swing, he also made the Finals in San Antonio and won two rounds in his bracket.

His Qualified Time Percentage ranked second in the PRCA and he was one of six bulldoggers coming in at over 80 percent.

6. JD Struxness – $138,672

With some Round 10 drama in 2024, Struxness won his first World Title as a culmination of an NFR where he placed in eight rounds and won $161,955.

For the third straight season, Struxness enters the NFR with the best Qualified Time Percentage among NFR qualifiers. He was the only one above 90 percent in 2025. This is his seventh trip to Las Vegas and fourth in a row.

7. Stetson Jorgensen – $136,028.71

Jorgensen has made six of the last seven NFRs and closed the 2025 season strong with a win in Pendleton and a second place finish at the Governor’s Cup. His final five runs of the season were all 4.1 seconds or faster.

8. Tyler Waguespack – $135,825

The five-time World Champion was No. 15 as recently as July 23, but won $66,000 over the last 10 weeks of the regular season to enter the NFR in the Top 10.

Waguespack also fared well during the Texas Swing by making the Finals in San Antonio, Houston, Austin and San Angelo.

He ranks third in the PRCA in Average Time and fifth in Qualified Time Percentage and is the only steer wrestler to crack the Top 5 in both.

9. Dakota Eldridge – $124,916.06

The 12-time NFR qualifier is coming off of a 2024 season where he finished No. 4 in the World, it was the winningest year of his career and highest finish since 2017.

In 2025, he made the finals in Ellensburg, Reno, Red Bluff, and San Angelo, and clocked the fastest Short Round runs in San Angelo and Red Bluff.

Eldridge has placed in at least five rounds in four of his last five NFRs.

10. Kyle Irwin – $113,220

This will be his seventh NFR appearance and first since he won the Average in 2022. He finished second at the Roughrider Cup and won the New Mexico State Fair and Rodeo in September.

During the Summer Run, he won over $14,000 at the NFR Open and over $5,000 at Ogden Pioneer Days and the Douglas County Fair and Rodeo.

11. Scott Guenthner – $112,607.29

Another year of trying to rodeo close to home, another year he just made too much money to pass up taking a shot at the National Finals. This will be his sixth trip to Vegas.

The 34-year-old won seven rodeos in Canada this year, the most important of them being The Calgary Stampede, which he claimed for the second time in three seasons.

12. Bridger Anderson – $109,327.58

Anderson is making his third NFR appearance in 2025 and the last time he made it to Vegas, he finished No. 7 in the World with a career-high $206,450. Across his two previous appearances, he has three Go-Round Wins.

In 2025, Anderson finished tied for fourth in runs of 4.5 Seconds or Faster with Jesse Brown, Justin Shaffer, and JD Struxness and won five rodeos.

13. Chance Howard – $108,298.10

At 34-years-old, he is making his first trip to the NFR. Prior to this season, he had finished in the Top 50 just three times in his career.

Howard’s most notable was in Salt Lake City, where he banked $18,000 for his victory.

14. Ty Erickson – $105,960.29

Erickson won two of the biggest rodeos in Oregon, the Farm-City Pro Rodeo and the St. Paul Rodeo to make up half of his victories on the season.

The 2019 World Champion battled his way off the bubble to make it 10 NFR qualifications by winning $5,894 over the last 10 days of the regular season.

15. Gavin Soileau – $105,898.52

Soileau made a massive leap from No. 22 to No. 15 over the last two weeks of the regular season with a win at the Roughrider Cup and another $4,000 at the Governor’s Cup.

Earlier in the Summer Run, he was also the champion in Ogden and Greeley, both of which paid him over $11,000.

 

Reigning Average Champion Cash Robb did not qualify, he is the only cowboy this year who will not have the opportunity to defend his Average title.

The Top 6 cowboys in the Average in 2024 were all 47.7 or better on 10. That would have ranked third in 2023.

The average round winning time in 2024 was 3.58 seconds. The winning times in every round were between 3.4 and 3.8 seconds with eight of them being either 3.5, 3.6 or 3.7

Will Lummus has won at least one round in all seven of his prior NFR appearances.

Tyler Waguespack is looking to join Homer Pettigrew as the only steer wrestlers with six World Titles. Pettigrew’s last World Title came in 1948.

 

QUALIFIED TIME PERCENTAGE

1. JD Struxness – 91.4% (86/94)
2. Tucker Allen – 82.9% (112/135)
3. Jesse Brown – 82.7% (91/110)
4. Rowdy Parrott – 80.7% (88/109)
5. Tyler Waguespack – 80.0% (88/110)
6. Gavin Soileau – 80.0% (100/125)
7. Bridger Anderson – 79.3% (92/116)
8. Justin Shaffer – 78.2% (101/129)
9. Stetson Jorgensen – 76.2% (93/122
10. Will Lummus – 75.2% (73/97)
11. Ty Erickson – 74.2% (78/105)
12. Kyle Irwin – 72.3% (89/123)
13. Dakota Eldridge – 72.2% (78/108)
14. Chance Howard – 68.5% (96/140)

AVERAGE TIME

1. Will Lummus – 5.41
2. Justin Shaffer – 5.84
3. Tyler Waguespack – 5.97
4. Rowdy Parrott – 6.19
5. Dakota Eldridge – 6.39
6. Jesse Brown – 6.50
7. Gavin Soileau – 6.63
8. Stetson Jorgensen – 6.66
9. JD Struxness – 6.71
10. Bridger Anderson – 6.88
11. Chance Howard – 7.20
12. Tucker Allen – 7.31
13. Ty Erickson – 7.38
14. Kyle Irwin – 7.64

4.5 SECOND OR FASTER RUNS

1. Will Lummus – 42
2. Rowdy Parrott – 35
3. Stetson Jorgensen – 35
4. Jesse Brown – 33
5. Justin Shaffer – 33
6. JD Struxness – 33
7. Bridger Anderson – 33
8. Tyler Waguespack – 32
9. Gavin Soileau – 29
10. Tucker Allen – 28
11. Chance Howard – 28
12. Dakota Eldridge – 27
13. Ty Erickson – 26
14. Kyle Irwin – 24

4.0 SECOND OR FASTER RUNS

1. Will Lummus – 31
2. Jesse Brown – 21
3. Rowdy Parrott – 16
4. JD Struxness – 15
5. Stetson Jorgensen – 14
6. Tyler Waguespack – 14
7. Dakota Eldridge – 13
8. Kyle Irwin – 13
9. Gavin Soileau – 13
10. Justin Shaffer – 12
11. Chance Howard – 10
12. Ty Erickson – 10
13. Bridger Anderson – 9
14. Tucker Allen – 6

RODEO WINS

1. JD Struxness – 11
2. Will Lummus – 9
3. Gavin Soileau – 8
4. Jesse Brown – 5
5. Justin Shaffer – 5
6. Tucker Allen – 5
7. Kyle Irwin – 5
8. Bridger Anderson – 5
9. Ty Erickson – 4
10. Dakota Eldridge – 3
11. Rowdy Parrott – 2
12. Stetson Jorgensen – 2
13. Tyler Waguespack – 2
14. Chance Howard – 2

Scott Guenthner was not included due to incomplete stats from a large portion of his rodeo count coming in Canada.

 

Once again, the steer wrestling is expected to be one of the most competitive events in Las Vegas. With all 15 qualifiers separated by just $90,000, the margin for error is razor-thin — and every tenth of a second matters.

This preview dives deep into the top contenders: Will Lummus, the three-time Reserve World Champion leading the PRCA in average time and 4.0-second runs; Jesse Brown, the model of consistency with four straight Top 6 finishes; JD Struxness, the reigning World Champion who catches 90% of his steers; and Tyler Waguespack, the five-time World Champ with a record-setting $213,000 NFR performance the last time he was healthy for a full season. Rising stars Justin Shaffer and Rowdy Parrott also enter hot off late-season surges.

With past champions coming from outside the Top 5 and fast times expected across the board, this year’s bulldogging race could be one of the tightest in history.

 

Steer wrestling at the National Finals Rodeo is always one of the tightest, most unpredictable events, and this year is no different. Unlike other NFR disciplines where a few athletes dominate round after round, steer wrestling spreads the prize money wide.

Even the best bulldoggers usually place in only about five rounds, keeping the world title race razor-close from start to finish. This breakdown presented by Virgin Hotels dives into top contenders for your fantasy rodeo lineup, focusing on proven stats.

Leading the charge is Will Lummus, the PRCA’s fastest man on paper, topping the charts in average time and in runs of 4.5 and 4.0 seconds or faster. Right behind him is Jesse Brown, a model of consistency with multiple NFR round wins and a track record of excelling in setups like the Thomas & Mack.

We also spotlight major threats including Justin Shaffer, a true sleeper with massive upside after a blazing Governor’s Cup run; Rowdy Parrott, who continues climbing with elite 4-second talent; JD Struxness, a World Champ who has been very steady at Finals in recent years.