Dalton Kasel reigned supreme the last time the Unleash The Beast Tour rolled into Little Rock, and if he goes 3-for-3 again, there’s a chance he ends up No. 1 in the World.

He finished with 266.25 aggregate points thanks to three straight rides of 87.5 points or better. Behind him were Keyshawn Whitehorse and Brady Fielder, two cowboys whose seasons are currently headed in opposite directions.

If Kasel wants to do it again, he’ll have to outduel a refreshed Sage Kimzey.

Top 5 Report

No. 1 Sage Kimzey, 500 Points: Kimzey is always calculated when it comes to his health and took last weekend to rest when he likely would have rode had the stakes been higher. Luckily for him, neither John Crimber or Dalton Kasel were able to run him down in his absence. Kimzey grabbed the No. 1 spot on Feb. 20 after winning his second event of the year in Jacksonville. Because of that performance and a 90 in the Championship Round in Pittsburgh, he enters Little Rock having ridden his last four bulls.

No. 2 John Crimber, 484 Points: Crimber narrowed Kimzey’s lead from 24 points to 16 in Bridgeport with an 84.2-point ride on Kodiac in the Second Round. However, he did not advance to the Championship Round. Crimber is five for his last 10, but just hasn’t made the timely, monster rides we have grown accustomed to. He has made the Short Round in two of the last four events, but been bucked off in both of them.

No. 3 Dalton Kasel, 435.5 Points: Kasel has covered just 4 of his last 10 bulls, the lowest mark of any rider in the Top 5. To close January, he posted three straight Top 5 finishes, including a win in Milwaukee. However, in the three events since then, he has not made the Championship Round and has covered just one bull.

No. 4 Clay Guiton, 409.5 Points: Guiton is still recovering from his nasty wreck in Salt Lake City four weeks ago, but has still held on to a Top 5 spot. His Average Score of 87.58 is the highest of any bull rider currently in the Top 10.

No. 5 Leandro Zampollo, 383.5 Points: Zampollo enters Little Rock on the best run of any bull rider in the Top 5. He has finished runner-up at two of the last three events to move from No. 11 to No. 5. In Bridgeport, he was 3-for-3 and won the Short Round with 90.35 points on Bex Red Eye.

Trending Up

Andrew Alvidrez: Alvidrez moved up from No. 32 to No. 14 in the Unleash the Beast Standings after becoming the ninth different bull rider to win a Premier Series event this season. He has ridden 4 of his last 7 bulls after starting the season 6-for-21.

Cort McFadden: McFadden added another round win in Bridgeport, tying at the top with Thiago Salgado with 88 points on Black Eyes. He has made every Championship Round and accumulated 129 UTB Points in his last three events.

Brady Fielder: Fielder has finished in the Top 15 in each of the last four events, including a fourth place finish in Salt Lake City. In Bridgeport, he finished 14th and placed sixth in Round 2 with an 87.05-point ride on Pneu-Dart’s Black Scorpion.

Trending Down

Marco Rizzo: Rizzo has covered just 1 of his last 10 and has fallen to No. 13 in the World Standings, making him the only bull rider to hold the No. 1 ranking this season who has slipped outside the Top 10.

Keyshawn Whitehorse: Since his last Championship Round appearance on Jan. 24 in Tampa, Whitehorse has covered just two bulls in five events. He is, however, still 13-for-28 on the season and did finish second in Little Rock a year ago.

Daylon Swearingen: It has been an uphill battle for the New York native since winning the 2023 World Title and 2026 has been no different. Swearingen has not made the whistle in his last three events.

Round 1 Matchups to Watch

Jose Vitor Leme v. Dr. Pepper Man: The bull only has one out on this season and it came on the Velocity Tour, where he was covered by Zane Cook for 87.85 points for second place in Round 1. The Marshall Boyce/Josh Owens bull is very ridable, and could be styled up by the three-time World Champion for a potential Round 1 victory.

Marco Rizzo v. Sour Patch: Sour Patch has been at least 43 points on 10 of his 11 outs across PBR Teams and UTB. In Sour Patch’s two UTB outs this season, he has been 44.25 points and 43.85 points, two of the three highest scores of his career. Rizzo desperately needs to hear the whistle, and the 14th ranked bull in the World will provide him plenty of points if he does.

Austin Richardson v. Ransom: Richardson is coming off of his best weekend of the season, a 2-for-3 showing in Bridgeport, and he has the most explosive bull in the pen in Round 1. Ransom boasts a career Average Score of 44.73 points and his last three outs have been 44.75, 45.65, and 45.45 points. Last time out, Ransom made quick work of Brady Fielder by bucking off the Aussie in 2.27 seconds.