CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (April 28, 2025) – Professional Bull Riders (PBR) announced the 44-rider field for the 2026 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals on May 1-2 at Hilliard Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. The finals are being held for the fifth straight year in Corpus Christi with the expansion series’ season-culminating event crowning a Velocity Tour Champion on Saturday night of the two-day event.
Five riders competing in Corpus Christi will earn a berth to the PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast World Finals Round 1-4, May 7-10 in Fort Worth, Texas at Cowtown Coliseum where they are the only riders who will fight to move onto the second weekend of action at Dickies Arena May 14-17 where a World Champion will be crowned.
With the Top 19 competitors separated by less than 347 points, the title of Velocity Tour Champion is still up in the air for grabs with the Top 8 separated by just 199 points with a tight race to be had at the series finale. There are 320 points available in Corpus Christi; additional rider points are available based on ride scores.
No. 1 Grayson Cole has built himself a steady lead over the course of the 27-event regular season with 655 points on the season, sitting 117.5 points ahead of No. 2 Romario Leite. Cole won the Velocity Tour Championship Title in 2024; should he hold on to his advantage, he would become the first PBR Velocity Tour Two-Time Champion.
Cole has notched a pair of wins during the 2026 season – at Kubota PBR Charleston in January and PBR Greater Palm Springs in March.
Leite recorded his first win of the season on the tour at PBR Knoxville in the regular-season finale.
The field also features eight riders currently ranked inside the Top 20 in the race for the 2025 PBR World Championship. The contingent is led by current Unleash The Beast No. 12 Julio Cesar Marques, No. 16 Cassio Dias, No. 19 Hudson Bolton, No. 23 Daniel Keeping, No. 28 Bruno Carvalho, No. 36 Afonso Quintino, No. 37 Manoelito de Souza Junior, and No. 39 Mauricio Gulla Moreira.
The championship event at Hilliard Center culminates a high-intensity season that began the first week of December and crisscrossed the country with 27 regular-season events held across five months, including seven weekends with two events held simultaneously.
Throughout the 2026 PBR Velocity Tour Finals, riders will be competing for their share of the $100,000 event purse, and the titles of Velocity Tour Champion, which includes an added $50,000 bonus, and Velocity Tour Finals event winner. A maximum of 320 (not including ride score points) Velocity Global points will be available at the 2026 PBR Velocity Tour Finals, with 40 points awarded to each round winner, and 200 points to the top rider in the aggregate.
Riders will also earn points for their ride scores. Rides from 70-79.99 points will earn 7 points, 80-89.99 will earn 8 points and rides 90-99.99 will earn 9 bonus points. Should a rider register three 90-point rides, he would earn an additional 27 Velocity Global points, making one rider’s potential maximum points earned 347.
The complete list of qualifiers is:
Grayson Cole (New Ringgold, Pennsylvania)
Romario Leite (Brotas, Brazil)
Macaulie Leather (Calliope, Queensland, Australia)
Wyatt Rogers (Hulbert, Oklahoma)
Trace Redd (Malad, Idaho)
Elijah Jennings (Marietta, South Carolina)
Dener Barbosa (Paulo de Faria, Brazil)
Brody Robinson (Galax, Virginia)
Jaxton Mortensen (Chino Valley, Arizona)
Andy Guzman (Oakdale, California)
Zane Cook (Fort Gibson, Oklahoma)
Braidy Randolph (Stephenville, Texas)
Mason Taylor (Maypearl, Texas)
Vinicius Rodrigues Pereira (Itapagipe, Brazil)
Kase Hitt (Dickson, Oklahoma)
Marcus Mast (Middlebury, Indiana)
Manoelito de Souza Junior (Itamira, Brazil)
Eric Novoa (Vacaville, California)
Jean Fernandes Pereira (Crixas, Brazil)
Dione de Souza Ribeiro (Nova Bandeirantes, Brazil)
Jean Carlos Teodoro (Mirante Do Paranapanema, Brazil)
Donnit Rutherford (Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia)
Afonso Quintino (Sao Luis dos Montes Below, Brazil)
Kaleb Lewis (Kaufman, Texas)
Daniel Keeping (Montague, Texas)
Guilherme Valleiras (Pirassununga, Brazil)
Joao Paulo Fernandes (Hidrolina, Brazil)
Tahj Wells (Browning, Montana)
Carlos Garcia (Abingdon, Virginia)
Vinicius Pinheiro Correa (Aimores, Brazil)
Marshall Senger (Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada)
Lucas Martins Costa (Frutal, Brazil)
Eric Henrique Domingos (Perola, Brazil)
Bruno Carvalho (Alvares Florence, Brazil)
Michael Lane (Tazwell, Virginia)
Nathan Bayous (Woodstown, New Jersey)
Saul Zambrano (Jalisco, Mexico)
Cassio Dias (Sao F. De Sales, Brazil)
Lucas Divino (Nova Crixas, Brazil)
Ednei Caminhas (Indaiatuba, Brazil)
Gustava Luiz da Silva (Inocencia, Brazil)
Julio Cesar Marques (Tatui, Brazil)
Mauricio Gulla Moreira (Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil)
Hudson Bolton (Milan, Tennessee)
The bull riding action for the 2026 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals begins at 7 p.m. CT on Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2 at Hilliard Center.
Forty-four of the world’s best bull riders will get on one bull each in Round 1 on Friday, May 1, followed by Round 2 on Saturday, May 2. At the conclusion of the second round, the riders’ individual two-round scores will be totaled with the Top 10 advancing to the championship round for one more out and a chance at being crowned the 2026 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Champion and Finals event winner.
For more information about the PBR and the 2026 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour schedule, visit PBR.com.
Stay tuned to PBR.com for the latest news and results, and be sure to follow the sport on all social media platforms at @PBR.
The Velocity Tour has emerged over the past decade as PBR’s fastest-growing tour, experiencing strong attendance growth and reaching fans in 97 cities across the U.S. In 2025, the Velocity Tour hosted more than 370,000 fans, including selling out 18 event days.
Tickets can be purchased:
At the Hilliard Center Box Office
Online at Ticketmaster.com and PBR.com
PBRewards Members can also call PBRDirect at 800-732-1727 or purchase via PBR.com