Mauney 'No Brainer" As Head Coach Of Oklahoma Wildcatters
“He’s one of the best-ever to do it,” said Wildcatters owner and LIV golfer Talor Gooch. “It’s a no-brainer.”
“It’s good to be back.”
Until this past Sunday, in Indianapolis, Indiana, it had been damn-near three long years since J.B. Mauney had been at an elite, televised PBR event in March 2021. The two-time World Champion was recently named head coach of the Oklahoma Wildcatters and was on hand for a coinflip to determine the first pick of the upcoming PBR Team Series expansion draft.
In addition to winning the top selection, Mauney took the opportunity to get a firsthand look at the Top 35 bull riders in the world.
“When it comes to riding bulls, this isn’t a candy-ass sport,” he said. “You better mean it when you crawl up in the bucking chute.”
Mauney certainly understands “what it means.”
In his PBR career, there was a 10-year stretch beginning in 2007 when the North Carolina native won two world titles (2013, 2015), twice won the World Finals average (2009, 2013), was the Touring Pro champion twice (2006, 2009), won six elite events in a single year (2013), four events in a single year three times (2009, 2012, 2015), and currently sits atop the list of all-time PBR money earners with $7.4 million.
He once made the 8-second whistle on 16 bulls in a row, and has streaks of 12 and 11, and is the only rider to win the Lane Frost / Brent Thurman Award for the highest-marked rider at the World Finals three consecutive years and the 2006 PBR Rookie of the Year did it twice for good measure—2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, and 2015.
“He’s one of the best-ever to do it,” said Wildcatters owner and LIV golfer Talor Gooch. “It’s a no-brainer.”
Gooch loves Mauney’s approach, which is to keep it simple.
“The main thing I look for is, try,” explained Mauney, who said you are either born with try or without it. “If (prospective riders) don’t have it, they might as well piss off.”
Mauney continued, “When he’s in a bad position at 7 seconds, do I grit it out and make the whistle? Or do I take the easy route out? That’s what I’m looking at.”
The upcoming PBR Team Series will begin its third season this July.