Maverick Smith grew up in a rodeo family in Missouri, the son of steer wrestler Shawn Smith. He started on sheep, moved to calves and eventually worked his way up to bulls, while his brother Weston followed their father into steer wrestling. Smith began competing professionally in the PRCA ranks in 2022 before making his PBR debut in 2023.

After beginning his PBR Teams career with the New York Mavericks, Smith was acquired by the Missouri Thunder as a free agent on Aug. 20, 2025 and quickly became an important piece of the lineup. Later that season in Las Vegas, he helped Missouri reach the PBR Teams Championship Game, covering Let Him Fly for 86.50 points in the semifinal as the Thunder advanced by just two points.

The 2026 season marked Smith’s rookie campaign on Unleash The Beast tour, and he made an immediate impact. Despite dealing with ligament damage in the distal radioulnar joint of his riding wrist, Smith qualified for his first PBR World Finals and pushed the Rookie of the Year race all the way to Championship Sunday. He ultimately finished second behind Marco Rizzo, 453 points to 423, after one of the closest rookie races ever.

Soft-spoken and rarely overly excited or worked up, Smith has never been the loudest personality in the locker room. He usually offers little more than a small smile and lets his riding do the talking, whether he is dealing with a big ride, an injury or the pressure of being called on with a game hanging in the balance.

That demeanor was on full display during the 2026 PBR Teams season. After the lingering wrist injury landed him on injured reserve, Smith returned with an unconventional solution: tying his riding hand into the bull rope backwards because the injury made the traditional position too painful and ineffective. He immediately made it work, becoming the first rider ever to cover Dirty Bomb before riding Hoka Hey and Easy Come, Easy Go to finish Gambler Days a perfect 3-for-3 — his first perfect weekend of the season — while helping Missouri extend its winning streak to six games.

Away from the arena, Smith is now married and remains close to his family, naming his dad as one of the people he looks up to most. If he were not riding bulls full time, he could see himself calf roping or working in agriculture or the trades. He enjoys hunting, fishing, boating and skiing or snowboarding, follows the NFL and cheers for the Kansas City Chiefs. His playlist mixes rock, rap and country, with Mötley Crüe among his favorites, while Two and a Half Men and The Cowboy Way are his go-to entertainment picks. He is also a dog guy, with his girl Grace holding a special place at home.

For a rider who has little interest in making a big production out of himself, Smith has developed a habit of creating moments that speak loudly enough on their own. Whether his hand is tied in forwards or backwards, the approach remains the same: keep his head down, climb into the chute and let eight seconds tell the story.