Colorado Rapids USL Loans: Player Development is a “Crockpot, not a Microwave.”

Editorial – Eight different Colorado Rapids and Rapids 2 players have been loaned to the USL teams in 2025. After iterating on Individual Development Plans (IDPs) at the academy and MLS NEXT Pro levels, Colorado has figured out how they want to use the entire American Soccer pyramid to their benefit.

“The more we put talent into our system, the better we have to be at managing that,” Director of Player Personnel Brian Crookham told Burgundy Wave. “We want to be very good in the player development space, getting player movement right. There’s opportunity that has to come for everyone that we’re trying to develop. The movement piece is massive for us being successful.”

Colorado is still all in on the MLS SuperDraft. They drafted nine players last December. With a track record of Cole Bassett, Sam Vines, and Oli Larraz, they believe in their development academy. Get the pathways to the first team and player development right is critical to their model as a club.

Customizing Player Development at Scale:

How do you optimize the player’s development and results on the field? And how do you do that with so many kids needing minutes? A bluechip prospect providing depth on the first team bench and being an unused sub for 20 games helps nobody.

“We can tailor it to each player. But when we hit critical mass, having deep talent in the deeper part of our roster. That’s where the external piece becomes important. You end up playing traffic cop a lot. Everyone’s getting everything they need to the best of our ability, but to help the first team win on Saturday too,” said Crookham.

In the macro, the club wants to develop players at every level. At the individual level, it’s about customizing the IDP and the situation to the player. Some academy kids need to play up a level to be challenged. Some first team youngsters can develop training with the first team but only getting 500 minutes a season. Some guys might need a change of scenery or a coach with fresh eyes, so they get a loan. Maybe a short term call up to the MLS team is well timed, like with Anderson Rosa or Sydney Wathuta.

The club has weekly personnel meetings with first team and second team staff, among others. They figure out who’s training and playing where come the weekend. There is also a monthly loan meeting to check in on players who aren’t in the Rapids bubble.

Academy Technical Director Chris Cartlidge has iterated the heck out of this system. Structure has been needed, especially this past weekend. There was a strange scenario where Rapids 2 played on Saturday afternoon, before the first team that night. Most NEXT Pro games are on the Sunday.

“It works against the second team a little bit. It has the reverse affect of what it normally does. We can usually see after the (MLS) game, who needs the minutes and they can go and play (for R2),” first team head coach Chris Armas said Saturday night.

The club has built a system around managing and tracking player development that has worked at scale. The IDPs are a big part of that. For the loan players, they have weekly calls with a staff member by position to track their progress and given feedback. Drew Moor is assigned to Nate Jones, who’s with Las Vegas Lights of the USL Championship for example. Goalkeeper coach Chris Sharpe was doing video with Adam Beaudry midweek when he was with Colorado Springs Switchbacks recently. The staff then make weekly loan updates available to the club. That informs the monthly loan meeting.

It’s a Crockpot, not a Microwave:

Rapids fans have had fun with ‘Let Pádraig Cook’ memes during the transfer windows. The club has adopted their own analogy for player development.

“This stuff’s happening in a crockpot, not a microwave. When do we add them, how much do we add. Add the heat, back off the heat. The overall philosophy starts with that. Each player has a different option depending on their contract. We have a lot of experience and a good understanding of what we can and can’t get in USL,” Crookham explained.

Crookham was the General Manager of Switchbacks when they were the USL affiliate for the Rapids. He and the club have an understanding of the league. They’ve also got a rolodex of contacts to make moves happen.

How the USL has Raised its Level:

Credit should go to the USL as well. Loans from MLS have become a good roster building mechanism. They’ve built out their front offices and scouting networks. More Championship and League One clubs have Technical/Sporting Directors, so coaches aren’t doing first team training and roster moves as much. USL teams also have financial incentives with these moves.

“Most of the deals nowadays, we are getting salary relief for players in USL. We are getting some portion or all of their salary reimbursed. It used to be pretty straightforward: If you’re getting a guy from MLS, we’re (the MLS team) picking up the bill,” Crookham elaborated.

There is way less desperation from either side in these deals. MLS sees the USL, especially the Championship, as a useful tool at a level above NEXT Pro. The USL values having young talented player to balance out their rosters. There’s way less calling on deadline day looking for a home for players. They know their roster and roster needs and have a better understanding of what clubs in the other league have and need.

“There’s a lot of stuff out there about what teams are looking for because we’ve been proactive, they’ve been proactive. It can come from an agent too,” said Crookham.

These moves have had a better hit rate. It’s worked out for all parties. Oh how far we’ve come from the USL affiliate dates where MLS teams would send 5 supplemental roster players on a Friday to train one day then be on the bench Saturday.

Long Term Planning and Roster Build:

The other factor is the players’ contract situations. What’s their on-ramp to the next level look like? What’s the timeline relative to when the club has to make a decision on their contract? How does the club make a decision on Nate Jones’ option for 2026 given he’s been on loan all year? They would have to make a decision on that option before preseason in January.

The club has also started signing academy players to what are effectively pre-Homegrown contracts. Grant Gillmore and Zackory Campagnolo have both signed Rapids 2 contracts that will turn into MLS contracts at a predetermined future date. The club is confident in them and how the R2 program can develop them. So much so, they know when they want them to join the first team.

Talk about betting on the player, the system, and understanding the timeline.

“This adds to the on-ramp for these guys. Gives a measured (less pressured) approach. (Rapids 2) allows us to have a lot of confidence in a long term approach for a player who’s 16, 17,” said Crookham.

The next Cole Bassett or Moïse Bombito is already a Colorado Rapids player. You haven’t heard of him, but Crookham’s got a binder full of info on the kid. Just need to let the crockpot do its thing.

For completeness, here’s the list of all the loan this season:

Nate Jones – Las Vegas Lights FC

Michael Edwards – Charleston Battery

Bryce Jamison – Orange County SC

Adam Beaudry – Colorado Springs Switchbacks

Kimani Stewart-Baynes – Lexington SC

Jackson Travis – Birmingham Legion

Malik Pinto (Rapids 2) – Orange County SC

Joshua Belluz (Rapids 2) – Hartford Athletic

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