Brian Crookham

Director of Player Personnel

Brian Crookham joined the Rapids staff full-time in May of 2007. As Director of Player Personnel, Crookham is responsible for enhancing the technical environment for all players and technical staff across all teams. Operations, preseason planning, player support, loan management and contract processing all fall under his remit. He will continue to have oversight of Rapids 2 in the role of Rapids 2 General Manager. He will also continue to support the club’s recruitment, leading the Rapids’ annual MLS SuperDraft process.

After a record-breaking season for Rapids 2 that saw the side win the Western Conference and make the club’s first MLS NEXT Pro Cup appearance, Crookham was named the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Executive of the Year. This was his second nomination in four seasons to the presitigous honor as the lead decision maker for Rapids 2, the first following the 2023 season, as the team finished the year atop both the Western Conference and the entire league at the end of the regular season. 

Under his guidance, the club's youth development system has evolved into a fully-integrated player development structure where players have the ability to enter the club as a young player and pursue their dream of one day playing for the Rapids First Team through the MLS Homegrown Player program.

Crookham began his career with the organization as the Director of Coaching for the Rapids Academy.

During the 2008 and 2009 seasons, Crookham also assisted head coaches Gary Smith and Fernando Clavijo with the first team. He has also served as a color analyst for Rapids television broadcasts on Altitude Sports and Entertainment since 2004.

For the three years prior to coming to the Rapids fulltime, Crookham was the Assistant Technical Director for Colorado Youth Soccer. There he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Olympic Development Program and worked in coaching education.

Prior to his stint at Colorado Youth Soccer, Crookham served as the Men’s Soccer Coach and Assistant Athletic Director at Metropolitan State College in Denver. During his nine-year tenure, the soccer team became nationally recognized, going from a team that had never before been ranked to as high as No. 4 in the NCAA Division II top 25.

In 2000, the program made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Crookham coached three All-Americans, 11 All-Midwest Region players and the 2001 RMAC Player-of-the-Year. The program was also recognized nationally with Academic Honor Awards in each of the last three seasons he was there.

In his role as Assistant Athletic Director, he was responsible for managing the student-athlete eligibility, academic progress, and NCAA rules compliance for the school.

A USSF “A” licensed coach, Crookham also served as a USYS Region IV staff coach and an instructor in both state and national coaching education programs for U.S. Soccer.

A native of Jenks, Oklahoma, Crookham started his coaching career in his home state and was inducted into the Oklahoma Soccer Hall of Fame in 2019. He currently resides in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, with his wife Michelle and their three children, Connor, Beth and Sean.