The Colorado Soccer Association (CSA) is among the top state associations in the country with over 60 sanctioned clubs existing within its network. This season alone, the Colorado Rapids Academy fields 43 players from nine clubs from across CSA, including Albion SC Denver, Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club, Colorado Rush, Colorado Pride, Arsenal Ft. Collins, Real Colorado, B-Elite Rush, Roaring Fork SC and FC Greeley.
At the U-18 level, the Rapids Academy is represented by 11 players from the Colorado youth system. Among those players are long-standing Rapids player Miguel Alvarado, a product of FC Greeley and Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club alumni Philip Pak.
Alvarado joined the Rapids Academy at the U-12 level. He has seen steady progress within the academy and earned the opportunity last season to make the jump to professional play. Alvarado logged 18 matches in MLS NEXT Pro last season while also occupying a position on the Rapids U-17 team for the 2023-24 MLS NEXT season.
The defender’s success also spans to the international realm, having represented the U.S. Youth National Team at the U-15, U-16 and U-17 levels. In August 2023, Alvarado was called into the U-15 national team for the Concacaf Boys’ Under-15 Championship in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where the team captured its first-ever Concacaf title in a 4-2 win over Mexico at the Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez. Alvarado was a key player during the tournament, recording four starts across the group and knockout round stages.
Pak currently plays for the club’s U-18 side, serving as the captain of a record-setting team that recently secured a spot in the 2024-25 MLS NEXT Playoffs through the West Pro Pathway Division with a 6-5-5 record in the regular season.
Pak’s U-18s also excelled at this year’s Generation adidas Cup, making a run all the way to the final where they fell short to Orlando City in a 2-1 result. The performance marked the longest Generation adidas Cup run by a Rapids Academy team. Pak played every minute of every match at the event and was one of three Rapids players named to the tournament’s Best XI, alongside teammates Vincent Rinaldi and Kendall Starks.
The U-16s currently have 12 players who have been developed through the Colorado-based youth clubs.
A standout player among the group is Alex Hernandez, who joined the club in 2022 from local youth side Albion SC Denver. During the current 2024-25 MLS NEXT season, the midfielder has occupied a starting position with the U-16 side. Hernandez has contributed ten goals and six assists in his 38 appearances and has helped the team to a 9-1-2 record and a second-place position in the Frontier Division of MLS NEXT Flex.
The U-15s are the most well-represented team in terms of Colorado youth products, with 19 players having joined the academy from local youth sides.
Nathan Tchoumba, 14, is notably a product of the Colorado Rush and is a long-standing member of the club, having been a part of the Rapids Futures Program. In the current 2024-25 MLS NEXT season, Tchoumba has split time between the U-15s and U-16s. With the U-15s, he has recorded 14 appearances during the 2024-25 MLS NEXT season and with the U-16s he has added one goal in 24 appearances.
Hernandez and Tchoumba have had experiences with the U.S. Youth National Team at both the U-14 and U-15 levels. Most recently, Hernandez and Tchoumba joined the U.S. U-15s at the end of May for a set of international friendlies against Argentina in Buenos Aires under Head Coach Ross Brady.
Hernandez made his national team debut with the U-15s on Feb. 28, 2025, against Mexico logging 24 minutes of play. The following match on March 2, 2025, against Mexico saw Hernandez record his first goal and first assist for the national team.
Tchoumba has received three training camp call ups with the U.S. U-15s and made his national team debut in the team’s set of friendlies against Mexico on Feb. 28, 2025, playing 76 minutes.
The full list of active Academy players and their former Colorado-based youth clubs can be found below.
Rapids Academy U-15 Team
Angel Armas – Albion SC Denver, B-Elite Rush
Issac Chapman – Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Felipe Fabian – Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Gabriel Garcia - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Eli Granatowski - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Kai Holcombe – Albion SC Denver, Roaring Fork SC, Arsenal Ft. Collins
Dawensley Hornak - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Asher Knight - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Nolan Nguyen – Albion SC Denver
Gabriel Pinedo Delamora – Colorado Rush
Jonathan Pomeroy - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Edwin Reynosa Alcala - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Matthew Ruiz – Albion SC Denver
Chris Saenz Lerma - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Andel Sandoval Rodriguez – Albion SC Denver
Nathan Tchoumba – Colorado Rush
Collin Vescio - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Dylan Zamorano – Colorado Pride, Albion SC Denver, B-Elite Rush
Ethan Zielke – Arsenal Ft. Collins
Rapids Academy U-16 Team
Hamdoin Altayeb - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club, B-Elite Rush
Diego Ambriz - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Jonathan De La Fuente – Albion SC Denver
Jameson Gailey - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Edgar Heredia - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Alexander Hernandez-Bautista – Albion SC Denver
Cole Ingebretson – Colorado Rush
Kellen Lowery - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Conlan Morris – Real Colorado
Jackson Pomeroy – Real Colorado
Kamal Sawadogo - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Eithan Valdez – Albion SC Denver
Dashiel Williams - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Rapids Academy U-18 Team
Hugo Aguirre - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Miguel Alvarado – FC Greeley
Maddox Brown – Arsenal Ft. Collins
Carlos Estrada Soto - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Christopher Madera Acosta – FC Greeley
Owen Malick – Colorado Pride
Leonardo Medina - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Philip Pak - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Jayse Rand – Real Colorado
Maxwell Simpson - Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club
Landon Strohmeyer – Colorado Rush
