Just five years into his professional soccer career, 21-year-old Cole Bassett is already writing his name in the Colorado Rapids history books. On Saturday night against St. Louis CITY SC, Littleton native Bassett broke the record for minutes played by a Homegrown.
Dillon Serna of Brighton, Colorado, previously set the record with 5,302 minutes from October 2013 through September 2019.
Bassett tied Serna’s record exactly after his appearance against LA Galaxy last week and needed just one minute of action against St. Louis to overtake his former teammate. Earning a spot in the Starting XI on Saturday, Bassett featured the full 90 minutes for a total of 5,392 minutes played for the Rapids.
“It’s an honor to play for the club this much,” Bassett said. “I think the club means more to me than maybe other people just because I’m from here, and I understand what it means to play for this club. It’s an honor to have this record.”
Bassett joined the Rapids Development Academy from the Colorado Rush back in 2017. He quickly gained a lot of experience, representing the Rapids at the U-16/17 and U-18/19 levels. A year later, he became the youngest player in Rapids history at the time to sign a first-team Homegrown contract at 17 years old.
Less than a month after joining the team, he made his MLS debut on Sept. 8, 2018, against the Portland Timbers. He netted his first goal later that season against FC Dallas in the final game of the year.
Bassett’s quick rise garnered attention from overseas, and he spent the 2022 season playing for a pair of Dutch clubs—Feyenoord and Fortuna Sittard—before returning to Colorado.
Since making his Rapids debut in 2018, the midfielder has been a major asset to the club, registering 84 appearances with 62 starts and 26 goal contributions—15 goals and 11 assists. All of that with a year absence in Europe.
“Cole has obviously been really good for us over the years,” Head Coach Robin Fraser said. “He's the type of player who works incredibly hard and gives you everything he can defensively. He's shown that he can be a good goal scorer. He was signed before I got here, but he's grown a great deal of time since I've been here and turned himself into a very competent capable MLS player.”
