When you watch Cole Bassett play, you can’t deny his competitive edge. Whether he’s out wide, at the base of midfield, or further forward, you’ll see him week-in, week-on fighting for every ball and giving his all for the Colorado Rapids, his hometown club.
It’s his duty to be the heartbeat of the team, he said — the engine room of a club he grew up in and now finds himself leading.
None of this is new to him, though. Bassett’s drive to succeed became instilled in him when his professional soccer career was still a faraway dream, and he was just a kid playing hockey with his little brother in the basement.
“My brother and I used to go down there and play for a Stanley Cup that was made out of tin foil,” Bassett said. “That got us into wanting to win and got us thinking every time we step foot on a field or do something, to do it to the best of our ability. My dad started that with us, and then it continued with the rest of my career and now me and my brother are at a professional level because of it.”
It runs in the family
Starting in 2025, it became official — the Bassett basement now had two alumni who graduated from the indoor ranks to the pro fields. Sam Bassett, Cole’s 21-year-old brother, signed a homegrown contract with the Rapids at the turn of the year. It came after Sam’s stellar four-year college career with the University of Denver, capped off by being named a finalist for the 2024 MAC Hermann Trophy.
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