Rapids 2 GM Brian Crookham wins MLS NEXT Pro Executive of the Year

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When Brian Crookham met one of his career’s defining moments, he stood at the center circle at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, hands in his pockets, and took it all in.

It was back in early November after his Colorado Rapids 2 squad, of which he is the general manager, overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Minnesota United 2, 2-1, in the MLS NEXT Pro Western Conference final. It’s a piece of hardware he got agonizingly close to in 2023, which made the midfield moment more special as he watched his players celebrate in front of a record crowd.

Thursday, the club announced he received another piece of hardware: the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro Executive of the Year award.

“I am honored to represent the club with this award,” Crookham said in a statement. “The commitment from ownership and our senior leadership to the player development space, paired with our coaching and support staff’s execution in the player development process, makes this recognition possible. We look forward to continuing to leverage the excellent opportunities that have been provided to us through our participation in MLS NEXT Pro.”

Since the league’s inception in 2021, the Rapids’ MLS NEXT Pro affiliate has made it to the conference final twice. In 2023, it lost to eventual league champion Austin FC II in penalties. That season, now-breakout Rapids first-team stars like Oliver Larraz and Darren Yapi led the way.

As one of the longest-tenured members of the club, Crookham has managed the squad since 2021 and the entire club’s development from a player perspective. Day by day, he’s tasked with putting players in the best position to succeed individually. A team trophy was the cherry on top, judging by his long, proud gaze on that November night at DSGP. A week later, Rapids 2 lost at Michael Bradley’s New York Red Bulls II in a thriller decided on penalties.

Crookham’s contributions and credentials for the award are felt most during the offseason. He often spearheads preparation for the MLS SuperDraft, which the Rapids take more seriously and invest more in than many MLS clubs, and most of the players selected end up on Rapids 2.

Last year’s draft produced two of the better R2 players in recent memory in Vermont’s Sydney Wathuta and Cornell’s Alex Harris , who proved themselves worthy of a real chance at first-team time next season. In the same offseason, Sam Bassett was signed as a Homegrown midfielder and contributed greatly. Crookham also found and signed Mamadou Billo Diop , an 18-year-old diamond in the rough from DME Academy in Florida — Diop scored 14 goals (fifth in MLS NEXT Pro) and added two assists in 2025.

More than just impressive signings, Crookham was distinctly impressed with the work ethic from the group as a whole.

“They are literally (at the training facility) from early in the morning until five o’clock at night every day,” Crookham said. “It’s the preparation for the session, the session, rewatching the session. When they get back in (from training), you walk in there and it’s so focused. There’s a level of trust with each of them, the environment and the trust that’s in that environment for everybody to bring their own personality and their own stuff to the table. …

“When you talk about that moment following the Western Conference final, I think it was a culmination of that because at some stage, you transfer that responsibility to the players, and the players have to go out and perform. When you’ve got that right, you’ve got the whole culture right.”

After a brief period of celebration and reflection, it’s right back to work for Crookham, who is already diving deep into the SuperDraft, which takes place Thursday, Dec. 18. The Rapids don’t have as many picks as they did last year, but they’ll have all of their natural picks and two of the Philadelphia Union’s picks this season, which they acquired in a trade for General Allocation Money. That trade included all of Philadelphia’s natural picks for the next three drafts in exchange for a total of $350,000 in GAM, to be distributed in equal portions over those seasons.

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