Colorado Rapids announce preseason roster updates for First Team, Rapids 2

Following the club’s return from the first leg of their preseason in Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico, the Colorado Rapids announced roster updates for both the first team and Rapids 2 on Friday.

The release comes ahead of the club’s second stage of preseason in Florida, where both the senior and reserve teams will prepare for the coming MLS and MLS Next Pro regular seasons, respectively. The first team’s camp will take place in Orlando, while R2 will officially kick off their preseason preparations at the famous IMG Academy in Bradenton.

Headlining the announcement is the confirmation that the first team’s three most recent signings have been added to the roster, including Designated Player Andreas Maxsø, defender Alex Gersbach, and midfielder Connor Ronan. Gersbach is the only one of the three not yet physically present in Orlando, but will arrive pending receipt of his P-1 visa. Goalkeeper and second round SuperDraft pick Oliver Semmle is no longer with the team. Trialist and journeyman Ismaila Jome, who briefly joined the Rapids for the team’s camp in Mexico, also did not travel to Florida.

The Rapids also confirmed that Oliver Larraz and Jackson Travis, who both sustained season-ending injuries last season, joined manager Erik Bushey and the rest of the Rapids 2 squad for preseason. Sebastian Anderson, Michael Edwards, Anthony Markanich, Abraham Rodriguez, and Darren Yapi primarily played with Rapids 2 last year, but will remain with the first team in Orlando for now. Dantouma “Yaya” Toure is still recovering from an ACL tear late last season and did not join either team for preseason.

R2’s roster includes a healthy batch of new faces, including the recently-added French midfielder Rémi Cabral—Kévin Cabral’s twin brother—and Brazilian striker Caique de Brito Cerqueira.

The Salvadoran midfield duo of Marlon Vargas and Robinson Aguirre have also returned to Rapids 2 after a brief stint training with the first team in Mexico. Costa Rica International Daniel Chacón and Rapids Academy defender Daniel Garcia spent some time with the first team in Mexico, but will link back up with the reserves ahead of the new season.

Academy goalkeeper Adrian Beaudry is currently with the USYNT squad in Guatemala for the 2022 U-17 Concacaf Championship. As Rodriguez is training with the first team, R2 currently lacks a keeper on their roster.

Finally, R2 added a new amateur player in Pariss Mitchell, who came through the Toronto FC academy and last played with Vaughan SC in 2022. The rest of the amateur players listed by the club previously played for Rapids 2 last season.