There is something about these off-seasons that get shorter and shorter with every year. Perhaps it's the schedule or perhaps it's the ever-consistent keeping of time. 2026 is right around the corner, but that hasn't stopped last week from being a very newsworthy one. From head coach hires to stadium developments, there's plenty to cover here in regards to Box State Futbol.
ICYMI - Last Week's Newsletter:
Juan Fernandez
Topics:
- 💸 Rapids to Acquire CONCACAF International Winger
- 👔 New Rapids Head Coach
- 🎖️ Rapids Executive Wins Award
- ⚽ Summit Signings
Colorado Rapids Acquire Dante Sealy via trade.
Tom Bogert of the Athletic reports that Trinidad and Tobago international Dante Sealy has joined the Colorado Rapids via trade.
🇹🇹 BREAKING: Colorado Rapids finalizing a deal to acquire winger Dante Sealy from CF Montréal, per sources.
— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) December 15, 2025
Deal worth around $2m GAM
Sealy, 22, had breakout season last year with 9g/2a.
That & more: https://t.co/5hD6chT4as
As mentioned in the tweet, Sealy, 22, did in fact have a breakout season last year with Montreal. His breakout season came after a positional change from wing back to a winger; operating on both the left and the right. The trade details are yet to be confirmed, but "around 2m GAM" is a steep price and while it could be broken into various amounts throughout the years, it's still a lot; with potential room to grow as well. Trade details are likely to be made more clear in the coming days but Bogert was the first to break the Matt Wells news and that still has yet to be formally announced by the club.
As a player, Sealy does well with the ball at his feet. His dribbling and carrying ability will be a massive boost to the Rapids attack. Here's how he compared last year to the rest of the Rapids winger core.
Sealy is a savvy pick up when you look past the initial splurging of the GAM (which we have yet to know the construct of the deal). At just a 104K cap hit, the Rapids will have a very salary-friendly winger who should be a good option for the foreseeable future. Add to that the addition of Bryce Jamison, a renewed season start for Alexis Manyoma, and the now outside-looking-in Ted Ku-DiPietro (who was also brought with promise and hope in mind) and you have a stronger winger core than last year, but is it much better because of the players available or because the addition by subtraction of one Kevin Cabral raises the overall standard for the wingers in house now? I don't think Sealy is a Cabral-type, but I do think Montreal maximized their value here.
I would have maybe preferred to see that GAM being dished out for a center back within the league like a one Jakob Glesnes who will be in the Western Conference this year with the Galaxy. I think for what the move could stand to be its not a bad one. But if Sealy comes up short of expectations, it's gonna be quite a big whiff. Still, the salary helps to level out any bad initial valuations and he should, in theory, excel on the team. We have yet to know what the new system will look like, but it seems wingers aren't going away from the core focus of this team.
Cornell Glen played just one match for the Rapids.
Colorado Rapids To Appoint Matt Wells as Head Coach
The Rapids have a new head coach and his name is Matt Wells. All but club official at this point, but it's been reported by the MLS scoops man himself: Tom Bogert.
Juan Fernandez
I already wrote out a lot of what I had to say in the article above. One tidbit I did want to note here, that I f̶o̶r̶g̶o̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶i̶n̶c̶l̶u̶d̶e was saving as a tidbit for the newsletter is the fact that Minnesota United, under Ramsay, were demons on set pieces. They were famous in abusing the new meta of throwing the ball into the mixer and seeing the effects of the ball in loose suspension. Defenders often didn't know how to react but Ramsay's side prepared for this. Maybe Matt Wells is something of a similar set piece tactician. It wasn't long ago that set pieces were the calling card of the Colorado Rapids. Open play goals are to be expected, but having some ace up your sleeve when it comes to set piece construction and the meta exploitation of the game is coming from younger managers.
Again, as mentioned in the article, this is a "Lets see how he does!" type of hire. Half enthusiastic but half preparing for the worst. The expectations though should be steep. Quite an intriguing hire if not a bit morbidly so as well.
MLS Next Pro Executive of the Year Awarded to Rapids 2 General Manager Brian Crookham
From morbid intrigue to some festivities. Brian Crookham was awarded the MLS Next Pro Executive of the Year following a strong Rapids 2 season in which they made the MLS Next Pro Final as Western Conference Champions.
Crookham has been instrumental to delivering on the youth pipeline as outlined in The Rapids Way Op Ed. Crookham has been plugged into the Colorado soccer scene for quite some time joining the team in 2007. With the development and advent of MLS Next Pro, it has allowed him to take a larger role in the youth development process and through his leadership the club has been able to bear the fruit of a youth pipeline.
In a development league where turnover is high and players have various options, Crookham has kept a strong focal point on ensuring success at the developmental level. Beyond MLSNP, Crookham is a key piece when it comes to the club's Superdraft strategy; a mechanism for player acquisition the Rapids still have strong belief in as evident by their aggressive draft pick acquisitions.
Additional Reading: Burgundy Wave - Brian Crookham Wins MLS NEXT Pro Executive of the Year!
Summit Continue to Add to Their Roster With The Signings of Jordan Baggett and Camryn Biegalski
The Summit roster continues to grow week after week as we inch closer and closer to the inaugural kick off match. This past week, the signings of Colorado native Jordan Baggett and Camryn Biegalski were made official.
Jordan Baggett - Comeback Player of the Year?
Bagget has had some tough times with injuries. She did not play at all in 2025 and in 2024 her minutes were low as well. She was a local Colorado player I was going to include in my "Six Colorado Free Agents We Want to See In Summit Green In 2026" piece but I found it hard to really figure out what she could add as a signing compared to the rest of the players given her long injury spell. I am all for a good Colorado local story but outside of that there's nothing noteworthy from a playing perspective here. I would love to be wrong here though especially since coming back from injury and finding success on an expansion team is an easy narrative to root for.
Camryn Biegalski - Starting Right Back?
The more noteworthy of the two signings, Biegalski slots in as the immediate right back starter for Denver. She projects well as a stay at home right back and if Ally Watt is to play as a right-winger ahead of her, she'll be a good supporting basis on that right hand side for Watt's runs and actions in the attack.
Despite the high carrying and successful take-ons, her dribbling G+ is rated at -1.13; a league worst for NWSL fullbacks in 2025. Her passing is also rated poorly at -0.32 G+, but her interrupting (0.18) and fouling (0.12) remain strong indicating a much better defender than on ball progressor playing out of the back. How she is utilized in the defense will be crucial. If she does less this could work out well but there's still a lot of time for other potential starters to emerge.
That is all for this week's BSF Newsletter. Still lots to figure out about the Sealy deal especially if the fee climbs up beyond the initial two million.
