The Colorado Rapids announced on May 6 that the club has signed Homegrown forward Darren Yapi to a multi-year contract as a U22 Initiative player through the 2028-29 Major League Soccer season, with a club option for the 2029-30 season.
The signing is significant for both the team and Yapi, who has developed through the Rapids Academy system and established himself as an important player. The new contract reflects his contributions on the field and signals confidence in his continued growth with the club.
“Darren truly embodies the pathway we believe in as a club, and we’re incredibly proud of the way he has progressed through our system,” said Rapids President Pádraig Smith. “He has consistently shown his ability to impact games at the MLS level, and we believe he has the qualities to develop into a top attacker in this league and beyond. This new contract reflects both his performances and the standards he has set for himself, and we’re excited to see him continue to build on that here in Colorado.”
Yapi, age 21, joined Colorado’s First Team at just over sixteen years old after progressing from their academy. Since then, he has made 116 appearances across all competitions. He became both the youngest player in club history to sign professionally and later, at age twenty, became their youngest ever player to score two goals in one match. In total, Yapi ranks second among Rapids Homegrown players with thirteen goals scored.
In 2025, Yapi set career highs with eight goals and four assists during regular season play. He continues strong form into this year with three goals and two assists over eleven matches so far. “Darren has made a really positive start to the season and continues to grow into a more complete front line player for us,” said Rapids Head Coach Matt Wells. “He’s shown a top mentality to embrace our football, has made big steps in his physical development and is consistently impacting the game in attacking positions. He has the right level of ambition and we believe he has so much more growth to come, so we’re looking forward to continuing to work with him.”
Yapi began playing for Colorado’s youth teams at under-12 level before making his professional debut at fifteen while on loan with USL Championship affiliate Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. He also played regularly for Rapids 2 between 2022–25 including during their run to MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs semifinals.
Internationally, Yapi recently received call-ups from United States youth national teams including U-20s where he started—and scored—in a friendly win against Japan.
