'That's what I wanted' - USMNT's Paxten Aaronson is ready to be 'the guy' for the Colorado Rapids

Aaronson arrived in Colorado in August, right in the thick of MLS' home stretch. It was an adjustment. He'd bounced around Europe for several years, surviving multiple loans and even an apartment fire, and he was eager to put down roots in Colorado. Doing so while also helping the Rapids push for a postseason spot was difficult. The last few months have given him a chance to put down those roots after the Rapids narrowly missed the playoffs on the final day of the season back in October.

"It really does have everything," Aaronson says of his new home. "You have the city, but then you have the mountains 25 minutes away. There's so much land around the facility, too. There are like 25 fields."

The final games of last season, meanwhile, gave Aaronson a perfect taste of life on the field. He'd been in MLS before with the Philadelphia Union, yes, but there's always nuance to playing with a new club. After signing on in late August, Aaronson was able to play seven games for his new club before the season ended with a 2-2 draw with LAFC on the final day of the season. Aaronson scored in that game, but it wasn't enough, as the Rapids threw away three points to miss the postseason.

Despite the bitter end to 2025, those games helped Aaronson find his footing ahead of 2026, giving him high hopes for his first full season in Colorado. It'll come under a new coach, Matt Wells, and there are several new faces around. Aaronson, though, doesn't feel like one of those new faces anymore, largely because he had that introduction last season.

"I think the seven games last season were perfect for me," he says. "In terms of joining late, it was getting an apartment, going through that adjustment period, and being able to join in the season and going full gas. I have a place to live. I know the area now, know the training facility. I know the team super well." 

That familiarity, he says, has eased the transition into a new season - and a new era - in Colorado.

"With the addition of the new coach and a few signings, I think we have a great team. We had a great team last year. I can't speak for the entire season, but I think, towards the end, we were just a little bit off on the small things, but I'm really looking forward to this season."

Part of finding a home is also about building a community. It's only been a few months, but Aaronson feels he's found that with his teammates in Colorado.

Before arriving back stateside, Aaronson had spent two years in Europe, where the vibes are significantly different. It's much more individualistic, many players say, due to everyone's shared desire to better their own career. MLS, meanwhile, tends to allow players to form more concrete relationships, largely because the league offers a bit more certainty and stability for those on it.

Just a few months after his MLS return, Aaronson feels that. 

"I've enjoyed the locker room and the group of guys so much," he says. "Just with how close we've become in such a short amount of time, knowing I have a full season with them, I can only imagine what it'll be like. It's something I kind of missed. Of course, other locker rooms are good and I've had friends and stuff, but having other Americans around when you're in the same country is different. It's a group of guys that grew up with the same jokes and that kind of stuff."

Golf has proven to be a big uniter. Keegan Rosenberry is "insane", Aaronson says. He credits Connor Ronan for being a two-handicap player. Since the Rapids' season ended, players didn't all necessarily go their separate ways. Instead, they got together during the offseason to build relationships and, more importantly, compete.

"It's about knowing when it's time to completely lock in and say, 'Okay, let's cut the bullsh*t and work'," Aaronson says. "It's also about, on a day off, having eight guys go golfing together. We did that in the middle of the offseason, and it was one of the most fun trips I've ever been on. It's just about having that kind of brotherhood and friendship, but also being a part of something bigger. That's what we want to achieve, and I think that's great."

For Aaronson, the offseason was about more than golfing and good vibes, though. There was a break in there, one that allowed him to visit his brother, fellow USMNT star Brenden, in Leeds. That break was much-needed, and it was one that Aaronson felt allowed him to return for this season as a better version of himself.

For the past few years of Aaronson's life, it's all been very go, go, go. He spent his 2024 offseason at the Olympics. He spent his 2025 offseason at the Gold Cup. During that time, he played minutes for three different clubs. It was a lot of change, but also little time to reflect on what he could be doing better.

That's what this offseason afforded him. In a sense, it was tough to go several months between games after spending multiple years getting, at most, a few weeks. It did, however, give Aaronson a chance to work on the little things that are so often lost in the shuffle.

"It's been great to kind of rekindle things with family and loved ones that I spent a long time apart from," he said. "It was nice to spend time with them and be able to work on my craft with individual things that, in a season, you really can't work on because you're too exhausted from games and training. Being able to work with my dad and then I'm obviously close to Philly, so being able to work with some of those guys in their offseason as well, it made me feel really good, really fit and just sharpened up the little things."

Aaronson worked hard through the winter. He trained five days a week, ensuring that, when he arrived for preseason, he'd be ready to go. He's already made an impact on new coach Wells, who is already figuring out ways to get the most out of his No. 10.

"In my conversation with Paxten, I was really impressed," Wells told GOAL. "Probably the biggest thing that stands out was his mentality. He's been at big clubs and big organizations, and he's got big expectations, so he's an ambitious young man."

He continued: "In the system that I play and the style of play, he's gonna get a lot of ball between the lines, and he'll be in positions to create. We'll give him clear pictures in the final third, but we'll also give him the capacity to use his own decisions, because that's his magic."

The goal, then, is to capture as much of that magic as possible, particularly in the early weeks of the season.

Every player approaches the process of setting goals differently. Aaronson writes his down. They serve as reminders of what he's shooting for, and the work he has to do to get there.

There is no shortage of motivators out there for Aaronson now. The pressure is on him to perform for the Rapids, who will expect him to be a focal point in Wells' new system. There's also a World Cup on the horizon and, while Aaronson faces a fight to get there, USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino hasn't ruled anyone out. With a hot start to the MLS season, anything can happen. A lot can change in just a few months, as Aaronson can attest to.

So he's setting his goals high because why not? He didn't come to Colorado to be just another; he came to be an important one.

"When I was at Utrecht, I wrote things down before the season," he says. "I had a chalkboard right in my kitchen. I wrote that I wanted eight goals and six assists, and I finished with nine and seven. I'll do the same thing this year. I don't have a chalkboard, but I have a whiteboard. I hung it up right on my fridge.

"I definitely want double digits. My goal is double digits because why not? Why not go for it? What's wrong with that?"

It's the type of attitude you need to have if you are the guy, and that's what Aaronson strives to be as he begins a crucial season in Colorado.