February 21, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Timbers midfielder Cole Bassett (17) chases the ball in the first half against Columbus Crew midfielder Amar Cezdic (14) at Providence Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Image Cole Bassett returns home Saturday when the Portland Timbers take on the Colorado Rapids in Commerce City, Colorado.
The Timbers acquired midfielder Bassett, 24, from Littleton, Colorado, for $2.65 million in early February. Bassett has 31 goals and 21 assists in all competitions, making 172 appearances over a pair of spells for the Rapids (2018-21, 2023-25). Bassett, who can play in a variety of roles in midfield, earned immediate praise from Portland manager Phil Neville and recorded an assist on his Timbers debut.
Portland (1-0-0, 3 points) won 3-2 in its regular season opener last Saturday in Columbus. Ariel Lassiter scored the winning goal in the 88th minute. Felipe Mora and Antony Alves Santos also scored for the Timbers.
“I really believe he is the best player,” Neville said of Bassett. “I think his performance was great. He was probably our best player (against Columbus). He’s a versatile midfielder. … He’s a central midfield player who can do everything that’s asked of him.”
Meanwhile, Colorado (0-1-0, 0 points) opened the season with a 2-0 loss to Seattle last Sunday. The same problems that plagued the Rapids last season resurfaced in new coach Matt Wells’ debut. Colorado won 56-44 last season, missed the tiebreaker in the MLS Cup Playoffs with 41 points, and finished 11th in the Western Conference final table.
Wells said Colorado is still adjusting its strategy. Despite that transition, the Rapids controlled 58.8% of the possessions against Seattle, but the Sounders outscored Colorado by twice that margin (14-7).
“It’s not about change, it’s about getting the processes right,” Wells said. “It definitely takes more than four weeks for players to recognize in the moment what’s going on in order to play at the right time.”
Colorado has shown they can win possession battles, but they need to be more intentional when building and connecting a series of passes to keep the offense going.
“If we made the right choice with a pass, we had a bad touch or we were too rash in possession,” Wells said. “We weren’t safe enough.”
–Field level media
