Cole Signs First Pro Contract with Club in Portugal
7/17/2026 5:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Brennan Cole, the reigning Big West Defensive Player of the Year, has signed her first professional contract with Racing Power FC in Setúbal, Portugal to continue her soccer career.
Cole joins former Cal Poly teammate Jessie Halladay on the team as the 2025 Big West Championship MVP recently inked her first professional contract with the club as well.
Racing Power FC, located just outside the country’s capital of Lisbon, is a member of Liga BPI, the top division of women’s soccer in Portugal. The club was founded in 2020, winning titles at the third (2020-21) and second (2022-23) divisions in Portugal to receive promotion to the country’s top division in just three years.
Cole will join Racing Power FC for the 2026-27 season after helping the Mustangs capture their fourth Big West Tournament Championship in program history in her final season this past fall.
A 22-year-old from Woodland Hills, Calif., Cole had a breakout season starring at center back for the Mustangs in 2025. She played and started in all 22 minutes, leading the team in minutes played (1,934) and playing a full 90 minutes in 18 matches.
The All-Big West First Team selection anchored a formidable backline that posted 10 shutouts in 2025 — tied for the fourth most in a season in Cal Poly history — and back-to-back clean sheets in the Big West tournament to help the Mustangs secure a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 21 years.
Cole became the sixth player in program history to be crowned the Big West Defensive Player of the Year and tallied three goals and one assist in 2025, finishing her Cal Poly career with five goals, seven assists and 83 shots. The three-time Big West All-Academic selection racked up 5,197 minutes on the pitch during her time as a Mustang, playing in 79 matches — tied for the ninth most in Cal Poly history — and making 63 career starts, 20th most in program history.
Cole is the eighth Cal Poly women's soccer player in program history to sign a contract to play professionally and the third from this past season’s team, joining Halladay and Madelyn Dougherty, who signed a mid-year contract in February with ŽFK Vojvodina in Novi Sad, Serbia.
