COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC announced on Tuesday the club had acquired midfielder Ben Mines on loan from FC Cincinnati of Major League Soccer. Per club policy, the details of the loan have not been made public, and the transaction is pending league and federation approval.

“Ben has already been part of multiple title-winning teams at this level and in MLS at a young age,” said Switchbacks Head Coach and General Manager Brendan Burke. “He absolutely adds another starting quality attacking player to our group and we are looking forward to continuing to get him adjusted to our system and style of play. Our hope is that this is a breakout year for him that allows him to head back to Cincinnati in great form for them.”

Mines spent the first five years of his career within the New York Red Bulls organization, where he started on their U-16 side in the New York Red Bulls Academy. He made his USL Championship debut for the Red Bulls II in 2016. While there he made 48 regular season appearances, scoring two goals and three assists. He added four appearances in the USL Championship Playoffs and notched another goal in the postseason while being part of the Red Bulls II side that claimed the 2016 Championship Final. 

In 2018, the 21-year-old signed with the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer. Mines scored in his MLS debut against the Portland Timbers on March 20, 2018, he went on to make six more appearances for the club before joining the Red Bulls II on loan for the remainder of the season. In 2020, Mines was acquired by FC Cincinnati in the 2020 End-of-Year Waiver Draft and agreed to terms ahead of the 2021 season. In August of 2021, Mines was loaned to USL Championship side Orange County SC, where he helped push the team to win the 2021 USL Championship Final. While with Orange County SC, Mines scored three goals in 13 games, and had a passing success rate of 70.1 percent.

“I'm extremely excited to be joining a great club and an organization full of good people,” said Mines. “It's an awesome opportunity for me to join an already talented team and I can't wait to get to work.”