Ahead of their Sunday meeting with Oakland Roots, Tacoma Defiance announced that Jackson Ragen had signed, and then promptly inserted him into the lineup. Ragen played 90 minutes in the 3-1 win. The Seattle local played one season with the Sounders Academy U-18 team that finished third in the USSDA playoffs in 2016-17, and had been in training with Tacoma and the first team for about a month prior to signing this contract.
Following his season with the Sounders Academy, Ragen played at the University of Michigan for four years. He was named All-Big Ten First Team in both his junior and senior years, the All-Big Ten Tournament Team his Sophomore year, and won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in his senior year as well.