Early career Born in
Tuxpan, near
Morelia, Baca moved to
California at the age of 7, and graduated from
Ánimo Leadership Charter High School in
Inglewood in 2007. While there he scored a total of 58 goals and received the Athlete Academic Award. Baca attended
Loyola Marymount University (2007–2010), where he was a star player for the team. LMU won their first conference championship in school history in 2010 during Baca's junior season, in which Baca was named to the thirty player watch list for the
Hermann Trophy. Baca captained the Lions in his final three seasons, and was named First-Team All-
West Coast Conference those three seasons as well. A member of the
LA Galaxy academy program while at LMU, Baca was not offered an opportunity with the club after he had graduated.
San Jose Earthquakes Baca was not selected in either of the year's two drafts, but on July 8, 2011, Baca signed a
Major League Soccer contract with the
San Jose Earthquakes, with whom he had been training since February. While attending the funeral of college teammate David Kucera, he met Quakes assistant coach
Ian Russell, and the club held a tryout for him the next day. Baca made his debut on July 9 against
Philadelphia, receiving 10 minutes off the bench. After replacing
Simon Dawkins in the first half against
Vancouver on July 20, Baca was given his full debut by head coach
Frank Yallop three days later in a 4–0 loss to
Real Salt Lake. Baca started the club's final ten games of the season as they looked to sneak into the
playoffs. San Jose won three of their final ten games, finishing 11 points and two places outside the playoffs. Baca finished the season with 15 appearances and 3 assists to his name, and scored his first professional goal on the final day of the season in a 4–2 win over
Dallas. Baca initially took an
international roster slot until his acquisition of a
green card the following season. Baca was a key component of San Jose's midfield in the
2012 season, as the club won the
Supporters' Shield for the second time in their history. After starting on Opening Day against
New England, Baca was replaced by
Marvin Chávez at the half of their second game, a 1–0 loss to
Houston on March 17. He returned to the starting lineup on March 30 against
Seattle, and missed just one game the rest of the season, although he didn't play the full 90 minutes in 15 of his final 30 appearances. He would form a partnership with
Sam Cronin in the center of midfield, and was compared to former Quakes midfielder
Ronnie Ekelund of the club's two
MLS Cup winning seasons by assistant coach Russell, who also praised his technical skill. Head coach Yallop would praise his energy and work rate during the season, as well as his "will to do all the dirty work". Baca was left out of the starting lineup for the next two games. After the team had let in three goals in the first half against Real Salt Lake on June 1, Baca entered as part of a double substitution in the eventual 3–0 defeat in what would be head coach Yallop's final game in charge. Baca started three of San Jose's four games in their
CONCACAF Champions League group, which saw the club advance past
Montreal and Guatemalan side
Heredia on goal difference, as all three sides finished on six points. Baca received his first red card as a professional on September 8 against Philadelphia for a late challenge on
Conor Casey. This would result in his second suspension of the season, having also missed the club's previous game against LA Galaxy for yellow card accumulation. All told, Baca made 31 appearances in the league for San Jose in what would be his final season in
MLS before departing for Mexico. A loss to
U. de G. on the last day of the season meant that Cruz Azul missed out on the Liguilla, in 9th place on goal difference. Tena was replaced by former
Chiapas manager
Sergio Bueno before the start of the
2015 Apertura, and Baca did not receive his first start until August 21 against
Querétaro, after five games starting on the bench. He would receive two more starts in the tournament, including Bueno's final game in charge, a 2–1 defeat to Puebla on September 27.
Tomás Boy was appointed manager on October 2, and Baca was limited to four substitute appearances in the final six games of the Apertura under Boy. Baca did score his first goal for Cruz Azul in a 2–1 win over
Pachuca on November 14. Baca was part of Boy's plans for the
2016 Clausura, starting every match in the midfield and failing to complete the full match just once. Baca was replaced by summer signing
Jonatan Cristaldo at the half in Cruz Azul's goalless draw with UNAM, and he missed the next two matches as Boy had to manage the club's foreign players with the new 10/8 rule going into effect. Baca was considered a foreign player by the
FMF as he was not registered to play football in the country before the age of 18, although Baca was considered a domestic player for the
2017 Apertura following an appeal. Baca finished the 2016 Apertura with 15 starts, playing the entire game in 11. Boy was sacked during the Apertura, and Spanish coach
Paco Jémez took charge for the Clausura. Baca received 16 starts during the campaign, and he started every game in the
2017 Apertura, as Cruz Azul qualified for their first Liguilla since the 2014 Clausura. Baca started both quarterfinal matches against
América, both of which ended as goalless draws as América advanced due to their better placing in the regular season. After the Apertura, Jémez did not renew his contract, and he was replaced by Portuguese coach
Pedro Caixinha. Baca started all but one match in the
2018 Clausura due to a suspension he picked up after being sent off against
Atlas on February 2. Baca received 14 starts in the
2018 Apertura, including starting the first 10 until he picked up a knock against Atlas on September 22. Baca also made four appearances in Cruz Azul's
Apertura 2018 Copa MX conquest, although he did not appear in the 2–0 final win over Monterrey. Cruz Azul finished in first place in the regular season, and advanced past Querétaro and
Monterrey in the playoffs, setting up a final with rivals América. Baca started the first three matches, but was replaced by
Javier Salas in the midfield for the second leg against Monterrey. Salas also started both legs against América, as Baca did not come off the bench in the final leg, a 2–0 defeat at the
Estadio Azteca after the first leg ended scoreless.
Monterey Bay Rafael Baca was announced as a signing for USL Championship club Monterey Bay FC on July 27, 2023. He was reunited with former
San Jose Earthquakes manager
Frank Yallop who is now Monterey Bay's manager, as well as former San Jose teammates
Ramiro Corrales and
Simon Dawkins who are with Monterey Bay as an assistant coach and midfielder respectively. ==Honours==