Loons are Open Cup bound in smaller and shorter 2026 US Open Cup

The Loons are Open Cup bound once more in 2026 following the unveiling of the format and participants for the 2026 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup by the United States Soccer Federation. In part due to the FIFA World Cup happening in Canada, Mexico, and the USA next summer the competition has less clubs and less rounds for the upcoming season. 80 clubs, including 48 professional clubs, qualify for the tournament in 2026, down from 96 in the 2025 edition and the record of 103 from 2022. The first five rounds will be played entirely between mid-March to mid-May with the Semi-Finals taking place in September and the final a little over a month later in October.

Qualifying Clubs:

48 professional teams and 32 open division teams made the cut for the 111th edition of America’s longest running soccer tournament. Just as happened in 2025 a total of 16 of the 27 eligible MLS clubs will play in the tournament. For the USL Championship just 17 clubs will take part out of the 25 that will play next season. All 13 surviving USL League One clubs from the 2025 season will also enter alongside the two MLS Next Pro independent clubs. The Open Division is separated between the 16 teams who qualified directly through league performance and 16 who enter through the Open Division Qualifiers.

MLS: Atlanta United, Austin FC, Charlotte FC, Chicago Fire, Colorado Rapids, Columbus Crew, D.C. United, Houston Dynamo, Minnesota United, New England Revolution, New York City FC, New York Red Bulls, Orlando City, San Jose Earthquakes, St. Louis City, Sporting Kansas City.

USLC: Charleston Battery, Colorado Springs Switchbacks, Detroit City FC, El Paso Locomotive, FC Tulsa, Hartford Athletic, Indy Eleven, Lexington SC, Loudoun United, Louisville City, New Mexico United, Orange County SC, Phoenix Rising, Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Rhode Island FC, Sacramento Republic, San Antonio FC.

MLSNP: Carolina Core and Chattanooga FC

USL1: AV Alta FC, Chattanooga Red Wolves, FC Naples, Forward Madison, Greenville Triumph, One Knoxville, Portland Hearts of Pine, Richmond Kickers, South Georgia Tormenta, Spokane Velocity, Union Omaha, Westchester SC

Open Division (League Play): Asheville City (NC), Des Moines Menace (IA), El Farolito (CA), FC Motown (NJ), Flint City Bucks (MI), Flower City Union (NY), Hickory FC (NC), Laredo Heat (TX), Little Rock Rangers (AR), Michigan Rangers, Northern Virginia FC, Ristozi FC (MD), Tennessee Tempo, Ventura County Fusion (CA), Vermont Green, West Chester United SC (PA).

Open Division (Qualifiers): ASC New Stars (TX), Azteca FC (CO), Badgers FC (FL), BOHFS St. Louis (MO), CD Faialense (MA), FC America CFL Spurs (FL), Kalonji Pro-Profile (GA), Laguna United FC (CA), NY Renegades, Red Force (FL), San Ramon FC (CA), SC Vistula Garfield (NJ), Southern Indiana FC, Steel City FC (PA), Valley 559 FC (CA), Virginia Dream

No Next Pro affiliate clubs (and no NISA):

Following two seasons with MLS sending some Next Pro affiliates in their stead, no affiliated clubs will participate in the 2026 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. As of 2026 the USSF is implementing a “one-club, one-entry rule” that requires all professional clubs to enter their highest level team. This effectively disqualifies 25 teams in the 29 team league from participating in the tournament. If the rule is maintained in the future it would mean the end of a short stint of Next Pro teams in the Open Cup. Prior to 2024 secondary sides, with few exceptions, were prohibited from entering the Open Cup. 2024 saw 9 affiliated clubs, including MNUFC2 take part while 2025 had just eight affiliated teams.

The National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) who participated from 2022-24 have been omitted from the 2026 Open Cup. This comes after some major issues with the league led them to reportedly losing their USSF sanctioning as a Division III league. As of March 2025 NISA was still unsanctioned by the USSF after a meeting between the league and the federation. NISA did operate a five match “Pro Cup” in October across eight days with all matches being played in Michigan, but did not have a full season in 2025. Currently the league website does not mention any member clubs and the only teams from 2024 that took part in the 2025 Pro Cup were Capo FC and the Los Angeles Force.

Schedule & Format:

The first five rounds will be played in quick succession over the course of about 60 days, before breaking until the fall due to the World Cup. Outside of that the tournament follows a very similar format to what was seen in the 2025 edition.

• First Round: 17 to 19 March
  • the 32 Open Division clubs will each be drawn against the 32 Pro clubs from D2 and D3
• Second Round: 31 March to 1 April
• Third Round: 14 to 15 April
  • Second Round winners vs MLS, eight MLS clubs will be drawn as home sides and eight as away sides
• Fourth Round: 28 to 29 April
• Quarter-Finals: 19 to 20 May
• Semi-Finals: 15 to 16 September
• Final: Wednesday, 21 October

The first and second rounds of the competition will be drawn in January and announced by the USSF. A live draw will be held on Tuesday, 2 April to determine pairings for the third round and further.