USL Championship

USL Championship 2026: Tampa Bay lead the East, El Paso edge a tight West

The USL Championship is the second tier of professional soccer in the United States, below MLS. This season 25 clubs take part, split into an Eastern Conference of 13 and a Western Conference of 12. The top eight in each conference qualify for the playoffs, which decide the USL Championship title.

In the East, the Tampa Bay Rowdies lead with 55 points from 28 games, five ahead of Detroit City. Detroit have the best defence in the league, with only 20 goals conceded, have lost just once at home and have won four of their last five. Charleston Battery are third on 46 points and have scored 52 goals, the most in the league. The race for the final playoff place is between Miami FC (36 points) and Indy Eleven (34), who have lost four of their last five.

The West is much tighter. El Paso Locomotive lead with 50 points, a point ahead of New Mexico United, with Sacramento Republic (45) and Lexington (44), unbeaten in five, close behind. Below the playoff line, Phoenix Rising and Las Vegas Lights (36 each) are three points behind eighth-placed San Antonio, with Oakland Roots a point further back. Sporting JAX are bottom of the East with 14 points and have conceded 73 goals.