With the recent changes to how Open Division (amateur) qualification works for the 2026 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup and the summer season wrapping up for those leagues and competitions, it’s time to go over each of the 16 automatic “byes” into the tournament proper set to begin in March 2026.
These teams will have until Aug. 21 to finalize their entry. All remaining teams are eligible for the qualifying competition this fall, including NPSL and USL League Two teams, who were previously barred from qualifying that way, only allowing their teams to receive direct entry.
Direct entries are awarded by the US Open Cup committee on a yearly basis. Byes shall be awarded on a basis that includes, but is not limited to, the following guidelines:
- Historic performance and participation
- Sporting and/or operational excellence
- Consideration of availability of a league’s teams to participate in Qualifying Rounds
With that said, the 16 teams that get automatic entry into the tournament proper for 2026 are:
- USASA Amateur Cup Champion (1)
- UPSL Spring Season Champion (1)
- John Motta Trophy holder (aka: 2025 Open Division Prize Winner) (1)
- 2025 National Leagues (13), allocated based on 2026 team counts.
- NPSL (4)
- USL League Two (9)
NPSL and USL League Two, because they received more than 1 spot, are allowed to choose their own sporting criteria, with US Soccer’s approval, to decide how their slots are allocated. Since these two leagues have been receiving tournament proper slots for over a decade, the criteria has been known beforehand and is not changing from past years.
Also new for 2026, clubs are limited to entering a single team in the U.S. Open Cup. “Club” means a competitive soccer organization, consisting of coaches, administrators and players that have formed a team that competes in at least one U.S. Soccer-affiliated league. This will be important in the NPSL section.
USASA Amateur Cup Champion – West Chester United SC
Over the weekend, a thrilling Amateur Cup Final was played between RWB Adria and West Chester United, winning 4-3 after extra time. West Chester United held a 3-2 lead late in regulation before Victor Manon completed a hat trick in the sixth minute of stoppage time to send the game into extra time. And right at the death of extra time, in the 120th minute, it was Joseph McDaid with the header to win the match.
This is West Chester United’s first Amateur Cup championship, but their 7th time entering in the tournament proper.
UPSL Spring Season Champion – Tennessee Tempo FC
The UPSL playoffs are down to their final four teams for their National Playoff Finals to be played the weekend of Aug. 8-10 in Irvine, Calif.
National Semifinals (Aug. 8):
- LA10 FC (Los Angeles, CA) 5-0 Balboa FC (Fort Worth, TX)
- Tennessee Tempo FC (Nashville, TN) 2-1 (a.e.t) Chicago Nation FC (Chicago, IL)
National Championship (Aug. 10):
- LA10 FC (Los Angeles, CA) 0-1 Tennessee Tempo FC (Nashville, TN)
Tennessee Tempo won a thrilling championship match over LA10 FC through a 87th minute Dominic Oduro screamer to win their first UPSL championship and secure the spot in the 2026 U.S. Open Cup. Our full story can be found here.
John Motta Trophy holder (aka: 2025 Open Division Prize Winner) – El Farolito SC
The Open Division prize money winner goes to the Open Division team each year in the tournament proper that advances the furthest in the tournament. This has now been renamed as the John Motta Trophy winner. For the second year in a row, El Farolito SC has won the $50,000 prize as the furthest advancing Open Division Team. In Round One, they played Real Monarchs of MLS NEXT Pro, advancing with a 3-1 win after extra time at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. The next match was just as thrilling as they went down to Monterey Bay FC of USL Championship and came from behind with a 2-1 victory. Their run would end in Round 3 away to Sacramento Republic of USL Championship with a 1-0 defeat. They were the only Open Division team to make it into the Third Round in 2025, winning the John Motta Trophy and a $50,000 prize.
National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) – 4 slots total, TBD
NPSL’s four spots will be awarded in the following order, with the first two being extremely simple.
- National Champion
- National Runner-up
Third and fourth will be two losing national semifinalists, ordered by their regular season record first by points per game, then by goal difference per game, and then by goals for per game. Should any of these teams decline their spots, the spots would go down to the next teams in line. 5th through 8th would be the four losing regional finalists, ordered again by regular season record (PPG, GD/G, GF/G). It gets a bit complicated after that, but suffice to say with only 4 slots total, it isn’t expected to get through the 8th team in line. NPSL typically only has 1-2 teams decline a spot per year. NPSL makes a nice “overall table” which lists every team in the league ordered by those criteria, we used that to help compile the list below.
El Farolito and Hickory FC will play in the NPSL national championship on Aug. 2, determining the first two in line. However, as noted above, El Farolito has already been awarded a spot in the First Round for winning the John Motta Trophy. Meaning their berth will go to the next team in line (i.e. the 5th place team). However, 5th in line is West Chester United SC, who has already earned a First Round berth via winning the National Amateur Cup. Even though it was their team from the United Soccer League of Pennsylvania, the new rules preclude their NPSL team from also entering. Their invitation will go to the next team in line. Here is the Top 8 in order, with * denoting teams that cannot accept a NPSL slot by rule. Other teams may still choose to not accept an invitation to participate in the first round. We should know the final list after the deadline on Aug. 21.
- Hickory FC (National Champion)
- El Farolito* (National Runner-up)
- Ristozi FC (National Semifinalist, 8th in overall table)
- Michigan Rangers (National Semifinalist, 9th in overall table)
- West Chester United SC* (Regional Finalist, 4th in overall table)
- Flower City Union (Regional Finalist, 6th in overall table)
- Lubbock Matadors (Regional Finalist, 13th in overall table)
- Cruizers FC (Regional Finalist, 27th in overall table)
USL League Two (USL-2) – 9 slots total, TBD
We already have a story about USL League Two’s process and who could qualify, but essentially their list comes down to 3 main criteria.
- The first team listed will be the USL-2 national champion. This is the only team on the list that is determined by playoff results, and all remaining slots will only be determined by regular season record
- 2nd through 19th/20th will be the remaining/all of the regular season division champions ordered by regular season PPG, GD/G, and then GF/G.
- All remaining slots will be determined by the remaining teams ordered by regular season PPG, GD/G, and then GF/G.
With only 9 slots this year, and an average of 50% of teams accepting an invitation, we would expect for the second year in a row for only regular season division champions to be offered a spot in the 2026 US Open Cup.
The USL-2 national championship will be played on Aug. 2 between Vermont Green FC and Ballard FC with the winner headed straight for the top of the list. Here’s the full list 1st through 19th/20th. We will know who accepted their invitation soon after the deadline on Aug. 21.
* – West Chester United cannot accept an invitation, as they are already in the Open Cup for winning the USASA Amateur Cup
| Place | Team | MP | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pts/MP | W/MP | GD/MP | GF/MP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vermont Green FC (Champion) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | — | – | – | – | – |
| 2 | FC Motown STA | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 9 | 27 | 34 | 2.83 | 0.92 | 2.25 | 3.00 |
| 3 | Laredo Heat SC | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 12 | 24 | 33 | 2.75 | 0.92 | 2.00 | 3.00 |
| 4 | Asheville City SC | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 43 | 3 | 40 | 32 | 2.67 | 0.83 | 3.33 | 3.58 |
| 5 | Des Moines Menace | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 43 | 15 | 28 | 31 | 2.58 | 0.83 | 2.33 | 3.58 |
| 6 | Sarasota Paradise | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 37 | 8 | 29 | 29 | 2.42 | 0.75 | 2.42 | 3.08 |
| 7 | Northern Virginia FC | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 39 | 18 | 21 | 33 | 2.36 | 0.71 | 1.50 | 2.79 |
| 8 | Ventura County Fusion | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 33 | 11 | 22 | 28 | 2.33 | 0.75 | 1.83 | 2.75 |
| 9 | Fort Wayne FC | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 28 | 2.33 | 0.75 | 1.33 | 2.00 |
| 10 | Flint City Bucks | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 11 | 19 | 27 | 2.25 | 0.75 | 1.58 | 2.50 |
| 11 | Little Rock Rangers | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 25 | 6 | 19 | 27 | 2.25 | 0.67 | 1.58 | 2.08 |
| 12 | Steel City FC | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 26 | 12 | 14 | 27 | 2.25 | 0.67 | 1.17 | 2.17 |
| 13 | Salem City FC | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 27 | 2.25 | 0.67 | 0.83 | 2.00 |
| 14 | Minneapolis City SC | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 31 | 17 | 14 | 26 | 2.17 | 0.67 | 1.17 | 2.58 |
| 15 | Ballard FC | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 36 | 7 | 29 | 30 | 2.14 | 0.64 | 2.07 | 2.57 |
| 16 | Utah United | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 28 | 9 | 19 | 25 | 2.08 | 0.67 | 1.58 | 2.33 |
| 17 | Sporting JAX | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 25 | 2.08 | 0.67 | 1.00 | 1.92 |
| 18 | West Chester United SC* | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 30 | 17 | 13 | 25 | 2.08 | 0.58 | 1.08 | 2.50 |
| 19 | Almaden FC | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 27 | 12 | 15 | 28 | 2.00 | 0.64 | 1.07 | 1.93 |