The 111th edition of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup will kickoff in a month and a half with 32 games across three days. Beginning on March 17, 32 Open Division amateur teams, ranging from national champions to Cinderellas in waiting, will take on lower division professional teams.
The March Madness begins with 10 games on Tuesday, March 17 to kick off the 2026 US Open Cup. That will be followed by 15 games on Wednesday, March 18 before concluding with seven games on Thursday, March 19.
This is the third year in a row that every First Round match in the Open Cup be amateur versus professional.
Of the 64 teams taking part in the First Round, 32 come from the Open Division. Further breaking that down sees 10 from USL League Two (USL-2) and five from the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). The remaining 17 teams qualified via the Open Division Local Qualifying Tournament (15), or by winning a select competition such as the USASA National Amateur Cup (West Chester United SC) or the United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) Spring National Championship (Tennessee Tempo FC).
There has also been a late team substitution, as Cruizers FC (Modesto, CA) have replaced Hickory FC (Hickory, NC) for a National Premier Soccer League auto-bid. Hickory, which won the 2025 NPSL National Championship over Open Cup regulars El Farolito SC last summer, departed the league to join USL League Two during the off-season. US Soccer rules dictate that Open Division teams must remain in the league from which they qualified from, or qualified for while in, for the duration of their tournament run. As such, Hickory was removed. They are replaced by Cruizers, who joined the NPSL last season and qualified based on reaching the NPSL West Region Final (aka the National Quarterfinals) in the playoffs.
Usually, this would be based on which team from the national quarterfinals had the highest Points-Per-Game in the regular season. However Cruizers get in based on the fact that every other team around them has either already qualified via the NPSL, qualified via another method, or left the league all together.
- 1: Champion – Hickory FC – Left for USL-2
- 2: Runner-up – El Farolito SC – Qualified as 2025 John Motto Trophy winner (farthest reaching Open Division team in 2025 Open Cup)
- 3: Semifinalist – Ristozi FC – QUALIFIED
- 4: Semifinalist – Michigan Rangers FC – QUALIFIED
- 5: Quarterfinalist – West Chester United SC – Qualified as 2025 USASA National Amateur Cup champion
- 6: Quarterfinalist – Flower City Union – QUALIFIED
- 7: Quarterfinalist – Lubbock Matadors SC – Left for USL-2
- 8: Quarterfinalist – Cruziers FC – QUALIFIED
The professional sides entering in the First Round include 17 from the USL Championship (Div. 2), 13 clubs from USL League One (Div. 3) and two teams from MLS NEXT Pro (Div. 3).
The remaining USL-C, USL-1, and independent MLSNP teams will not take part in the tournament. This includes all USL-C teams that finished in the bottom half of their respective conference tables during the 2025 USL-C season. Additionally, no expansion teams from any league will take part since the qualification method for this year’s tournament was based on the 2025 regular season results.
Reserve teams are also no longer allowed again due to the newly established “one club, one entry” rule, which also requires the highest division team in a club to be entered.
The matchups were chosen geographically with the primary goal being professional teams playing against an Open Division team.
The home team for each game was determined by random selection when both teams applied to host and met the tournament’s hosting criteria. According to US Soccer’s release: “Random selection was also used in cases where there was no logical geographic fit or there were more than two teams from the same proximity.”
The winners from Round 1 will advance to face each other in the Second Round which is scheduled for the week of March 31 to April 1. The 16 Second Round winners will advance to Round 3 where they will face the 16 Major League Soccer (Div. 1) teams that lye in wait.
For the early rounds, select matches will be broadcast on Paramount+ and simulcast on CBS Sports Network or CBS Sports Golazo Network. Any matches not picked up by CBS will be broadcast on U.S. Soccer’s YouTube channel.
2026 US Open Cup Qualifying
2026 US Open Cup Schedule/Results (Coming soon)
2026 US Open Cup Format
2025 U.S. Open Cup – First Round Schedule
Home team listed first, all start times listed in Eastern
TUESDAY, MARCH 17
South Georgia Tormenta FC (USL-1) vs. FC America CFL Spurs (UPSL)
6 p.m. ET
Tormenta Stadium; Statesboro, GA
BROADCAST: YouTube
Richmond Kickers (USL-1) vs. Northern Virginia FC (USL-2)
6:30 p.m. ET
City Stadium; Richmond, VA
BROADCAST: YouTube
Rhode Island FC (USL-C) vs. CD Faialense (BSSL)
7 p.m. ET
Centreville Bank Stadium; Pawtucket, RI
BROADCAST: YouTube
Vermont Green FC (USL-2) vs. Portland Hearts of Pine (USL-1)
7 p.m. ET
Virtue Field; Burlington, VT
BROADCAST: Paramount+/CBS Sports Network
Detroit City FC (USL-C) vs. Michigan Rangers FC (NPSL)
7:30 p.m. ET
Keyworth Stadium; Hamtramck, MI
BROADCAST: YouTube
Steel City FC (USL-2) vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USL-C)
7:30 p.m. ET
Rooney Field; Pittsburgh, PA
BROADCAST: YouTube
West Chester United SC (USLPA) vs. Loudoun United FC (USL-C)
7:30 p.m. ET
YSC Sports; Wayne, PA
BROADCAST: YouTube
Colorado Spring Switchbacks FC (USL-C) vs. Azteca FC (CPL)
8 p.m. ET
Weidner Field; Colorado Springs, CO
BROADCAST: YouTube
Indy Eleven (USL-C) vs. Des Moines Menace (USL-2)
8 p.m. ET
Grand Park Events Center; Westfield, IN
BROADCAST: Paramount+/CBS Sports Golazo Network
Phoenix Rising FC (USL-C) vs. San Ramon FC (TLfC)
10 p.m. ET
Phoenix Rising Soccer Stadium; Phoenix, AZ
BROADCAST: YouTube
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18
Chattanooga FC (MLSNP) vs. Kalonji Pro-Profile (UPSL)
6 p.m. ET
Finley Stadium; Chattanooga, TN
BROADCAST: YouTube
Asheville City SC (USL-2) vs. Greenville Triumph SC (USL-1)
6:30 p.m. ET
Greenwood Field (UNC Asheville); Asheville, NC
BROADCAST: YouTube
Charleston Battery (USL-C) vs. Badgers FC (UPSL)
6:30 p.m. ET
Patriots Point; Mount Pleasant, SC
BROADCAST: YouTube
Louisville City FC (USL-C) vs. Southern Indiana FC (UPSL)
7 p.m. ET
Lynn Family Stadium; Louisville, KY
BROADCAST: YouTube
FC Naples (USL-1) vs. Red Force FC (PFL)
7 p.m. ET
Paradise Coast Sports Complex; Naples, FL
BROADCAST: YouTube
FC Motown STA (USL-2) vs. Hartford Athletic (USL-C)
7 p.m. ET
Lubetkin Field (NJIT); Newark, NJ
BROADCAST: Paramount+/CBS Sports Network
SC Vistula Garfield (APSL) vs. One Knoxville SC (USL-1)
7:30 p.m. ET
Garfield HS; Garfield, NJ
BROADCAST: YouTube
BOHFS St. Louis (MWPL) vs. Union Omaha (USL-1)
8 p.m. ET
Lindenwood University; St. Charles, MO
BROADCAST: Paramount+/CBS Sports Golazo Network
Little Rock Rangers (USL-2) vs. FC Tulsa (USL-C)
8 p.m. ET
Episcopal Collegiate School; Little Rock, AR
BROADCAST: YouTube
San Antonio FC (USL-C) vs. ASC New Stars (HFA)
8:30 p.m. ET
Toyota Field; San Antonio, TX
BROADCAST: YouTube
New Mexico United (USL-C) vs. Cruizers FC (NPSL)
9:30 p.m. ET
UNM Soccer Stadium; Albuquerque, NM
BROADCAST: YouTube
Sacramento Republic FC (USL-C) vs. El Farolito SC (NPSL)
10 p.m. ET
Heart Health Park; Sacramento, CA
BROADCAST: YouTube
AV ALTA FC (USL-1) vs. Valley 559 FC (UPSL)
10:30 p.m. ET
Lancaster Municipal Stadium; Lancaster, CA
BROADCAST: YouTube
Ventura County Fusion (USL-2) vs. Spokane Velocity FC (USL-1)
10:30 p.m. ET
Ventura College Stadium; Ventura, CA
BROADCAST: YouTube
Orange County SC (USL-C) vs. Laguna United FC (UPSL)
10:30 p.m. ET
Championship Soccer Stadium; Irvine, CA
BROADCAST: YouTube
THURSDAY, MARCH 19
Carolina Core FC (MLSNP) vs. Virginia Dream FC (UPSL)
6 p.m. ET
Truist Point; High Point, NC
BROADCAST: YouTube
Charlotte Independence (USL-1) vs. Ristozi FC (NPSL)
6:30 p.m. ET
American Legion Memorial Stadium; Charlotte, NC
BROADCAST: YouTube
Flint City Bucks (USL-2) vs. Forward Madison FC (USL-1)
6:30 p.m. ET
Don Batchelor Stadium; Grand Blanc, MI
BROADCAST: YouTube
Lexington SC (USL-C) vs. Flower City Union (NPSL)
7 p.m. ET
Lexington SC Stadium; Lexington, KY
BROADCAST: YouTube
Westchester SC (USL-1) vs. NY Renegades FC (UPSL)
7:30 p.m. ET
Mount Vernon Memorial Field; Mount Vernon, NY
BROADCAST: YouTube
Tennessee Tempo FC (UPSL) vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (USL-1)
8 p.m. ET
Richard Siegel Soccer Complex; Murfreesboro, TN
BROADCAST: YouTube
Laredo Heat SC (USL-2) vs. El Paso Locomotive FC (USL-C)
8:30 p.m. ET
PEG Energy Stadium; Laredo, TX
BROADCAST: YouTube