Western Conference (USL Championship)

Western Conference
League	USL Championship
Sport	Soccer
Founded	January 21, 2015
No. of teams	12
Most recent; champion	FC Tulsa (2025) (1st title)
Most titles	Phoenix Rising FC (3 titles)

The Western Conference is one of two conferences in the USL Championship, the second level of men's club soccer in the United States.^[1]

Current standings

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	FC Tulsa	30	16	5	9	50	30	+20	57	Playoffs
2	Sacramento Republic FC	30	13	8	9	44	27	+17	48^[a]
3	New Mexico United	30	14	10	6	45	41	+4	48^[a]
4	El Paso Locomotive FC	30	10	9	11	47	45	+2	41
5	Phoenix Rising FC	30	9	8	13	48	48	0	40^[b]
6	San Antonio FC	30	11	12	7	39	38	+1	40^[b]
7	Orange County SC	30	10	11	9	44	45	−1	39
8	Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC	30	10	13	7	35	47	−12	37
9	Lexington SC	30	9	12	9	31	42	−11	36
10	Oakland Roots SC	30	8	14	8	42	52	−10	32
11	Monterey Bay FC	30	7	15	8	27	45	−18	29
12	Las Vegas Lights FC	30	6	15	9	23	50	−27	27

Source: USL Championship Standings
Rules for classification: 1) head-to-head points; 2) head-to-head goal differential; 3) points-per-game within conference; 4) total wins; 5) total goal differential; 6) total goals scored; 7) points earned against top four Conference finishers; 8) disciplinary points; 9) coin toss or drawing of lots
Notes:

1 2 Sacramento Republic FC are ahead of New Mexico United on head-to-head points: SAC 6, NMU 0.
1 2 Phoenix Rising FC are ahead of San Antonio FC on head-to-head points: PHX 6, SAN 0.

Members

Current

Club	City	Stadium
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC	Colorado Springs, Colorado	Weidner Field
El Paso Locomotive FC	El Paso, Texas	Southwest University Park
FC Tulsa	Tulsa, Oklahoma	ONEOK Field
Las Vegas Lights FC	Las Vegas, Nevada	Cashman Field
Lexington SC	Lexington, Kentucky	Lexington SC Stadium
Monterey Bay FC	Seaside, California	Cardinale Stadium
New Mexico United	Albuquerque, New Mexico	Isotopes Park
Oakland Roots SC	Oakland, California	Pioneer Stadium
Orange County SC	Irvine, California	Championship Stadium
Phoenix Rising FC	Phoenix, Arizona	Phoenix Rising Soccer Stadium
Sacramento Republic FC	Sacramento, California	Heart Health Park
San Antonio FC	San Antonio, Texas	Toyota Field

Western Conference (USL Championship) is located in the United States

Locations of teams for the 2026 USL Championship season

Conference Lineups

Clubs timeline

Conference Member Club moved to Eastern Conference Club playing in different league Former clubs

2015 (12 teams)

Changes from 2014: USL Pro expanded and was rebranded as simply USL; the round robin table was split into two conferences: Eastern and Western.

2016 (15 teams)

Changes from 2015: Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, the Swope Park Rangers and San Antonio FC were added as expansion franchises;^[2] Saint Louis FC moved in from the Eastern Conference; the Austin Aztex went on hiatus

2017 (15 teams)

Changes from 2016: Arizona United SC was renamed Phoenix Rising FC; the Orange County Blues was renamed Orange County SC; the Austin Aztex folded; Reno 1868 FC was added as an expansion franchise; Saint Louis FC moved out to the Eastern Conference^[3]

2018 (17 teams)

Changes from 2017: Fresno FC and Las Vegas Lights FC were added as expansion franchises; the Vancouver Whitecaps 2 folded; Saint Louis FC moved in from the Western Conference.^[4]

2019 (18 teams)

Changes from 2018: Austin Bold FC, El Paso Locomotive FC and the New Mexico United were added as expansion franchises.;^[5] Saint Louis FC and the Swope Park Rangers moved out to the Eastern Conference; Seattle Sounders FC 2 rebranded as Tacoma Defiance.

2020 (18 teams)

Group A (4 teams)

Group B (5 teams)

Group C (4 teams)

Group D (5 teams)

Changes from 2019: San Diego Loyal SC was added as an expansion franchise; the Tulsa Roughnecks were renamed FC Tulsa; Fresno FC was disbanded. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic the conference was split into four groups. Two groups of four and two groups of five.^[6]

2021 (15 teams)

Mountain Division

Pacific Division

Changes from 2020: The conference was divided into two divisions, Mountain and Pacific; Oakland Roots SC joined in from NISA: the Portland Timbers 2 was withdrawn by the MLS parent club; Reno 1868 FC was disbanded; Oklahoma City Energy and FC Tulsa moved out to the Eastern Conference.^[7]

2022 (13 teams)

Changes from 2021: The Mountain and Pacific divisions were dropped; Monterey Bay FC was added as an expansion franchise; the Real Monarchs and the Tacoma Defiance were withdrawn by their MLS parent clubs and moved to MLS Next Pro; Austin Bold FC went on hiatus; will move to a yet-to-be-named Texas city for the 2023 season.^[8]

2023 (12 teams)

Changes from 2022: The LA Galaxy II was withdrawn by their MLS parent club and moved to MLS Next Pro;^[9]

2024 (12 teams)

Changes from 2023: Rio Grande Valley FC Toros^[10] and San Diego Loyal SC^[11] folded. FC Tulsa and Memphis 901 FC moved from the Eastern Conference.^[12]

2025-2026 (12 teams)

Changes from 2024: Lexington SC joined from USL League One. Memphis 901 FC folded. ^[13]

Western Conference Playoff champions by year

Bold	USL Champions

Season	Champions	Score	Runners up
2015	LA Galaxy II	2–1	OKC Energy FC
2016	Swope Park Rangers	3–0	Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
2017	Swope Park Rangers	0–0 (7–6 PK)	OKC Energy FC
2018	Phoenix Rising FC	2–1	Orange County SC
2019	Real Monarchs SLC	2–1 (AET)	El Paso Locomotive FC
2020^[a]	Phoenix Rising FC	1–1 (4–2 PK)	El Paso Locomotive FC
2021	Orange County SC	1–1 (5–3 PK)	San Antonio FC
2022	San Antonio FC	2–0	Colorado Springs Switchbacks
2023	Phoenix Rising FC	2–1	Sacramento Republic FC
2024	Colorado Springs Switchbacks	1–0	Las Vegas Lights FC
2025	FC Tulsa	3–0	New Mexico United

↑ USL Championship game canceled due to COVID-19 outbreak in the Tampa Bay Rowdies camp.^[14]

Western Conference regular season champions by year

Bold	Players' Shield Champions

Season	Team	Record	Playoffs result
2015	Orange County Blues	14–9–5 (+4)	Lost conference semifinals
2016	Sacramento Republic FC	14–10–6 (+16)	Lost conference quarterfinals
2017	Real Monarchs SLC	20–5–7 (+28)	Lost conference quarterfinals
2018	Orange County SC	20–8–6 (+30)	Lost conference final
2019	Phoenix Rising FC	24–4–6 (+53)	Lost conference semifinals
2020	Reno 1868 FC	11–2–3 (+22)	Lost conference semifinals
2021	Phoenix Rising FC	20–5–7 (+33)	Lost conference quarterfinals
2022	San Antonio FC	24–5–5 (+28)	Won USL Championship
2023	Sacramento Republic FC	18–6–10 (+25)	Lost conference final
2024	New Mexico United	18–11–5 (+2)	Lost conference semifinals
2025	FC Tulsa	16–9–5 (+20)	Lost finals

References

↑ "Expanded USL Unveils 2015 Format". United Soccer League (USL). January 21, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
↑ "2016 USL Alignment and Format Announced". United Soccer League (USL). January 20, 2016. Archived from the original on January 27, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
↑ "USL Announces 2017 Conference Alignment". www.uslsoccer.com. United Soccer League (USL). January 9, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
↑ "USL Announces 2018 Conference Alignment". soccerstadiumdigest.com. Soccer Stadium Digest. January 12, 2018. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.
↑ "USL Championship Unveils 2019 Conference Alignment". United Soccer League (USL). December 13, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
↑ Lenard, John (June 26, 2020). "USL Championship announces Eastern Conference groups". 3rddegree.net. 3rd Degree. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
↑ "USL Championship Releases 2021 League Alignment, Republic FC in Pacific Division". www.sacrepublicfc.com. Sacramento Republic FC. March 2, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
↑ Krysinsky, John (December 21, 2021). "USL Championship releases 2022 schedule format and conference realignment". pittsburghsoccernow.com. Pittsburgh, PA: PGH Soccer Now. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
↑ "USL sets Championship's 2023 conference alignment, season format". www.loucity.com. Louisville, KY: Louisville City FC. December 20, 2022. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
↑ "OFFICIAL STATEMENT: Rio Grande Valley FC Cease Operations". www.RGVFC.com. Rio Grande Valley FC. December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
↑ "USL to Transfer San Diego Franchise Rights" (Press release). USL Championship. August 24, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
↑ "USL Championship Unveils 2024 Regular Season Schedule". USL Championship. USL Championship Staff. December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
↑ "USL Championship Unveils 2024 Regular Season Schedule". USL Championship. USL Championship Staff. December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.
↑ Carlisle, Jeff (2020-10-31). "USL final between Tampa Bay and Phoenix canceled after COVID-19 positives". www.espn.com. ESPN. Archived from the original on 2022-11-07. Retrieved 2022-11-06. The USL Championship final between the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Phoenix Rising has been canceled after multiple Tampa Bay players tested positive for COVID-19, the league announced on Saturday.

[table_hth_SAC0.39875234076695-2] 1 2 Sacramento Republic FC are ahead of New Mexico United on head-to-head points: SAC 6, NMU 0.

[table_hth_PHX0.39875234076695-3] 1 2 Phoenix Rising FC are ahead of San Antonio FC on head-to-head points: PHX 6, SAN 0.

[17] USL Championship game canceled due to COVID-19 outbreak in the Tampa Bay Rowdies camp.^[14]

[1] "Expanded USL Unveils 2015 Format". United Soccer League (USL). January 21, 2015. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2016.

[2016format-4] "2016 USL Alignment and Format Announced". United Soccer League (USL). January 20, 2016. Archived from the original on January 27, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2016.

[2017format-5] "USL Announces 2017 Conference Alignment". www.uslsoccer.com. United Soccer League (USL). January 9, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.

[6] "USL Announces 2018 Conference Alignment". soccerstadiumdigest.com. Soccer Stadium Digest. January 12, 2018. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2022.

[7] "USL Championship Unveils 2019 Conference Alignment". United Soccer League (USL). December 13, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.

[8] Lenard, John (June 26, 2020). "USL Championship announces Eastern Conference groups". 3rddegree.net. 3rd Degree. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.

[9] "USL Championship Releases 2021 League Alignment, Republic FC in Pacific Division". www.sacrepublicfc.com. Sacramento Republic FC. March 2, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)

[10] Krysinsky, John (December 21, 2021). "USL Championship releases 2022 schedule format and conference realignment". pittsburghsoccernow.com. Pittsburgh, PA: PGH Soccer Now. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.

[11] "USL sets Championship's 2023 conference alignment, season format". www.loucity.com. Louisville, KY: Louisville City FC. December 20, 2022. Archived from the original on December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.

[12] "OFFICIAL STATEMENT: Rio Grande Valley FC Cease Operations". www.RGVFC.com. Rio Grande Valley FC. December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.

[13] "USL to Transfer San Diego Franchise Rights" (Press release). USL Championship. August 24, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.

[14] "USL Championship Unveils 2024 Regular Season Schedule". USL Championship. USL Championship Staff. December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.

[15] "USL Championship Unveils 2024 Regular Season Schedule". USL Championship. USL Championship Staff. December 18, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2023.

[16] Carlisle, Jeff (2020-10-31). "USL final between Tampa Bay and Phoenix canceled after COVID-19 positives". www.espn.com. ESPN. Archived from the original on 2022-11-07. Retrieved 2022-11-06. The USL Championship final between the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Phoenix Rising has been canceled after multiple Tampa Bay players tested positive for COVID-19, the league announced on Saturday.

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