2025 LAMAR HUNT U.S. OPEN CUP PITS 32 AMATEUR TEAMS AGAINST 32 PROS IN FIRST ROUND; FORMAT AND 96-TEAM FIELD FINALIZED
First Round Set for March 18-20; 32 Open Division/Amateur Clubs and 64 Pro Sides to Compete for the 110th title
CHICAGO (January 28, 2025) – The 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup kicks off on March 18-20 with a 32-game First Round array of exclusively amateur vs. pro matchups. U.S. Soccer has finalized the format for the 96-team tournament – the 110th edition of the historic national club championship that celebrates elite amateur and pro soccer in communities across the country – through to the showpiece Final on October 1. The Open Cup is the only competition in USA-based team sports where amateurs have the chance to play professionals in direct competition.
“The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is a crucial connection point for all levels of soccer in the United States,” said U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson ahead of the tournament, first contested in 1913. “U.S. Soccer exists in service to soccer and this historic tournament allows us to lift up the people who are leading the charge to support soccer in their communities. We’re pleased to continue working with and collaborating with all U.S. Soccer members to maximize the tournament’s impact on soccer at all levels in this country.”
For a second year running, the 32 games of the First Round will be played exclusively between amateur teams from the Open Division and professional sides. And there’s bound to be fireworks as last year’s First Round produced no fewer than seven upsets. Returning amateur powers Miami United FC, FORO SC of Texas, El Farolito and the Des Moines Menace were all part of that group of Open Cup Dream-Chasers that bested pro teams last year -- and they’ll aim to generate that same kind of magic again in the 2025 Open Cup.
The field of 64 professional clubs includes 14 from USL League One and 10 sides from MLS NEXT Pro. The tournament will include the 24 teams of the USL Championship – with last year’s league champs Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, last year’s Open Cup Semifinalists Indy Eleven and 2022 Open Cup Runners-up Sacramento Republic -- and 16 teams from Major League Soccer (MLS), including former Open Cup Champions Chicago Fire, D.C. United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, New England Revolution and Orlando City.
The eight lowest seeded USLC teams enter in the First Round along with USL League One and MLS NEXT Pro sides. The 16 higher-seeded USLC clubs will enter in the Third Round, and the 16 MLS teams enter the tournament in the Round of 32.
The 32 amateur teams of the Open Division come from a wide array of leagues throughout the country. The 2024 USASA National Amateur Champions (three-time Open Cup winners NY Pancyprian Freedoms) are in the mix along with eight teams from the nationwide UPSL (including that league’s Spring Champion, Soda City FC of South Carolina) and seven more from the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) including former Open Cup Champs and 2024 amateur sensations El Farolito of San Francisco and Tulsa Athletic, the Oklahomans who set the 2023 edition of the tournament alight with an underdog run that saw them beat crosstown pros FC Tulsa (USLC) and earn a Third Round date with Sporting Kansas City of MLS.
USL League Two will add nine teams to the 2025 Open Division roster, including Ballard FC of Seattle, who made their debut last year, long-time tournament Cinderellas the Des Moines Menace and the Long Island Rough Riders – who reached the Quarterfinals of the 1997 edition of the Open Cup and return to the stage of those heroics for the first time since 2018.
There will be 26 teams making Open Cup debuts in 2025. AV ALTA FC (California), FC Naples, (Florida) Portland Hearts of Pine (Maine), Texoma FC (Texas) and Westchester SC (New York) debut from USL League One. MLS NEXT Pro sends six new sides to the Open Cup: Columbus Crew 2, FC Cincinnati 2, LAFC 2, Inter Miami CF II, Real Monarchs and Sporting KC 2.
The Amateur/Open Division will provide 15 new faces.
From the ranks of the 14 winners of the 2025 Open Cup Qualifying Rounds come eight debutants: CD Faialense (Massachusetts), Harbour City FC (Florida), Laguna United FC (California), NJ Alliance (New Jersey), NY Renegades (New York), Southern Indiana FC (Indiana), Virginia Dream (Virginia) and Washington AC (Washington State).
UPSL Spring Champion Soda City FC (South Carolina) will take part for the first time, as will NPSL’s Naples United FC (Florida) and the NY Shockers (New York). Corpus Christi FC (Texas), Flatirons FC (Colorado), Little Rock Rangers (Arkansas) and Sarasota Paradise (Florida) comprise the first-time clubs from USL League Two.
2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Schedule
First Round March 18-20
Second Round April 1-2
Third Round April 15-16
Round of 32 May 6-7
Round of 16 May 20-21
Quarterfinals July 8-9
Semifinal Sept. 16-17
Final Oct. 1
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is U.S. Soccer's Club Championship and has crowned a champion annually since 1914 (with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19). The historic tournament is conducted on a single-game, knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the United States and the world's third-longest continuously run national cup tournament.
2025 Open Cup Format Details
The First Round of the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will consist of 32 games with 32 amateur clubs from the Open Division going up against 32 professional teams.
The Open Division representatives include 14 Qualifying Round winners, nine USL League Two teams, seven NPSL teams, the USASA National Amateur Cup champion (NY Pancyprian Freedoms) and the UPSL Spring Champion (Soda City FC). Pro representatives entering in the First Round include 14 USL League One teams, 10 MLS NEXT Pro teams and the eight lowest-ranked sides from the USL Championship’s 2024 regular season.
The winners of the First Round will play each other in a Second Round consisting of 16 games.
The 16 Second Round winners will then be matched up against the 16 highest-ranked professional teams from the USL Championship in the Third Round. USL Championship Teams were seeded by conference, with the top eight clubs in each conference entering in the Third Round.
Third Round-winners will square off against the teams of Major League Soccer (MLS).
There will be 16 MLS teams competing in the 2025 Open Cup – up from eight in 2024 – and they will all enter the competition in the Round of 32. MLS teams qualified for U.S. Open Cup based on the following criteria:
- Teams participating in Concacaf Champions Cup are excluded from the Open Cup
- Teams not participating in the 2025 Leagues Cup qualify for the Open Cup, ranked based on 2024 Supporters Shield Standings
- The next best teams in the Supporters’ Shield Standings that are not in the Concacaf Champions Cup will enter the Open Cup.
In addition to the two independent MLS NEXT Pro teams, eight teams affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs qualified based on the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro regular season standings, with teams whose first-team affiliates qualified excluded from the competition.
New for the 2025 edition of the Open Cup, there will be eight seeded teams – divided into four teams from the East and four teams from the West – predetermined to host from the teams entering in the Third Round and Round of 32, respectively. The eight lowest-seeded teams entering in the Third Round and entering in the Round of 32 will be predetermined to be away. This change was made to add operational and financial certainty, while the opponents will still be determined by random draw.
Professional Division Teams
Major League Soccer
16 teams
(All 16 teams enter in the Round of 32)
Teams marked with ^ seeded as hosts in Round of 32.
Austin FC ^
Charlotte FC
Chicago Fire FC ^
D.C. United ^
FC Dallas ^
Houston Dynamo FC
Minnesota United
Nashville SC ^
New England Revolution
New York City FC
New York Red Bulls
Orlando City
Philadelphia Union ^
Portland Timbers
San Jose Earthquakes ^
St. Louis CITY SC ^
USL Championship
24 teams
(8 * teams enter in the First Round and 16 ** enter in the Third Round)
Teams marked with + seeded to host in Third Round
Birmingham Legion FC*
Charleston Battery** +
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (2024 USLC Champion)** +
Detroit City FC** +
El Paso Locomotive*
FC Tulsa*
Hartford Athletic*
Indy Eleven** +
Las Vegas Lights FC** +
Lexington SC*
Loudoun United FC*
Louisville City FC** +
Miami FC*
Monterey Bay FC*
New Mexico United** +
North Carolina FC**
Oakland Roots SC**
Orange County Soccer Club**
Phoenix Rising FC**
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC**
Rhode Island FC**
Sacramento Republic FC** +
San Antonio FC**
Tampa Bay Rowdies**
USL League One
14 teams
(Enter in the First Round)
AV ALTA FC
Charlotte Independence
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
FC Naples
Forward Madison FC
Greenville Triumph SC
One Knoxville SC
Portland Hearts of Pine
Richmond Kickers
South Georgia Tormenta FC
Spokane Velocity FC
Texoma FC
Union Omaha
Westchester SC
MLS NEXT Pro
10 teams
(Enter in the First Round)
Carolina Core FC
Chattanooga FC
Columbus Crew 2
FC Cincinnati 2
LAFC 2
Inter Miami CF II
Real Monarchs
Sporting KC 2
Tacoma Defiance
Ventura County FC
Amateur/Open Division Teams
(All 32 teams enter in the First Round)
NY Pancyprian Freedoms (EPSL / 2024 USASA National Amateur Cup Winner)
Soda City FC (South Carolina / UPSL Spring Champion)
Open Division Qualifying Round Winners
14 teams – winners from the four Open Cup Qualifying Rounds / Fall 2024
CD Faialense (Bay State Soccer League / Mass. / USASA)
FORO SC (Texas / UPSL)
Harbor City FC (Florida / UPSL)
Harpos FC (Colorado Premier League / Colo. / USSSA)
International San Francisco (San Francisco Soccer Football League / Calif. / USASA )
Laguna United FC (California / UPSL)
Miami United FC (Florida / UPSL)
Tulsa Athletic (Oklahoma / UPSL)
West Chester United SC (USL of Penn. / Pa. / USASA)
Virginia Dream (Virginia Super Soccer League / Va. / USASA)
Southern Indiana FC (Indiana / UPSL)
NY Renegades (New York / UPSL)
New Jersey Alliance (New Jersey / UPSL)
Washington Athletic Club (Seattle Recreational Adult Team Soccer / Washington / USASA)
National Premier Soccer League (NPSL)
7 teams – based on 2024 league play
Appalachian FC (North Carolina)
Duluth FC (Minnesota)
El Farolito (California)
FC Arizona (Arizona)
FC Motown (New Jersey)
Naples United FC (Florida)
New York Shockers (New York)
USL League Two
9 teams – based on 2024 league play
Asheville City SC (North Carolina)
Ballard FC (Washington)
Corpus Christi FC (Texas)
Des Moines Menace (Iowa)
Flatirons FC (Colorado)
Little Rock Rangers (Arkansas)
Long Island Rough Riders (New York)
Sarasota Paradise (Florida)
Ventura County Fusion (California)
About the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
Now in its 110th edition, the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup has crowned a champion since 1914 in every year except 2020 and 2021. The history-filled tournament is conducted on a single-game-knockout basis and open to all professional and amateur teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. In 1999, the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in the U.S. was renamed to honor American soccer pioneer Lamar Hunt.
The 2025 U.S. Open Cup winner will earn $300,000 in prize money, a berth in the 2026 Concacaf Champions League and have its name engraved on the Dewar Challenge Trophy – one of the oldest nationally contested trophies in American team sports – now on permanent display at the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, Texas. The runner-up will earn $100,000, while the team that advances the furthest from each lower division will take home a $25,000 cash prize.
Los Angeles Football Club of MLS is the defending Champion. The 109th edition of the tournament concluded on September 25, 2024 with LAFC beating four-time Champions Sporting Kansas City 3-1 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles to become Open Cup Champions for the first time.
usopencup.com is the official website of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Fans can also follow the competition on X/Twitter and Instagram @OpenCup and Facebook@OfficialOpenCup.
