The 2026 USL Cup will be the third edition of the USL Cup (known as the Prinx Tires USL Cup for sponsorship reasons). The competition is open to all clubs in USL Championship and USL League One.
The 2026 edition of the USL Cup is a professional soccer tournament held between teams in USL Championship and USL League One. Teams are split into seven groups of six or seven teams; each team will play two teams in their group at home, and two others away. The group winners, along with the second-place team with the highest point total, will move to a single-elimination knockout round. The first tiebreaker will be goals scored.
The 2026 USL Cup will run concurrently with the 2026 USL Championship season and the 2026 USL League One season. The tournament will begin roughly one month into the league seasons and end shortly before the end of the league seasons and start of the league playoffs.
The groups for the 2026 USL Cup were announced on December 10, 2025.
All 25 clubs in USL Championship and 17 clubs in USL League One will enter the 2026 USL Cup in the group stage.
The group stage will be played from April 25 to July 11. Teams are divided into seven regional groups of six or seven teams. Teams will play two teams in their group at home and two other teams away.
If a team wins in regulation, they receive three points in the standings, while the loser receives zero. If the game is tied at the end of regulation, a penalty kick shootout occurred; the winner receives two points and the loser will receives one.
The top team in each group reaches a single-elimination knockout stage. Of the remaining teams, the two teams with the most points also reached the knockout stage, with most goals scored being used as first tiebreaker.