One Knoxville Sporting Club is an American soccer team based in Knoxville, Tennessee, that competes in USL League One, the third tier of the United States soccer league system. They play their home matches at Covenant Health Park, a multi-use stadium designed for soccer and baseball, alongside the Knoxville Smokies, a minor league baseball team for the Chicago Cubs.
The club was initially unveiled as Knox Pro Soccer starting as a semi-professional USL League Two club with the goal to eventually move to the professional USL League One in the future. The official name for the team, One Knoxville Sporting Club, was announced on July 15, 2021. The official crest for the team, designed by artist Matthew Wolff, was unveiled on August 19, 2021. Mark McKeever was appointed as the club's first ever head coach on January 13, 2021.
The team made their USL2 debut on May 14, 2022 hosting Asheville City SC, where they were defeated by a score of 2âÂÂ1 in front of 2200 spectators. They recorded their first victory in their next match on May 17, defeating the Tri-Cities Otters by a score of 1âÂÂ0. In their inaugural season, they won the South Central Division, with an 11âÂÂ1âÂÂ2 record, advancing to the playoffs. After winning their first two playoff rounds, the club was defeated by North Carolina Fusion U23 in the South Conference Finals (league quarterfinals).
On October 20, 2022, it was announced that the club would move up to the fully professional level, joining USL League One. The club also announced that all of the team's 15 home games would by played at Regal Stadium, home of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers.
The club announced their first professional signing on December 12, 2022, forward Ilija IliÃÂ, who will also serve as assistant coach.
The club scored its first ever professional win with a 2âÂÂ1 victory over Lexington SC. Midfielder Jimmie Villalobos scored the team's first ever professional goal.
On April 26, 2025, One Knoxville SC set the record for largest home attendance for a USL League One club across all competitions with 6,378 fans in attendance for a match against FC Tulsa in the opening round of the USL Jägermeister Cup.
On October 25, 2025, One Knoxville SC won their first-ever USL League One regular season championship, receiving the League One Playersâ Shield.
On November 16, 2025, One Knoxville SC won their first-ever USL League One league title, marking the club's first major trophy. They defeated Spokane Velocity FC 2-0 in front of a record 7,500 fans at Covenant Health Park.
On March 8, 2025, the club announced the addition of a women's team, which would complete in its inaugural season in the USL W-League beginning that year. Simon Duffy, the women's soccer coach at Carson-Newman University, was hired to lead the new women's soccer team.
During their inaugural season as a club in 2022, they used temporary homes through local high school and colleges, specifically Austin East High School, Knoxville Catholic High School, and Maryville College.
During their first 2 seasons of being in USL League One, they played at Regal Soccer Stadium, home of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers' soccer program. The stadium has a capacity of 3,000 fans. The club achieved their attendance record against Lexington SC, where 2,512 fans attended on March 18, 2023.
Since the 2025 season, the team has played at Covenant Health Park alongside the Knoxville Smokies, a minor league baseball team. The stadium was designed to convert between soccer and baseball and includes a retractable pitcher's mound.
The Scruffs are an independent supporters group for One Knoxville. The group's name is a reference to Scruffy City, a commonly used nickname for Knoxville from the 1982 World's Fair.
Lexington SC and One Knoxville joined USL League One as expansion sides together in 2023. The rivalry stems from the KentuckyâÂÂTennessee rivalry as Lexington is home to the University of Kentucky and Knoxville is home to the University of Tennessee. The rivalry name comes from the old name for the matchup between Kentucky and Tennessee in college football where a beer barrel trophy was presented to the winner.
The reported trophy for the winner on aggregate score at the end of the USL1 season is "a full-size whiskey barrel and a bottle of bourbon from a distiller located in the losing club's locale." Despite this, neither fan group has yet to see such a prize as of the start of the 2024 season.
As members of USL League Two and of the league's South Central Division, the two clubs created a rivalry called the Smoky Mountain Series. The series was won by head to head matches, and the tiebreaker being aggregate score. One Knoxville SC won the 2022 Smoky Mountain Series from a 4-3 aggregate win. Since One Knoxville SC has promoted to USL League One, there is no way for these teams to meet again except the U.S. Open Cup, which happened in 2024 and 2026.
Although the men no longer regularly participate in the rivalry, the rivalry has continued onto the women's side. With the expansion of One Knoxville SC to USL W League, the clubs are now divisional rivals.