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USL Championship Power Rankings – Preseason

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 03/06/25, 3:00PM EST

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The Switchbacks get the No. 1 slot as defending title-holders, where does everyone else stack up as the season arrives?

Everyone seems to love lists.

It provides something to talk about during downtime, or something to inspire deeper appreciation for a topic or subject you think you know about. (I recommend Stephen Hyden’s recent ranking of songs by The Kinks for Uproxx for the latter.)

It’s part of what inspired the Associated Press to start a national Top 25 College Football Poll in 1936, and in other sports since then, all of which are still going strong today.

And it’s why everyone nowadays produces Power Rankings, an arbitrary measure of form and the eye-test as to where each club in a given league currently sits.

With that said, here’s our preseason ranking ahead of the 15th season in the USL Championship campaign. If you want an idea of how these things work out at the end of the season, eventual title-winner Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC was ranked 13th at this point last year, then went on a five-game losing streak to start the season.

So it goes, sometimes. We did have Miami FC pegged at No. 24, at least.

The Switchbacks get the No. 1 slot this preseason as defending title-holders, and we’ll see four teams in the top six square off this weekend as the Charleston Battery host Louisville City FC before New Mexico United visits Sacramento Republic FC.

What do we have right? Who are we overlooking? We’ll figure that out as we go along.

Let’s get the season going.

Rank

 

Team

Summary
1 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: @ ELP		 When you’re the defending title-holder, you start the season at No. 1. We’re making new rules, and we like the midfield additions the Switchbacks have made late this preseason.
2 Louisville City FC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: @ CHS		 Louisville may have seen Wilson Harris and Elijah Wynder depart in high-profile moves, but in the 21 returning players there’s too much quality to anticipate a drop-off.
3 Rhode Island FC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: ---		 The defending Eastern Conference title-holders are returning players who logged 78.7 percent of the minutes in the club’s inaugural season. That’s a team ready to contend again.
4 Charleston Battery
(0-0-0)
Week 1: vs LOU 		The Battery’s patience in the offseason allowed Cal Jennings to land in the middle of preseason. Getting the league’s leading scorer since 2020 isn’t a bad way to replace Nick Markanich.
5 New Mexico United
(0-0-0)
Week 1: @ SAC		 Eric Quill’s departure could have hurt a lot, but New Mexico did what it took to get Dennis Sanchez as his replacement. We’re intrigued to see him pick up the baton.
6 Sacramento Republic FC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: vs NM		 The expectations are always high at Republic FC going into the campaign, illustrated by Neill Collins’ arrival as Head Coach. We can’t wait for Saturday’s game with New Mexico.
7 Indy Eleven
(0-0-0)
Week 1: ---		 Indy could take on anyone in the league at their best last season, only for inconsistency to get in the way. We think that’s going to improve in Year 2 under Sean McAuley’s leadership.
8 Las Vegas Lights FC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: vs TBR 		The Lights aren’t going to be sneaking up on anyone this season, and there’s going to be pressure on Antonio Nocerino to show he’s the right man for the job early in the campaign.
9 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(0-0-0)
Week 1: @ LV		 The Rowdies are absolutely going to look the part this season – those new kits are superb – and despite the departures they’ve suffered this should be a team primed to contend.
10 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: @ NC		 We know the Hounds are going to have one of the stingiest defenses in the league, but the addition of Augustine Williams to the forward line makes them a dark horse contender.
11 Orange County SC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: vs OAK 		Orange County ended last year on an eight-game undefeated run and have added some great attacking parts this offseason, led by Lyam MacKinnon. We want to see this defense in action, though.
12 Detroit City FC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: @ MIA		 Le Rouge saw a couple of big names step away in Nate Steinwascher and Maxi Rodriguez, but there’s real potential in the additions the side has made. There’s a lot to like on paper.
13 San Antonio FC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: vs MB		 Welcome to the Carlos Llamosa era, San Antonio fans. It’s got the potential to look very different from the past five years, but with Jorge Hernandez in the mix, that could still be a lot of fun.
14 North Carolina FC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: vs PIT		 If we’re honest, this might be a little conservative for NCFC’s starting point. There’s a lot of quality returning and upgrades in defense could make the side a really good one to watch.
15 Lexington SC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: vs HFD 		After the Charleston Battery and Las Vegas Lights’ reboots succeeded in spectacular fashion the past two seasons, Lexington is going to make its bid for success with an almost-entirely new cast. Let’s see what happens.
16 Phoenix Rising FC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: vs TUL		 We’re really high on the hiring of Pa-Modou Kah as Rising’s new Head Coach, and his squad’s got potential. Getting out to a good start could be important to raise the confidence level.
17 Birmingham Legion FC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: vs LDN 		Legion’s attack looks like it has the ability to score a lot of goals. The defensive depth feels like they might need to if Birmingham’s going to get where it wants to be. Stay tuned.
18 Hartford Athletic
(0-0-0)
Week 1: @ LEX		 Hartford took a big step forward under Head Coach Brendan Burke last season. It’s going to have to get more secondary scoring to maintain that this season despite some solid defensive additions.
19 Oakland Roots SC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: @ OC		 There’s a whole lot of changes as Roots head to the Coliseum this season – not seeing Johnny Rodriguez in the lineup is going to be strange. We’re in wait-and-see mode on how this works.
20 FC Tulsa
(0-0-0)
Week 1: @ PHX		 We’re really looking forward to seeing new signing Taylor Calheira in action this weekend. Tulsa’s a team that could be flying under the radar a little bit.
21 Loudoun United FC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: vs BHM 		There’s a really solid core returning for Loudoun, but we’re a little worried they haven’t added enough this offseason to step forward. Moses Nyeman’s going to have to do work.
22 El Paso Locomotive FC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: vs COS		 Locomotive made progress in the final third of the campaign and has added some interesting pieces this offseason led by Memo Diaz’s return. We’re going to see how that stacks up against the defending title-holders.
23 Monterey Bay FC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: @ SA 		Adam Larsson is going to be a fascinating player to follow this season after his success in Scandinavia. We could learn plenty from their opening game against another team with a new identity in San Antonio.
24 Miami FC
(0-0-0)
Week 1: vs DET 		Sorry, Miami fans, but after last season we’re going to need to see how this is going to work. But, let’s not forget, you did beat the eventual title-winners in the opening week last year.

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Tag(s): Power Rankings  San Antonio FC  CO Spring Switchbacks  Orange County SC  Phoenix Rising FC  Sacramento Republic FC  FC Tulsa  Charleston Battery  Louisville City FC  Pittsburgh Riverhounds  Tampa Bay Rowdies  Las Vegas Lights FC  Birmingham Legion FC  North Carolina FC  Indy Eleven  El Paso Locomotive FC  New Mexico United  Loudoun United FC  Hartford Athletic  Miami FC  Oakland Roots SC  Detroit City FC  Monterey Bay FC  Rhode Island FC  Lexington SC 

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