The draw for the First Round of the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was announced this week as the 64 teams across the USL Championship, League One, MLS NEXT Pro and pre-professional ranks entering the historic competition learned their matchups for March. 

There will be plenty of storylines to follow as the competition draws near, but here are 10 games we think you should have on your radar now before the action kicks off on Tuesday, March 17 on CBS Sports Network, CBS Sports Golazo Network and the U.S. Soccer YouTube channel. 

10. Richmond Kickers vs. Northern Virginia FC 
Tuesday, March 17 | 6:30 p.m. ET | City Stadium

When Northern Virginia FC last competed in the U.S. Open Cup in 2022 it squared off with the Richmond Kickers in the second round, where David Olsen’s goal was enough for the Kickers to prevail in a 1-0 victory. Back then, NoVa had to earn its place in the competition through regional qualifying after finishing third in the Mid Atlantic Division in League Two. 

This time, Northern Virginia will head to City Stadium having earned a place in the Open Cup through its best season since joining League Two in 2006, finishing top of the Chesapeake Division. With the early start to the tournament, whether players like 2025 Co-Golden Boot winner Gage Lyons will be with the side is to be determined, but the Kickers will likely need to be sharp against their in-state foe.  

9. Ventura County Fusion vs. Spokane Velocity FC
Wednesday, March 18 | 10:30 p.m. ET | Ventura College Stadium 

Spokane Velocity FC has successfully navigated a path though pre-professional opposition in its first two seasons in the Open Cup, but its experiences going on the road to face League Two’s Ballard FC each of the past two years should inform the trip it faces to California to face a club with a good level of Open Cup history. Velocity needed a stoppage-time winner by Andre Lewis to get through on the road against Ballard and then a 121st minute goal by Anuar Pelaez last year to again prevail. 

It’s been a while since the Fusion last knocked off a professional opponent in the Open Cup – they delivered a 3-1 win against Orange County SC in 2012, when future pros like Daniel Steres, Earl Edwards and Travis Bowen were part of the team. With the deep talent pool in Southern California to pull from, Fusion Head Coach Keith Costigan should have his side up for this opportunity. 

8. Steel City FC vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Tuesday, March 17 | 7:30 p.m. ET | Rooney Field

Having made the move into USL League Two in the 2025 season, Steel City FC made an immediate impact as it finished top of the Great Forest Division before seeing its postseason come to an end on the wrong end of a 4-3 thriller against the Flint City Bucks. Steel City’s reward for that success? How about hosting crosstown foe and freshly minted USL Championship title holder Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at Rooney Field to kick off its second Open Cup journey. 

The Hounds have, of course, a rich Open Cup history to uphold, including advancing to the Round of 16 a year ago with victory against New York City FC. Pittsburgh has ruled the roost over pre-professional opposition over the years, but this should be a great night for the city’s soccer community that will allow SCFC to test themselves against one of the USL Championship’s biggest names.  

7. Flint City Bucks vs. Forward Madison FC 
Thursday, March 19 | 6:30 p.m. ET | Don Batchelor Stadium

For the first time since the club’s move to become the Flint City Bucks in 2019, one of the most historic pre-professional clubs in the Open Cup is returning to the tournament this year, and it’s got a plum First Round tie to accompany it. With the shift to an earlier starting point in March for the Open Cup in recent years, which precluded the Bucks from building its typical roster from college standouts, the side is now back and aiming to pick up where it left off. 

The Bucks have notched some major upsets over the years. Most recently they downed Indy Eleven in 2017 to advance to the Third Round of the competition, while they’ve also secured upsets of the New England Revolution (2000) and Chicago Fire (2012). The Flamingos have advanced into the Second Round in each of their five prior Open Cup journeys, but will likely need to be ready for a test here.  

6. Asheville City SC vs. Greenville Triumph SC 
Wednesday, March 18 | 6:30 p.m. ET | Greenwood Field

Greenville Triumph’s returning players will have memories of visiting Asheville City SC in last year’s Open Cup, and they may not exactly be pleasant ones. The League Two side held its own over 120 minutes of action as the game ended scoreless after Robert Lyons was unable to convert the best opportunity for the hosts in extra time before Triumph ultimately prevailed 4-3 in a penalty shootout after Johnny Fenwick hit the woodwork for Asheville in the fifth round. 

ACSC has become a perennial contender in League Two – this past winter it saw six players selected in the 2025 Major League Soccer SuperDraft, and it’s been able to call on good talent in its prior Open Cup forays. With Greenville entering a new era under Head Coach Dave Dixon, this will be an early-season test for the League One team once again. 

5. Laredo Heat SC vs. El Paso Locomotive FC 
Thursday, March 19 | 8:30 p.m. ET | PEG Energy Stadium

The 2025 Open Cup was a landmark for El Paso Locomotive FC – for the first time in club history, the side advanced in the competition having been knocked out in its first game in each of the prior four editions. Locomotive went on to give Austin FC a run for its money in the Round of 32 before suffering elimination, but this year’s squad under Junior Gonzalez will be aiming to make another run in the competition. 

If Locomotive’s resurgence was one of the notable storylines in the USL Championship in 2025, though, Laredo Heat SC’s successful return to USL League Two stood out in the pre-professional ranks. The Heat finished top of the Lone Star Division to make their first trip back to the Open Cup since 2019, and have a solid history in the competition overall. In 2014, Laredo was the last team standing from the pre-professional ranks as it upset the NASL’s Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the Third Round before falling to the Houston Dynamo. At home venue PEG Energy Stadium, they’ll be keen to take on professional opposition again. 

4. Little Rock Rangers vs. FC Tulsa 
Wednesday, March 18 | 8 p.m. ET | Episcopal Collegiate School

In the 2025 Open Cup, Little Rock Rangers pulled off one of the upsets of the competition as a penalty save by goalkeeper Tomasz Wróblewski and a second-half goal by Caoimhin McConnell saw the League Two side eliminate the USL Championship’s Birmingham Legion FC at Episcopal Collegiate School. 

This year, the Rangers will welcome what looks on paper to be an even bigger challenge. FC Tulsa arrives having claimed the USL Championship’s Western Conference a season ago for the first silverware in its history as well as a roster that’s added some interesting new pieces to its returning core. The Scissortails look like the sort of side that could be primed for a run in the Open Cup, but they’ll have to avoid a giant-killing of the sort that befell Legion a year ago to start.  

3. Sacramento Republic FC vs. El Farolito 
Wednesday, March 18 | 10:30 p.m. ET | Heart Health Park

There are few amateur clubs that have caught the imagination in the way El Farolito has with its Open Cup exploits in recent years. Based out of a burrito shop in San Francisco, the side has advanced to the Third Round of the competition in each of the past two years, scoring upsets of two professional sides along the way. 

Last year, though, Sacramento Republic FC brought their run to an end as Sebastian Herrera scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory at Heart Health Park. Now the sides will square off again at Republic FC’s home with Head Coach Neill Collins’ new-look attack aiming to have enough to avoid an upset. As cleanly as Sacramento dealt with the threat of an upset last year, the hosts will know they need to be on their game to avoid becoming the Burrito Boys’ latest upset.  

2. Indy Eleven vs. Des Moines Menace 
Tuesday, March 17 | 8 p.m. ET | Grand Park Events Center (CBS Sports Golazo Network)

Over the past two years, Indy Eleven has come into its own in the Open Cup after some notorious early exits – see defeat to the Michigan Bucks in 2017 and fellow League Two club Mississippi Brilla in 2018 – earlier in its history. It advanced to the Semifinals in 2024 before falling to Sporting Kansas City and last year took the Philadelphia Union to a penalty shootout in the Round of 32. That sets the stage for the Boys in Blue to potentially make another run in this year’s competition, but in the Des Moines Menace they’ll have to get past not only one of League Two’s perennial powers but wait and see who they might be matched up against in mid-March.  

Over recent years, former United States international Sacha Kljestan has banded together with some former teammates and acquaintances to take to the field for the Menace in the Open Cup. Last year, Benny Feilhaber was among them before his stint as Oakland Roots SC Head Coach, as were Dax McCarty, Ozzie Alonso, Bradley Wright-Phillips and AJ DeLaGarza as Des Moines knocked out Sporting Kansas City II in the First Round. We’ll see who the Menace are able to call on this year, but Indy will need to be ready.  

1. Vermont Green FC vs. Portland Hearts of Pine 
Tuesday, March 17 | 7 p.m. ET | Virtue Field (CBS Sports Network)

There are few lower-division clubs that have caught the public imagination in the way Vermont Green FC and Portland Hearts of Pine have this decade. Now, they’ll get to square off for the first time in official competition in a game that will get the national spotlight on CBS Sports Network on the opening night of the competition. 

Vermont Green has earned worldwide headlines for its work in climate justice, see this profile of the club in 2023 by The Guardian, but the on-field product has been stellar in the highly competitive Northeast Division in USL League Two. Last year the side claimed the League Two title for the first time at Virtue Field, and it’s already knocked off one League One club on home turf with an upset of Lexington SC in the First Round of the 2024 Open Cup.  

Hearts of Pine similarly burst onto the scene last year with its community-driven outlook, unique kit designs and solid on-field play. It was profiled by ABC’s Good Morning America for its work across Maine and advanced to both the Semifinals of the League One Playoffs and the Third Round of the Open Cup after upsetting Hartford Athletic. With the connections both clubs have to their communities in New England and the quality they’ve capable of producing on the field, this should be a compelling clash between two clubs on the rise in the American soccer consciousness.