It was a pretty wild Decision Day in the USL Championship. By the time it was over, 9 teams in playoff position had shuffled around and one more dropped out completely. And one of the moving teams blew its conference championship. Here are the final Football Forge Power Rankings of 2026.
| Rank | Team | Previous | Change | Record | Last 5 | Forge Factor | Note | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisville City | 2 | 1 | 13-9-8 |   |
20.942 | Lou City cruised to a 2-0 win over JAX to lock themselves into 4th in the East. With nothing to play for they ended the season 0-0 against Detroit. | v. Pittsburgh |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 5 | 3 | 18-5-7 |  |
18.325 | The Players’ Shield winner versus the wooden spoon winner was a yawner to end the season. Rowdies take it 2-0. | v. Miami |
| 3 | Sacramento Republic | 4 | 1 | 13-5-12 | |
17.958 | Sacramento had most of the attack, even scoring in less than 2 minutes, but had to come from behind late to beat Oakland 3-2. They got a boost out of that and finish 2nd. | v. Tulsa |
| 4 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 7 | 3 | 13-9-8 | |
17.483 | The Switchbacks took a first-half lead on a PK, then got a red card late in the half. They still went on to score again, beating Tulsa 2-0. That held them in 5th in the West. | @ Lexington |
| 5 | Lexington SC | 1 | 4 | 14-10-6 | |
17.467 | Philip Goodrum scored twice. One was in his own goal though and they end the game 3-3 despite having most of the attack. They stay in 4th. | v. Colorado Springs |
| 6 | Charleston Battery | 8 | 2 | 16-9-5 | |
15.558 | With both teams wanting the win, the Battery utterly dominated Indy, but only managed a 1-0 win. That was enough to get above Detroit and finish in 2nd. | v. Rhode Island |
| 7 | New Mexico United | 14 | 7 | 15-8-7 | |
15.400 | It took 94 minutes and surviving an aggressive El Paso attack, but New Mexico got the 1-0 win and the Western crown. | v. Phoenix |
| 8 | Phoenix Rising | 12 | 4 | 10-10-10 | |
15.292 | Phoenix knew early what they needed for a playoff spot. They just barely got it in the 3-3 draw with Lexington thanks to a Lex error and saves by Chituru Odunze. | @ New Mexico |
| 9 | Oakland Roots | 3 | 6 | 9-10-11 | |
14.975 | With 9 minutes left in regulation the Roots had their hands on a playoff spot. Two late goals ended their hopes in the 2-3 loss to Sacramento. | Eliminated |
| 10 | Detroit City | 6 | 4 | 14-7-9 | |
14.483 | Detroit needed a win in Louisville to hold 2nd in the East. 3 good scoring chances were wasted in the 0-0 draw and they slip to 3rd. | v. Hartford |
| 11 | San Antonio FC | 13 | 2 | 11-7-12 | |
14.325 | San Antonio manhandled Orange County to get the easy 2-1 win. They not only ice a playoff spot but move up to 6th. | @ El Paso |
| 12 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 16 | 4 | 13-11-6 | |
13.350 | Pittsburgh pounced on 2 defensive errors by the Legion in quick succession and survived a late comeback attempt to win 2-1 and take 5th in the East. | @ Louisville |
| 13 | The Miami FC | 10 | 3 | 9-12-9 | |
12.767 | The Miami FC were on a bye this week. They sat back and watched Indy lose 0-1 and go into the playoffs rested. | @ Tampa Bay |
| 14 | Loudoun United | 9 | 5 | 6-11-13 | |
10.683 | Loudoun scored 3 unanswered second-half goals to beat Brooklyn 4-3 in a goal fest. They vault the Legion to finish 10th. | Eliminated |
| 15 | Birmingham Legion | 17 | 2 | 6-12-12 | |
9.567 | The Legion got an ugly 2-1 win in Brooklyn after giving up an early goal. Then in Pittsburgh 2 horrific errors led to the 1-2 loss. Tired legs may have led to the reemergence of the problems. | Eliminated |
| 16 | Rhode Island FC | 11 | 5 | 12-12-6 | |
9.517 | Rhode Island and Hartford each had 6 shots with 3 on target. The close-fought game ended 1-2 for Rhody and they saw Hartford snatch 6th in the East from them. | @ Charleston |
| 17 | Hartford Athletic | 22 | 5 | 10-7-13 | |
8.942 | Hartford’s 2-1 win over Rhode Island was enough to make 6th in the East but not enough to catch Pittsburgh. A tough first-round game coming. | @ Detroit |
| 18 | Monterey Bay FC | 19 | 1 | 6-18-6 | |
8.417 | Monterey Bay ends the season on a relatively high note with the 2-1 win over Las Vegas. It would have been higher without the late red card for Fidel Barajas though. | Eliminated |
| 19 | El Paso Locomotive | 18 | 1 | 15-10-5 | |
7.633 | El Paso had most of the good chances and were seconds from a 0-0 draw with New Mexico. They allow a last-gasp goal and drop from 1st to 3rd. | v. San Antonio |
| 20 | Brooklyn FC | 21 | 1 | 6-18-6 | |
5.883 | Brooklyn FC led 1-0 and 3-1 in games against Birmingham and Loudoun. They lost both, 1-2 and 3-4. A rough end to the inaugural season. | Eliminated |
| 21 | FC Tulsa | 15 | 6 | 11-9-10 | |
4.975 | Tulsa lost 0-2 to a short-handed Colorado Springs. Not an impressive way to go into the playoffs. Now in 7th they have a rough road trip ahead. | @ Sacramento |
| 22 | Las Vegas Lights | 20 | 2 | 9-15-6 | |
1.958 | The Lights didn’t have much to play for and even what they did have went by the wayside. A poor 1-2 loss in Monterey Bay to close 2026. | Eliminated |
| 23 | Orange County | 24 | 1 | 10-11-9 | |
1.167 | Orange County didn’t know it, but all they needed to stay in the playoffs was a draw. All they got was a late consolation in the 1-2 loss in Sn Antonio. The season ends poorly. | Eliminated |
| 24 | Indy Eleven | 23 | 1 | 9-14-7 | |
0.975 | Indy needed a win to make the playoffs. 17% possession is no way to do that against a strong Charleston side. They lose 0-1 and the season is over. | Eliminated |
| 25 | Sporting JAX | 25 | 0 | 3-22-5 | |
-2.275 | Two 0-2 losses in the closing week, to Louisville and Tampa Bay. They complete the first-ever USLC full-length season without a clean sheet. | Eliminated |
