2026 U.S. Open Cup
The 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is the 111th edition of the U.S. Open Cup, the knockout domestic cup competition of American soccer, organized by the United States Soccer Federation. It will involve 80 teams, including 48 teams from all three professional tiers of the United States soccer league system, and 32 amateur teams in the "Open Division". The competition begins on March 17 and culminate in the final on October 21.
The full format was announced on January 27, 2025. U.S. Soccer changed several elements of the contest, such as reducing the number of rounds by one, altering the qualifying requirements to ensure the highest-level professional team of a club enters the tournament as well as removing the National League qualifying track. Participation in the tournament is limited to teams that played a league season in 2025, removing new professional clubs from fielding a team.
Of the 27 American clubs in Major League Soccer, 16 will participate, with teams that did not qualify for either the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup or 2026 Leagues Cup. Being the only Division 1 league, all eligible MLS teams will enter in the round of 32. Depending on Supporter's Shield standings, one half of the MLS first team entrants will host their first matches, while the rest will begin with an away game. Because of the rule changes for this year, only two MLS Next Pro teams will appear in the competition. The USL Championship will send 17 of its teams, which includes all teams entered in the 2025 USL Championship Playoffs plus the next team outside of playoff consideration. These teams will enter the competition in the first round. USL League One will send their 13 eligible teams. Championship, League One, and Next Pro, along with the 32 Open Division teams, will enter in the first round.
Due to qualifying for the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup the winner, Nashville SC, are unable to defend their title.
Schedule
| Round | Draw date | Match day | Entrants | Teams entered to date |
| First Round | January 27 | March 17–19 | 6 local qualifiers 1 National Amateur Cup champion 1 UPSL Spring Champion 1 2025 John Motta Trophy winner 8 United Premier Soccer League teams 5 National Premier Soccer League teams 10 USL League Two teams 13 USL League One teams 2 MLS Next Pro teams 17 USL Championship teams | 64 teams |
| Second Round | TBD | March 31 – April 1 | 32 winners from First Round | 64 teams |
| Round of 32 | April 2 | April 14–15 | 16 winners from Second Round 16 Major League Soccer teams | 80 teams |
| Round of 16 | April 28–29 | 16 winners from round of 32 | 80 teams | |
| Quarterfinals | May 19–20 | 8 winners from round of 16 | 80 teams | |
| Semifinals | September 15–16 | 4 winners from quarterfinals | 80 teams | |
| Final | October 21 | 2 winners from semifinals | 80 teams |
Teams
Table
$: Winner of $50,000 bonus for advancing the furthest in the competition from their respective divisions.$$: Winner of $250,000 for being the runner-up in the competition.$$$: Winner of $600,000 for winning the competition.Number of teams by state
A total of 34 states and D.C. were represented by clubs in the U.S. Open Cup this year.| States | Number | Teams |
 CaliforniaOpen Cup debuts8 teams made their Open Cup debuts in the 2026 tournament.NPSL: Cruizers FCUPSL: Valley 559 FC, Kalonji Pro-Profile, Badgers FCAPSL: SC Vistula GarfieldThe League for Clubs: San Ramon FCLocal: ASC New Stars, BOHFS St. LouisEarly roundsThe first round of the tournament was drawn on January 27, 2026.BroadcastingAs part of the second year of a two-year deal with U.S. Soccer, CBS Sports will broadcast games on Paramount+, with select games on the CBS Sports Golazo Network and CBS Sports Network. All remaining games will be broadcast on U.S. Soccer's YouTube channel. |