Eastern Conference (USL Championship)


The Eastern Conference is one of two conferences in USL Championship soccer.

Members

Current


Conference Lineups

Clubs timeline


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bar:1 color:Full from:01/01/2015 till:end text:Charleston Battery
bar:2 color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2021 text:Charlotte Independence
bar:2 color:Other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:USL1
bar:3 color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2017 text:Harrisburg City Islanders
bar:3 color:Former from:01/01/2018 till:12/31/2018 text:Penn FC
bar:4 color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2016 text:FC Montreal
bar:5 color:Full from:01/01/2015 till:end text:Louisville City FC
bar:6 color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2022 text:New York Red Bulls II
bar:6 color:Other from:01/01/2023 till:end text:MLS Next Pro
bar:7 color:Full from:01/01/2015 till:end text:Pittsburgh Riverhounds
bar:8 color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2018 text:Richmond Kickers
bar:8 color:Other from:01/01/2019 till:end text:USL1
bar:9 color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2017 text:Rochester Rhinos ‡
bar:9 color:Other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:MLS Next Pro
bar:10 color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2015 text:Saint Louis FC
bar:10 color:Western from:01/01/2016 till:12/31/2016 text:Western Conference
bar:10 color:Former from:01/01/2017 till:12/31/2017 text:Eastern Conference
bar:10 color:Western from:01/01/2018 till:12/31/2018 text:Western Conference
bar:10 color:Former from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2020 text:Eastern Conference
bar:11 color:Western from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2018 text:Western Conference
bar:11 color:Former from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2019 text:Swope Park Rangers
bar:11 color:Former from:01/01/2020 till:12/31/2021 text:Sporting Kansas City II
bar:11 color:Other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:MLS Next Pro
bar:12 color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2018 text:Toronto FC II
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bar:12 color:Other from:01/01/2022 till:end text:MLS Next Pro
bar:13 color:Former from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2016 text: Wilmington Hammerheads FC
bar:14 color:Former from:01/01/2016 till:12/31/2018 text: FC Cincinnati
bar:14 color:Other from:01/01/2019 till:end text: MLS
bar:15 color:Former from:01/01/2016 till:12/31/2019 text: Bethlehem Steel FC
bar:15 color:Former from:01/01/2020 till:12/31/2020 text: Philadelphia Union II
bar:16 color:Former from:01/01/2016 till:12/31/2017 text: Orlando City B ‡
bar:16 color:Other from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2020 text: USL1
bar:16 color:Other from:01/01/2022 till:end text: MLS Next Pro
bar:17 color:Full from:01/01/2017 till:end text: Tampa Bay Rowdies
bar:18 color:Full from:01/01/2017 till:12/31/2019 text: Ottawa Fury FC
bar:18 color:Full from:01/01/2020 till:end text: Miami FC
bar:19 color:Former from:01/01/2018 till:12/31/2022 text: Atlanta United 2
bar:19 color:Other from:01/01/2023 till:end text:MLS Next Pro
bar:20 color:Full from:01/01/2018 till:end text: Indy Eleven
bar:21 color:Former from:01/01/2018 till:12/31/2019 text: Nashville SC
bar:21 color:Other from:01/01/2020 till:end text: MLS
bar:22 color:Full from:01/01/2018 till:12/31/2020 text: North Carolina FC
bar:22 color:Other from:01/01/2021 till:12/31/2023 text: USL1
bar:22 color:Former from:01/01/2024 till:01/01/2026 text: North Carolina FC
bar:23 color:Full from:01/01/2019 till:end text: Birmingham Legion FC
bar:24 color:Full from:01/01/2019 till:end text: Hartford Athletic
bar:25 color:Full from:01/01/2019 till:end text: Loudoun United FC
bar:26 color:Full from:01/01/2019 till:12/31/2023 text: Memphis 901 FC
bar:26 color:Western from:01/01/2024 till:12/31/2024 text: Western
bar:27 color:Western from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2020 text: Western Conference
bar:27 color:Full from:01/01/2021 till:12/31/2021 text: OKC Energy FC ‡
bar:28 color:Western from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2020 text: Western Conference
bar:28 color:Full from:01/01/2021 till:12/31/2023 text: FC Tulsa
bar:28 color:Western from:01/01/2024 till:end text: Western Conference
bar:29 color:Other from:01/01/2015 till:06/30/2019 text: NPSL
bar:29 color:Other from:07/01/2019 till:12/31/2021 text: NISA
bar:29 color:Full from:01/01/2022 till:end text: Detroit City FC
bar:30 color:Full from:01/01/2024 till:end text: Rhode Island FC
bar:31 color:Full from:01/01/2026 till:end text: Brooklyn FC
bar:32 color:Full from:01/01/2026 till:end text: Sporting Club Jacksonville
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‡Orlando City B & Rochester Rhinos went on hiatus after the 2017 season. OKC Energy FC went and has been on hiatus since the [2022 2017 USL Playoffs|USL Championship season|2021] season, and looks to be on hiatus until the 2028 season.

2015 (12 teams)

Changes from 2014: USL Pro expanded and was rebranded as simply USL; the round robin table was split into two conferences: Eastern and Western.

2016 (14 teams)

Changes from 2015: Bethlehem Steel FC, FC Cincinnati and Orlando City B were added as expansion franchises; St. Louis FC moved out to the Western Conference.

2017 (15 teams)

Changes from 2016: Ottawa Fury FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies moved in from the North American Soccer League; FC Montreal was disbanded; Saint Louis FC moved back in from the Western Conference; Wilmington Hammerheads FC moved out to the Premier Development League.

2018 (16 teams)

Changes from 2017: USL was divided into three divisions: Championship, League One and League Two; Atlanta United 2 was added as an expansion franchise; the Indy Eleven and North Carolina FC moved in from the North American Soccer League; the Harrisburg City Islanders were renamed Penn FC; Orlando City B and the Rochester Rhinos went on hiatus; Saint Louis FC moved out back to the Western Conference.

2019 (18 teams)

Changes from 2018: FC Cincinnati disbanded to make way for the MLS franchise; Birmingham Legion FC, Hartford Athletic, Loudoun United FC and Memphis 901 FC were added as expansion franchises; Saint Louis FC and the Swope Park Rangers moved in from the Western Conference; Orlando City B,
the Richmond Kickers and Toronto FC II moved out to USL League One; Penn FC and the Rochester Rhinos went on hiatus. They will move to USL League One in 2020.

2020 (17 teams)

Group E (4 teams)

Group F (5 teams)

Group G (4 teams)

Group H (4 teams)

Changes from 2019: Nashville SC moved out to Major League Soccer; Bethlehem Steel FC was renamed Philadelphia Union II; the Swope Park Rangers were renamed Sporting Kansas City II; Ottawa Fury FC was not sanctioned by U.S. Soccer and had their franchise rights sold to Miami FC; Penn FC was disbanded. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic the conference was split into four groups. Three groups of four and one group of five.

2021 (16 teams)

Atlantic Division (8 teams)

Central Division (8 teams)

Changes from 2020: The conference was divided into two divisions, Atlantic and Central; the OKC Energy FC and FC Tulsa moved in from the Western Conference; North Carolina FC moved out to USL League One; Philadelphia Union II was withdrawn by its MLS parent club; Saint Louis FC was disbanded.

2022 (14 teams)

Changes from 2021: The Atlantic and Central divisions were dropped; OKC Energy FC went on hiatus; Charlotte Independence moved to USL League One; Detroit City FC joined from NISA; Sporting Kansas City II was withdrawn by its MLS parent club and moved to MLS Next Pro.

2023 (12 teams)

Changes from 2022: Atlanta United 2 and New York Red Bulls II were withdrawn by its MLS parent club and moved to MLS Next Pro.

2024–25 (12 teams)

Changes from 2023: North Carolina FC returned from USL League One. Rhode Island FC was added as an expansion franchise. Memphis 901 FC and FC Tulsa were moved to the Western Conference.

2026 (13 teams)

Changes from 2025: Brooklyn FC and Sporting Club Jacksonville are added as expansion teams. North Carolina FC pulled their team from competition in plans of making a move to the USL Premier at some point in the future.

Eastern Conference Playoff champions by year

SeasonChampionsScoreRunners up
2015Rochester Rhinos1–0Louisville City FC
2016New York Red Bulls II1–1 Louisville City FC
2017Louisville City FC1–1 New York Red Bulls II
2018Louisville City FC5–1New York Red Bulls II
[2019 USL USL Championship|Championship season|2019]Louisville City FC3–1 Indy Eleven
2020Tampa Bay Rowdies2–1Louisville City FC
2021Tampa Bay Rowdies3–2 Louisville City FC
2022Louisville City FC1–0 Tampa Bay Rowdies
2023Charleston Battery2–1Louisville City FC
2024Rhode Island FC2–1Charleston Battery
2025Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC1–0Rhode Island FC

Eastern Conference regular season champions by year

SeasonTeamRecordPlayoffs result
2015Rochester Rhinos17–1–10 Won USL Championship
2016New York Red Bulls II21–3–6 Won USL Championship
2017Louisville City FC18–6–8 Won USL Championship
2018FC Cincinnati23–3–8 Lost Conference semifinals
2019Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC19-4-11 Lost Conference semifinals
2020Louisville City FC11-3-2 Lost Conference Final
2021Tampa Bay Rowdies23–7–2 Lost Championship final
2022Louisville City FC22–6–6 Lost Championship final
2023Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC19–5–10 Lost Conference quarterfinals
2024Louisville City FC24–6–4 Lost Conference semifinals
2025Louisville City FC22–1–7 Lost Conference quarterfinals