Meet the 16 Open Division Clubs That Automatically Qualified for the 2027 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup | OneFootball

For the third consecutive year, 32 amateur Open Division sides will participate in next year’s Tournament Proper. Half will emerge from a daunting field of 155 following this fall’s Qualifying Rounds, while the second half have already been confirmed through automatic qualification.

Champions from the country’s top amateur leagues and competitions—the Hank Steinbrecher Cup, the USASA Amateur Cup, the John Motta Trophy, USL League Two, the NPSL, the UPSL and The League for Clubs—received automatic entry to the Tournament Proper, while an additional 11 teams were admitted based on league performance.

The field of 16 automatic qualifiers includes a former Open Cup champion, six debutants and some of the top amateur sides from every corner of the country. Here’s how each side punched its ticket to the 2027 Open Cup.

Asheville City SC (USL League Two)

2026 John Motta Trophy winner

Asheville City SC players celebrate after defeating Greenville Triumph SC to claim their first Open Cup victory | Photo courtesy Asheville City SC

Asheville City SC officially locked up the first automatic bid for the 2027 Open Cup back in April. The decade-old USL League Two side won the John Motta Trophy and the $50,000 Open Division prize as the furthest-advancing amateur team—determined via tiebreakers—in the 2026 Open Cup. The Blues advanced to the Second Round of the Tournament Proper, picking up its first win against a professional team by downing Greenville Triumph SC before pushing rivals and defending USL League One champions One Knoxville SC to the brink before losing on penalties. The Blues are back in the Open Cup for the fourth consecutive year.

Ambassadors FC Ohio (NPSL)

NPSL automatic bid

Set for its first Open Cup appearance, Canton, Ohio-based Ambassadors FC Ohio broke into the NPSL’s National Playoffs in only its second year in the league, finishing second in the Great Lakes Conference before going on to win the Great Lakes Conference Playoffs and advance to the National Semifinals. In the National Playoffs, the Ambassadors fell to eventual champions El Farolito, 3-2, though the second-year side was the only club able to score on El Farolito across its five Conference and National Playoff matches. The club was led by 2026 NPSL Golden Ball winner Diego Pinto, who tallied a league-leading 16 goals in 15 appearances, bouncing back from a 2025 season in which he was sidelined with a broken foot.

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Ballard FC (USL League Two)

USL League Two automatic bid

The Bridges are back in the Tournament Proper for the third time in four years after winning USL League Two’s Northwest Division for the fourth consecutive season and advancing to the Western Conference Final in postseason play. Nestled in northwest Seattle, Ballard FC has been a force in League Two since its inception in 2022. The club won the league in 2023, finished as runners-up in 2025 and has played in the postseason in every season of its existence. In its two previous Open Cup matches, Ballard has been a part of two memorable First Round fixtures in which the Bridges held their own against professional sides—both in Seattle against USL League One’s Spokane Velocity FC and both finishing 1-0 in favor of Spokane in crushing, stoppage-time fashion.

Bristol Rhythm AFC (NPSL)

NPSL automatic bid

Straddling the Virginia-Tennessee border, Bristol Rhythm AFC enjoyed a special summer, finishing as the top team in the NPSL regular season thanks to an undefeated 9-0-1 record. The third-year side qualified for the postseason for the first time, progressing to the NPSL National Championship. Though the Rhythm fell to El Farolito 3-0, the Rhythm secured its spot in the Open Cup for the first time in club history.

Colorado Storm (USL League Two)

USL League Two automatic bid

Nearly 60 years since its founding, Colorado Storm’s senior men’s team is in the Open Cup for the first time in club history. Focused on developing talent up and down central Colorado’s Front Range, the club’s senior team joined League Two in 2025. In its first season in the league, the Storm finished second in the Western Conference’s Mountain Division, advancing to the postseason. In 2026, the Storm topped its division and advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals thanks in large part to League Two Golden Glove winner and Purdue University Fort Wayne standout Sep Habibi.

Deportivo Rose City (UPSL)

UPSL Spring 2026 champion

Deportivo Rose City players pose with the UPSL National Championship trophy after knocking off Miami United FC | Photo courtesy UPSL

Deportivo Rose City locked up one of the UPSL’s two automatic qualifiers after topping Miami United FC in the 2026 UPSL Spring National Championship. The Portland, Ore.-based side transitioned from indoor play to outdoor competition in 2020, later joining the UPSL in 2022.Since then, Rose City has enjoyed steady success, appearing in the postseason in 2023 and 2024 before winning the UPSL Oregon Division in 2025. This year, Rose City advanced to the UPSL National Finals for the first time in club history before topping Miami United 3-1 at UCLA. The first-time champions secured its first national title and first Open Cup berth thanks to former El Salvador international Dustin Corea’s match-winning brace in the title match, bringing his postseason total to 10 goals in six matches.

El Farolito (NPSL)

2026 USASA Amateur Cup champion, 2026 NPSL champion

El Farolito players gather after defeating Bristol Rhythm AFC in the NPSL National Championship | Photo courtesy Chris Row/NPSL.com

The Burrito Boys—1993 Open Cup champions—qualified directly for the tournament proper after doing the double, winning the USASA Amateur Cup and the NPSL. To start, El Farolito downed Lansdowne Yonkers FC to earn its first Amateur Cup crown thanks to a brace from longtime goalscorer Dembor Benson. Later in the summer, the 40-year-old side smashed 10-man Bristol Rhythm AFC in the NPSL National Championship. One of just a handful of active amateur sides to have won the Open Cup, El Farolito is set for its eighth appearance in the competition.

Laredo Heat SC (USL League Two)

USL League Two automatic bid

Laredo Heat SC is set to make back-to-back appearances in the Tournament Proper for the first time in over a decade thanks to an impressive 2026 campaign which featured a Lone Star Division title in the regular season and a run to the National Semifinals in the postseason. The former League Two champion will make its eighth appearance in the tournament next year.

Little Rock Rangers (USL League Two)

USL League Two automatic bid

In its 10th season of existence, the Little Rock Rangers have become a formidable side in League Two. The Stags capped off their third consecutive Mid-South Division title with an unbeaten 10-0-2 record in the regular season. Despite failing to advance in the USL League Two Playoffs, Little Rock is through to the Tournament Proper for the third consecutive year and fourth time in club history.

Miami United FC (UPSL)

UPSL automatic bid

Miami United FC returns to the Tournament Proper for the fifth time in its last six tries, this time automatically qualifying as runners-up in the UPSL Spring National Championship. Miami United’s best finish in the Open Cup came in the 2024 edition of the tournament when the amateur outfit defeated a pair of professional opponents in Chattanooga FC and Club de Lyon FC before falling to Memphis 901 FC in the Third Round.

Minneapolis City SC (USL League Two)

USL League Two automatic bid

Bolstered by USL League Two Player of the Year and joint-USL League Two Golden Boot winner Nathan Donovan, the Crows of Minneapolis City SC flew to the top of League Two’s Heartland Division and finished perched atop the league’s regular season table with an unblemished 12-0-0 record, a league-leading 3.00 points per match and an eye-popping +40 goal differential. Despite falling short in postseason play, Minneapolis City’s perfect regular season confirmed its spot in the Tournament Proper for only the second time in club history and first since 2022.

New Haven United FC (NPSL)

NPSL automatic bid

After a strong first two seasons in the NPSL, New Haven United FC has booked its place in the Tournament Proper for the first time after advancing to the Semifinals of the NPSL National Playoffs in July. The nascent New Haven side owes much of its success on the pitch to rising talent Preston Alessio. A sophomore at the University of Connecticut, the Beacon Falls, Conn., native and former Gatorade Connecticut Boys Soccer Player of the Year was instrumental in New Haven’s special sophomore season, culminating in his 2026 NPSL Young Player of the Season recognition.

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Ocean City Nor'easters (USL League Two)

USL League Two automatic bid

The former professional outfit and historic South Jersey side is back in the Tournament Proper for the first time since 2023, bringing their total participations up to 12 dating back to 2002. The Ocean City Nor’easters were prolific in League Two this season, recording the league’s longest winning streak (12) and matching eventual champions Vermont Green FC for the most points in the regular season (40). Though the Nor’easters fell to Vermont in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the club’s seventh consecutive top-two finish in the Mid Atlantic Division was enough to secure an automatic berth into next year’s Tournament Proper.

Pensacola FC (The League for Clubs)

2026 The League for Clubs champion

Pensacola FC celebrates its first national title after defeating Iron Rose FC in The League for Clubs National Championship | Photo courtesy The League for Clubs

Pensacola FC secured The League for Clubs’ first auto-bid into the Tournament Proper, confirming its first Open Cup appearance after winning the league in July. At the league’s National Finals in Denton, Texas, Pensacola topped defending champions Metropolitan Oval Academyin the Semifinals before sneaking past Iron Rose FC after extra time in the Final. In its nearly 15 years of existence, 2027 will mark the first time Pensacola FC will participate in the Tournament Proper.

San Francisco City FC (USL League Two)

USL League Two automatic bid

One of the oldest supporter-owned clubs in the country has emerged from a soccer-saturated Bay Area to return to the Tournament Proper for just the third time in its 25 years of existence. Playing at historic Kezar Stadium, San Francisco City FC won its division and advanced to the USL League Two Playoffs for the first time in its decade-long League Two era. In 2026, the club was led by forward Dane Pendleton; the San José State University goalscorer was named League Two’s Western Conference Player of the Year thanks to his 15 goals and five assists across the regular season.

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Vermont Green FC (USL League Two)

2026 Hank Steinbrecher Cup champion, 2026 USL League Two champion

Vermont Green FC players lift their second consecutive USL League Two Final trophy | Photo courtesy Vermont Green FC

New England sensation Vermont Green FC has climbed the mountaintop once again, becoming the first back-to-back USL League Two champion since 2003 and fourth in the league’s 31-year history. The Green dominated the league from start to finish, winning the Northeast Division with an unbeaten 13-0-1 record and +52 goal differential before tearing through the postseason with a five-win burst featuring a +19 goal differential, four victories of four or more goals and three shutouts. Despite its emphatic summer in league play, Vermont had already locked up a spot in next year’s Tournament Proper thanks to a victorious Hank Steinbrecher Cup campaign that included a win on penalties against defending NPSL champions Hickory FC and a 4-1 triumph against reigning USASA Amateur Cup champions West Chester United SC in the Final.