The Western Conference is one of two conferences in the USL Championship, the second level of men's club soccer in the United States.

Current standings

PosTeamvtePldWLTGFGAGDPtsQualification
1FC Tulsa3016595030+2057Playoffs
2Sacramento Republic FC3013894427+1748
3New Mexico United30141064541+448
4El Paso Locomotive FC30109114745+241
5Phoenix Rising FC3098134848040
6San Antonio FC30111273938+140
7Orange County SC30101194445−139
8Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC30101373547−1237
9Lexington SC3091293142−1136
10Oakland Roots SC3081484252−1032
11Monterey Bay FC3071582745−1829
12Las Vegas Lights FC3061592350−2727

Members

Current

ClubCityStadium
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FCColorado Springs, ColoradoWeidner Field
El Paso Locomotive FCEl Paso, TexasSouthwest University Park
FC TulsaTulsa, OklahomaONEOK Field
Las Vegas Lights FCLas Vegas, NevadaCashman Field
Lexington SCLexington, KentuckyLexington SC Stadium
Monterey Bay FCSeaside, CaliforniaCardinale Stadium
New Mexico UnitedAlbuquerque, New MexicoIsotopes Park
Oakland Roots SCOakland, CaliforniaPioneer Stadium
Orange County SCIrvine, CaliforniaChampionship Stadium
Phoenix Rising FCPhoenix, ArizonaPhoenix Rising Soccer Stadium
Sacramento Republic FCSacramento, CaliforniaHeart Health Park
San Antonio FCSan Antonio, TexasToyota Field
Western Conference (USL Championship) is located in the United States
Locations of teams for the 2026 USL Championship season

Conference Lineups

Clubs timeline

Conference Member Club moved to Eastern Conference Club playing in different league Former clubs

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 (15 teams)

Changes from 2015: Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, the Swope Park Rangers and San Antonio FC were added as expansion franchises; Saint Louis FC moved in from the Eastern Conference; the Austin Aztex went on hiatus

2017 (15 teams)

Changes from 2016: Arizona United SC was renamed Phoenix Rising FC; the Orange County Blues was renamed Orange County SC; the Austin Aztex folded; Reno 1868 FC was added as an expansion franchise; Saint Louis FC moved out to the Eastern Conference

2018 (17 teams)

Changes from 2017: Fresno FC and Las Vegas Lights FC were added as expansion franchises; the Vancouver Whitecaps 2 folded; Saint Louis FC moved in from the Western Conference.

2019 (18 teams)

Changes from 2018: Austin Bold FC, El Paso Locomotive FC and the New Mexico United were added as expansion franchises.; Saint Louis FC and the Swope Park Rangers moved out to the Eastern Conference; Seattle Sounders FC 2 rebranded as Tacoma Defiance.

2020 (18 teams)

Group A (4 teams)

Group B (5 teams)

Group C (4 teams)

Group D (5 teams)

Changes from 2019: San Diego Loyal SC was added as an expansion franchise; the Tulsa Roughnecks were renamed FC Tulsa; Fresno FC was disbanded. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic the conference was split into four groups. Two groups of four and two groups of five.

2021 (15 teams)

Mountain Division

Pacific Division

Changes from 2020: The conference was divided into two divisions, Mountain and Pacific; Oakland Roots SC joined in from NISA: the Portland Timbers 2 was withdrawn by the MLS parent club; Reno 1868 FC was disbanded; Oklahoma City Energy and FC Tulsa moved out to the Eastern Conference.

2022 (13 teams)

Changes from 2021: The Mountain and Pacific divisions were dropped; Monterey Bay FC was added as an expansion franchise; the Real Monarchs and the Tacoma Defiance were withdrawn by their MLS parent clubs and moved to MLS Next Pro; Austin Bold FC went on hiatus; will move to a yet-to-be-named Texas city for the 2023 season.

2023 (12 teams)

Changes from 2022: The LA Galaxy II was withdrawn by their MLS parent club and moved to MLS Next Pro;

2024 (12 teams)

Changes from 2023: Rio Grande Valley FC Toros and San Diego Loyal SC folded. FC Tulsa and Memphis 901 FC moved from the Eastern Conference.

2025-2026 (12 teams)

Changes from 2024: Lexington SC joined from USL League One. Memphis 901 FC folded.

Western Conference Playoff champions by year

BoldUSL Champions
SeasonChampionsScoreRunners up
2015LA Galaxy II2–1OKC Energy FC
2016Swope Park Rangers3–0Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
2017Swope Park Rangers0–0 (7–6 PK)OKC Energy FC
2018Phoenix Rising FC2–1Orange County SC
2019Real Monarchs SLC2–1 (AET)El Paso Locomotive FC
2020Phoenix Rising FC1–1 (4–2 PK)El Paso Locomotive FC
2021Orange County SC1–1 (5–3 PK)San Antonio FC
2022San Antonio FC2–0Colorado Springs Switchbacks
2023Phoenix Rising FC2–1Sacramento Republic FC
2024Colorado Springs Switchbacks1–0Las Vegas Lights FC
2025FC Tulsa3–0New Mexico United

Western Conference regular season champions by year

BoldPlayers' Shield Champions
SeasonTeamRecordPlayoffs result
2015Orange County Blues14–9–5 (+4)Lost conference semifinals
2016Sacramento Republic FC14–10–6 (+16)Lost conference quarterfinals
2017Real Monarchs SLC20–5–7 (+28)Lost conference quarterfinals
2018Orange County SC20–8–6 (+30)Lost conference final
2019Phoenix Rising FC24–4–6 (+53)Lost conference semifinals
2020Reno 1868 FC11–2–3 (+22)Lost conference semifinals
2021Phoenix Rising FC20–5–7 (+33)Lost conference quarterfinals
2022San Antonio FC24–5–5 (+28)Won USL Championship
2023Sacramento Republic FC18–6–10 (+25)Lost conference final
2024New Mexico United18–11–5 (+2)Lost conference semifinals
2025FC Tulsa16–9–5 (+20)Lost finals

See also