MLS Next Pro Table & Standings – League

2026 Western Conference Standings

Austin FC II finished first in the Western Conference with 65 points from its 28 regular-season games.

The final Western Conference order began:

1. Austin FC II
2. Portland Timbers2
3. Ventura County FC
4. Houston Dynamo 2
5. MNUFC2
6. LAFC 2
7. St Louis CITY2
8. San Jose Earthquakes II
9. Tacoma Defiance

North Texas SC finished immediately below the play-in positions in 10th.

Austin FC II's 65-point season included 19 regulation wins, and the club also finished with the league's strongest goal difference at +33.

2026 Eastern Conference Standings

Crown Legacy FC finished first in the Eastern Conference with 58 points, narrowly ahead of Chattanooga FC on 56.

The top nine were:

1. Crown Legacy FC
2. Chattanooga FC
3. Atlanta United 2
4. Columbus Crew 2
5. New England Revolution II
6. New York City FC II
7. CT United FC
8. Red Bull New York II
9. Huntsville City FC

The Eastern race was especially tight around the postseason cut-off, with several clubs still competing for qualification on Decision Day.

Crown Legacy FC also led the league with 67 goals during the regular season and finished with a +28 goal difference.

How MLS NEXT Pro Standings Work

The MLS NEXT Pro standings use a points system that differs from most conventional professional soccer leagues.

A team receives:

3 points: Regulation win

1 point: Match level after regulation

If a regular-season match is tied after normal time, it goes to a penalty shootout.

Both clubs keep one point for the draw, while the shootout winner receives one additional point.

That means the possible points from a regular-season game are:

3 points for a regulation victory

2 points for a shootout victory after a draw

1 point for losing the shootout after a draw

0 points for a regulation defeat

This is one of the most important details to understand when reading the table.

Why MLS NEXT Pro Points Can Look Unusual?

Because of the shootout rule, a team's win-draw-loss record does not always explain its points total on its own.

For example, Austin FC II's published final record was 19-3-6 with 65 points. Nineteen regulation wins account for 57 points, while the additional points come from results among matches that finished level after regulation.

That is why simply applying a traditional three-points-for-a-win and one-for-a-draw calculation can produce the wrong total.

When checking the MLS NEXT Pro standings, the official points column should therefore be treated as the decisive number.

Eastern Conference vs Western Conference

The competition does not rank all 30 clubs solely through one universal postseason table.

Instead, clubs compete within the Eastern or Western Conference for playoff positioning.

This affects how you should interpret the standings.

A club ranked seventh in the Eastern Conference is competing against Eastern rivals for its postseason place.

A seventh-placed Western club is evaluated against the Western field.

Points totals can still be compared across conferences, but qualification and seeding depend on the relevant conference structure.

MLS NEXT Pro Playoff Standings

The MLS NEXT Pro standings directly determine access to the postseason.

For 2026, seven teams from each conference qualify automatically.

Those automatic places consist of the two division champions plus the next five clubs with the highest points totals within the conference.

That produces 14 automatic qualifiers across the league.

The final playoff places are then determined through the play-in round.

8th and 9th Place Play-In Positions

The 2026 postseason introduced a play-in round for the first time.

The clubs ranked eighth and ninth in each conference meet in a single-elimination game.

The winner becomes the final No. 8 seed in its conference.

In the East:

Red Bull New York II finished eighth

Huntsville City FC finished ninth

In the West:

San Jose Earthquakes II finished eighth

Tacoma Defiance finished ninth

This makes ninth place significantly different from 10th.

Ninth keeps a club alive through the play-in route.

Tenth ends the regular-season postseason pathway.

Why Seventh Place Matters?

Seventh is the final automatic qualification position under the 2026 system.

A club finishing seventh does not need to contest the No. 8 versus No. 9 play-in match.

That gives seventh place considerably more value than eighth even when the two teams are separated by only a single point.

For clubs approaching Decision Day, the difference between seventh and eighth can therefore mean the difference between direct postseason qualification and an additional elimination match.

Why Ninth Place Matters

Ninth is the final position that provides a postseason opportunity.

Teams below ninth are eliminated from playoff contention after the regular season.

That made the 2026 Western Conference finish particularly competitive, with Tacoma Defiance taking ninth on 41 points while North Texas SC finished 10th on 40.

A single standings point therefore separated continued postseason competition from elimination.

Division Champions and Playoff Seeding

The MLS NEXT Pro standings also interact with division championships.

For postseason qualification, division champions receive automatic playoff places.

In 2026, Crown Legacy FC secured the Southeast Division title while also finishing first in the Eastern Conference.

Conference seeding then determines which clubs receive the strongest positions entering the postseason selection process.

This makes the standings relevant beyond simple qualification.

Higher placement can influence hosting rights and postseason opponent selection.

Pick-Your-Opponent Format

MLS NEXT Pro uses an unusual Pick-Your-Opponent playoff mechanism.

For the 2026 Conference Quarterfinals, the No. 1 through No. 3 seeds select opponents from lower-seeded eligible teams, while the No. 4 seed hosts the remaining club.

The format also operates during the Conference Semifinals.

This gives regular-season position a practical postseason advantage.

Finishing higher can provide not only home-field benefits but also greater control over the next opponent.

Goal Differential

Goal differential is the second tiebreaker after regulation wins.

It is calculated by subtracting goals conceded from goals scored.

For example:

Goals scored: 50

Goals conceded: 35

Goal differential: +15

Austin FC II finished the 2026 regular season with the best goal differential in the league at +33. Crown Legacy FC followed with +28.

This illustrates why winning margins can still matter even after a club has effectively secured three points from a match.

Games Played in the 2026 Regular Season

Every club completed 28 regular-season matches in 2026.

Each team played:

14 home games

14 away games

The complete competition therefore contained 420 regular-season matches.

Because all clubs finished on the same number of games, the final standings can be compared directly without adjusting for games in hand.

During the season, however, temporary scheduling differences can still make matches played an important column.

MLS NEXT Pro Decision Day

The 2026 regular season concluded with Decision Day on September 20, 2026.

All 30 teams played on the final day, with Eastern Conference matches beginning simultaneously and Western Conference matches doing the same later that day.

Several playoff positions remained unresolved before those games.

The final results determined conference placement, automatic qualification and the clubs entering the new play-in round.

This made the final MLS NEXT Pro standings materially different from the table entering Decision Day.

Austin FC II's 2026 Regular Season

Austin FC II finished with the best regular-season record across the competition.

Their final line was:

65 points

19 regulation wins

3 losses

6 matches tied after regulation

The club also conceded only 21 goals and finished with a +33 goal difference, both important markers of its regular-season performance.

Those numbers explain why Austin entered the postseason as the No. 1 overall seed.

Crown Legacy FC's Eastern Conference Finish

Crown Legacy FC topped the Eastern Conference with 58 points.

Chattanooga FC finished only two points behind on 56, meaning the Eastern No. 1 seed remained competitive through the final matchday.

Crown Legacy also scored 67 goals, the highest total in the competition during the 2026 regular season.

The final table therefore reflects both a narrow conference race and one of the strongest attacking seasons in the league.

How to Read the Table Efficiently?

When checking the MLS NEXT Pro standings, focus on six columns first.

Position: Where the club ranks in its conference.

Points: The primary measure of qualification position.

Matches played: Essential before the season ends.

Regulation wins: Important because it is the first tiebreaker.

Goal differential: The next major separation criterion.

Conference cut-off: Shows whether the club is automatically qualified, in the play-in zone or eliminated.

This gives you the most useful information without requiring a full statistical analysis of every team.

Standings During the Regular Season

Before the regular season concludes, the MLS NEXT Pro standings can change quickly because of the competition's points structure.

A regulation victory adds three points.

A shootout victory adds two.

A shootout defeat still produces one.

A regulation defeat adds nothing.

This means a club can make progress even after a match finishes level in normal time.

It also means two teams with the same number of traditional wins and draws can still have different point totals depending on shootout outcomes.

Conference Standings and Team Development

Many MLS NEXT Pro clubs are affiliated with Major League Soccer organisations, but their conference position is still determined entirely by their MLS NEXT Pro regular-season performance.

The 2026 league contains 27 MLS-affiliated clubs and three independent teams: Carolina Core FC, Chattanooga FC and CT United FC.

Player movement between developmental and first-team environments does not alter how points are awarded.

Each MLS NEXT Pro match contributes according to the same regular-season scoring system.

2027 Competition Calendar Change

The 2026 standings also represent the final full season before a major calendar transition.

MLS NEXT Pro has announced a 2027 Sprint Season running from February through May, with each club scheduled to play 14 regular-season matches.

The league then plans to move to a summer-to-spring schedule beginning with the 2027/28 campaign.

This means the 2026 table should remain clearly identified as the 2026 regular-season standings rather than being mixed with the shorter 2027 transitional competition.

Follow MLS NEXT Pro Standings on SoccerMatchToday

Use SoccerMatchToday to check the MLS NEXT Pro standings and understand the playoff picture without mixing the competition with Major League Soccer.

The table helps you identify:

• Eastern Conference positions
• Western Conference positions
• League points
• Regulation wins
• Goal difference
• Division leaders
• Automatic playoff positions
• Play-in places
• Teams outside postseason qualification
• Final regular-season seeding

For individual completed scores, use the results section. For upcoming matches, use the fixture schedule. This page remains focused on conference position and what each team's points total means.