THIS LEAGUE! 20 QUESTIONS MEGA-PREVIEW The Championship (probably) kicks off this week, and we're diving deep. Come in, drop comments, and get ready for the action. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCQB...

The 2026 USL Championship preview is live! Come see where your club lands, featuring…. 🔄 Major transfers ⚽️ Tactical outlooks 👤 Depth charts 🏆 Standings predictions All that, in-depth on Backheeled.

If you're a USL fan — or if you're trying to become one! — @backheeled.com's team-by-team previews are a great resource. Transfers. Expectations. Tactics. Stars. Depth charts. And more...for every team in the Championship. Read ⤵️ www.backheeled.com/usl-champion...

25 USL Championship teams, 25 previews. Read up on your favorite team with @usltactics.com’s in-depth 2026 USL previews 🔮 Depth charts, tactics, expectations, and more for each and every team ⤵️

Need to get ready for the USL Championship season? This is the place to do it. My team-by-team preview is up now, with nearly 30,000 words covering the transfer moves, tactical outlook, and depth chart for all 25 Championship clubs. Check in! ⬇️ www.backheeled.com/usl-champion...

All 25 USL Championship team previews for the 2026 season are live on Backheeled.com 👀 It’s @usltactics.com's guide to the new season, complete with depth charts, tactics, and questions — all in one place. 𝗨𝗻𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗨𝗦𝗟 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 ⤵️

We also caught up with @usltactics.com to discuss what seems to be an opening pipeline from USL to MLS. www.youtube.com/watch?v=u84F...

USL Over/Under Predictions. @theuslshow.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/statrobo...

A true delight to contribute to Nicholas’ previews for the USL site for the fourth(!) consecutive year.

Do you know League One ball? Prove it by filling out the form below! Just like the Championship, we will release results on Tuesday morning and discuss it all that night! LINK 🔗⬇️ forms.gle/a4eDzkFimJBj...

Backheeled's 2026 USL season previews — each and every team covered in detail, from depth charts to tactics to expectations. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸. 🔜 backheeled.com/#/portal/signup

Get those Backheeled subscriptions fired up, because USL preview week is coming. The Championship mega-preview drops on Monday, and then League One arrives Tuesday. Between them, you're getting 45,000+ words covering every single team in the USL. www.backheeled.com#/portal/signup

The ramifications of the USL model are an important topic on their own, and they’re impossible to extricate from the strike authorization we saw from the USLPA today. I dig in here.

BREAKING: The USLPA has authorized its bargaining committee to call a strike unless an agreement w/the USL can be reached on a new CBA for players in the USL-Championship. 90% of eligible members took part in the vote, w/ 90% of votes in favor of authorizing a strike. www.espn.com/soccer/story...

I can’t stop thinking about that third kit

The USL is expanding at a breakneck pace — and expansion fees stay at privately owned USL HQ. USL teams are folding at a breakneck pace. There's an incentive problem here. An essential piece on the USL + lower-division U.S. soccer from @usltactics.com.

While teams fold, the USL is cashing expansion fees. A privately owned league without revenue-sharing, the USL has an incentive to keep expanding without fully vetting new owners. Read @usltactics.com on a business model — and a league — at a crossroads ⤵️

we can now embed live depth charts into stories over at @backheeled.com, which is pretty slick! fun use of this new feature from @benwright.bsky.social in his excellent new weekly column ➡️ www.backheeled.com/how-mls-team...

Former MLS 1st Round Draft Choice Abdel Talabi Spotted in Monterey Bay FC Camp. medium.com/the-union-re... #soccer #sports #mbfc #usl #uslchampionship #footy #football

USL SHOW EASTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WUH...

Agree? Disagree? Let us know LIVE at 9pm ET/6pm PT on YouTube, Twitch, or your favorite podcast player tomorrow morning!

Give our friends at Backheeled a listen. Audio is goofy at first but resolves around 11:00

THIS LEAGUE! IS LIVE Come check in as we finish previewing the Western Conference. ⬇️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh0D...

Sacramento Republic has hired Tim Holt as the club’s new president and GM to replace Todd Dunivant, sources tell @joeclowery.bsky.social. Holt served as San Antonio FC managing director when they won two trophies in the USL Championship in 2022. More details ⤵️

As promised: www.statesboroherald.com/sports/torme...

NEWSLETTER: Jacksonville has been a mystery this winter, but we learned a lot about their intentions in a Saturday friendly against Charleston. I over-analyze that, plus looks at Madison’s rebuild and the Super League weekend. www.usltactics.com/the-back-fou...

Sources: The Philadelphia Union and Brooklyn FC are finalizing a loan deal for CJ Olney. Olney, 19, made one senior appearance and totaled 70 games with Union II, scoring 13 goals and adding 27 assists. #doop Cc: @joeclowery.bsky.social @usltactics.com 📸: Don Robson

🚨EMERGENCY LIVE SHOW TONIGHT🚨 9pm ET/6pm PT Reports are saying that South Georgia Tormenta FC are going on hiatus for 2026. We are sitting down to discuss what that means for the Statesboro side.

Do what you will with preseason performances, but Jacksonville looks like they're going to be *very* direct. The Sadlier-Luckhurst-AlQaq front line is giving Charleston fits as the sharp end of that spear.

With just 14 days until the new USL League One season, club South Georgia Tormenta has shut down, sources tell @usltactics.com. Days ago, Tormenta owner Darin Van Tassell told staff to “stay focused and stay positive." Now yet another USL team has ceased operations. Details ⤵️

Per sources, South Georgia Tormenta won't be participating in the 2026 USL League One season, and that's creating an unprecedented situation for the league. I dig into the troubles that came to a head in Statesboro and what that means for the USL. www.backheeled.com/sources-usl-...

BREAKING: per multiple sources, South Georgia Tormenta will not be fielding a team in 2026. Signed players to enter a draft, or take severance pay.

🤝 BREAKING: Lexington SC have signed goalkeeper Johan Peñaranda, sending a transfer fee to FC Tulsa, sources tell me and @usltactics.com. Peñaranda, 26, started 25 games for Tulsa last year in their West-topping USL season. Move gives Tulsa flexibility, Lexington quality.

NEWS: FC Tulsa goalkeeper Johan Penaranda will join Lexington SC via transfer, sources tell me and @joeclowery.bsky.social. Penaranda posted a stellar +4.9 goals prevented mark on a 72% save rate while with Tulsa, and he gives LSC another starting-level option entering the 2026 season.

Backheeled's all-new MLS depth charts are live 👀 Projected XIs. Backup plans. New signings. Displayed in an easy-to-consume format for all 30 teams — and updated all season long. Dive into MLS at a whole new level ⤵️ www.backheeled.com/mls-depth-ch...

Great as always from Nicholas, and I’m in lockstep relative to Nick Gordon. He was sneakily elite in his first USL season, and it feels like Monterey needs him to get even better as they settle into 2026.

🗣️Think You Know Ball? It's time to let your thoughts be known about our EASTERN CONFERENCE and what you know for a fact will happen in 2026! Fill the link out down below! 🔗⬇️ forms.gle/7k1PVeztNzin...

Calheira is as complete a forward as you can find in the lower leagues. I’ve rarely been as confident in a player successfully making the USL-to-MLS jump.

I can confirm this report and add: Minnesota United had an offer for Taylor Calheira rejected by FC Tulsa, per sources. Sporting Kansas City traded with Minnesota to acquire Calhera’s discovery rights + got a deal done with Tulsa. Savvy pickup by SKC.

ICYMI: I spoke to execs from Orange County SC and the Charleston Battery to see how USL clubs have become major players in the youth market.

The USL Show is ✨live✨ talking all things Western Conference as we begin our 2026 previews! Tune in... www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk1T...

LIVE IN ONE HOUR! See you there!

Pedro Guimaraes’ move from Orange County SC to Frankfurt was another example of the USL’s burgeoning role in the youth market – but what’s the process behind that success? I spoke to executives from OCSC and the Charleston Battery to find out. ⬇️ www.backheeled.com/how-usl-club...

Pedro Guimaraes’ move from Orange County SC to Frankfurt was another example of the USL’s burgeoning role in the youth market – but what’s the process behind that success? I spoke to executives from OCSC and the Charleston Battery to find out. ⬇️ www.backheeled.com/how-usl-club...

Some USL clubs are finding success as an MLS alternative for young players, writes @usltactics.com. "So many top players...just don't have enough first team opportunities." Here's how the USL is filling a hole in the U.S. soccer landscape. Read ⤵️

Some day I will remember This League! is live on Mondays, but today was not that day. Catch up on the recording with me. www.youtube.com/live/rbHKNwn...

Reminder: This League! goes live at 7 ET to start previewing the Western Conference ahead of the 2026 season. Be there, drop questions, etc. etc. youtube.com/@backheeled?...

So, hey, the #USL-C season kicks off in three weeks, so we're starting to roll out preseason content today. These next two weeks, I'm taking a look at players by position that should have an impact in the upcoming campaign, starting with Goalkeepers. www.uslchampionship.com/news_article...

Come predict the Western Conference ahead of our USL Show preview tomorrow!