MLS Next Pro

Not to be confused with MLS Next.

MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer. It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clubs and 2 independent clubs. MLS Next Pro is classified as part of the third tier of the United States soccer league system.^[1]

MLS Next Pro

Founded	June 21, 2021; 2 years ago (2021-06-21)
First season	2022
Country	United States
Other club(s) from	Canada
Confederation	CONCACAF
Number of teams	29
Level on pyramid	3
Domestic cup(s)	U.S. Open Cup
Current champions	Austin FC II (2023)
Current regular season title	Colorado Rapids 2 (2023)
TV partners	MLS Season Pass YouTube
Website	mlsnextpro.com
Current: 2024 MLS Next Pro season

History

On June 21, 2021, Major League Soccer announced the creation of a new professional league which would begin play in 2022. MLS has applied to the United States Soccer Federation for the league to be sanctioned as a Division III professional league, the same level currently occupied by USL League One and the National Independent Soccer Association and one level below the USL Championship.^[2] MLS announced that Next Pro would start with at least 20 teams, many of them owned by Major League Soccer and development teams between their first-teams and their youth academies.^[2] All MLS clubs with reserve teams in the USL Championship or USL League One initially planned to move those sides to MLS Next Pro by 2023. D.C. United's formerly owned-and-operated reserve team was sold to independent buyers.^[2]

The inaugural match of MLS Next Pro was played on March 25, 2022, at Hermann Stadium in St. Louis. St. Louis City SC 2 defeated Rochester New York FC 2–0. Wan Kuzain scored the first ever goal in the 20th minute.^[3][4][5]

The league makes use of unique rules such as all regular season draws being decided by penalty shootouts and the addition of concussion substitutions. On July 6, 2022, new rules for the league were introduced in the middle of the season. This included an off-field treatment rule meant to curb gamesmanship and timewasting and a new rule for red card suspensions: The suspension a player gets for getting a red card or two yellow cards in the same game will be served by the player when next playing against the same opponent.^[6]

Competition format

The league runs from spring to fall with the first season kicking off in March. Each team plays 28 regular-season games, which will be followed by an 14-team playoff tournament. The league is divided into Eastern and Western Conferences.^[7]

Unlike Major League Soccer, MLS Next Pro does not feature a salary cap, and player contracts are held by the teams and not by the league. Team rosters can have up to 24 professional players (not including amateur academy players) with a maximum of seven international players.^[8] An MLS Next Pro club's active roster contains up to 35 players, all of whom are eligible for selection to each official match roster during the MLS Next Pro season.^[9]

Teams

 

 

Atlanta

 

Austin

 

Carolina

 

Chattanooga

 

Connecticut

 

Charlotte

 

Chicago

 

Cincinnati

 

Cleveland

 

Colorado

 

Columbus

 

Houston

 

Huntsville

 

Miami

 

Jacksonville

 

LAFC2

 

LA Galaxy II

 

Minnesota

 

New England

 

NYCFC II

 

Red Bulls

 

North Texas

 

Orlando

 

Philadelphia

 

Portland

 

Salt Lake City

 

San Jose

 

Kansas City

 

St. Louis

 

Tacoma

 

Toronto

 

Whitecaps

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Locations of announced teams in MLS Next Pro

•   Eastern Conference
•   Western Conference
•   future teams

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity	Founded	Joined	Head coach	Affiliate
Eastern Conference
Northeast Division
Chicago Fire FC II	Bridgeview, Illinois	SeatGeek Stadium	20,000^[10]	2021	2022	Ludovic Taillandier	Chicago Fire FC
Columbus Crew 2	Columbus, Ohio	Historic Crew Stadium	19,968^[11]	2021	2022	Vacant	Columbus Crew
FC Cincinnati 2	Highland Heights, Kentucky	NKU Soccer Stadium	1,000^[12]	2021	2022	Tyrone Marshall	FC Cincinnati
New England Revolution II	Foxborough, Massachusetts	Gillette Stadium	20,000^[13]	2019	2022	Richie Williams	New England Revolution
New York City FC II	New York City, New York	Belson Stadium	2,168^[14]	2021	2022	Matt Pilkington	New York City FC
New York Red Bulls II	Montclair, New Jersey	MSU Soccer Park at Pittser Field	5,000^[15]	2015	2023	Ibrahim Sekagya	New York Red Bulls
Philadelphia Union II	Chester, Pennsylvania	Subaru Park	18,500^[16]	2015	2022	Marlon LeBlanc	Philadelphia Union
Toronto FC II	Toronto, Ontario	York Lions Stadium	4,000^[17]	2014	2022	Gianni Cimini	Toronto FC
Southeast Division
Atlanta United 2	Kennesaw, Georgia	Fifth Third Bank Stadium	8,318	2017	2023	Steve Cooke	Atlanta United FC
Carolina Core FC	High Point, North Carolina	Truist Point	4,500^[18]	2022	2024	Roy Lassiter	Independent
Chattanooga FC	Chattanooga, Tennessee	Finley Stadium	20,412	2009	2024	Rod Underwood	Independent
Crown Legacy FC	Matthews, North Carolina	Sportsplex at Matthews	5,000^[19]	2022	2023	José Tavares	Charlotte FC
Huntsville City FC	Huntsville, Alabama	Joe W. Davis Stadium	6,000^[20]	2022	2023	Jack Collison	Nashville SC
Inter Miami CF II	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	DRV PNK Stadium	18,000^[21]	2019	2022	Federico Higuaín	Inter Miami CF
Orlando City B	Kissimmee, Florida	Osceola County Stadium	5,300^[22]	2015	2022	Martín Perelman	Orlando City SC
Western Conference
Frontier Division
Austin FC II	Austin, Texas	Parmer Field	1,000	2022	2023	Brett Uttley	Austin FC
Colorado Rapids 2	Denver, Colorado	Dick's Sporting Goods Park (Commerce City) Denver Soccer Stadium	18,061 2,000	2021	2022	Erik Bushey	Colorado Rapids
Houston Dynamo 2	Houston, Texas	SaberCats Stadium	3,200^[23]	2021	2022	Kenny Bundy	Houston Dynamo FC
Sporting Kansas City II	Lawrence, Kansas	Rock Chalk Park Swope Soccer Village (Kansas City, MO)	2,500^[24] 1,500^[25]	2015	2022	Benny Feilhaber	Sporting Kansas City
Minnesota United FC 2	Saint Paul, Minnesota	Allianz Field National Sports Center (Blaine)	19,400^[26] 5,500^[27]	2021	2022	Vacant	Minnesota United FC
North Texas SC	Arlington, Texas	Choctaw Stadium	48,114^[28]	2018	2022	John Gall	FC Dallas
St. Louis City SC 2	St. Louis, Missouri	CityPark	22,423	2021	2022	Bobby Murphy	St. Louis City SC
Pacific Division
LA Galaxy II	Carson, California	Dignity Health Track Stadium	2,000^[29]	2014	2023	Matt Taylor	LA Galaxy
Los Angeles FC 2	Fullerton, California	Titan Stadium	10,000^[30]	2023	2023	Junior Gonzalez	Los Angeles FC
Portland Timbers 2	Portland, Oregon	Providence Park^[31]	25,218^[32]	2014	2022	Shannon Murray	Portland Timbers
Real Monarchs	Herriman, Utah	Zions Bank Stadium	5,000^[33]	2014	2022	Mark Lowry	Real Salt Lake
San Jose Earthquakes II	San Jose, California	PayPal Park	18,000^[34]	2021	2022	Dan DeGeer	San Jose Earthquakes
Tacoma Defiance	Tukwila, Washington	Starfire Sports Complex	4,500^[35]	2014	2022	Hervé Diese	Seattle Sounders FC
Whitecaps FC 2	Burnaby, British Columbia	Swangard Stadium	5,228^[36]	2021	2022	Ricardo Clark	Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Future teams

Team^[37]	Location	Stadium	Capacity	Founded	Joining	Affiliate
Connecticut United FC	Bridgeport, Connecticut	New Waterfront Stadium	10,000	2024	2025^[38]	Independent
Jacksonville Armada FC	Jacksonville, Florida	New Eastside Stadium	2,500	2013	2025
Cleveland Pro Soccer	Cleveland, Ohio	TBD		2022	2026^[39]

Former teams

Club	City	Stadium	Capacity	Founded	Joined	Last season	Affiliate
Rochester New York FC	Brighton, New York	John L. DiMarco Field	1,500^[40]	1996	2022	2022	Independent

Timeline

League member Former member Future member Other leagues

Champions

Season	Playoff champions	Regular season champions
2022	Columbus Crew 2	Columbus Crew 2
2023	Austin FC II	Colorado Rapids 2

Finals

Year	Winner	Score	Runner-Up	Venue	MVP	Attendance	Ref.
2022	Columbus Crew 2	4–1	St. Louis City SC 2	Lower.com Field	Marco Micaletto (CC2)	7,446	^[41]
2023	Austin FC II	3–1	Columbus Crew 2	Lower.com Field	Valentin Noël (AU2)	7,500	^[42]

See also

• MLS Next
• MLS Reserve League (2005–2014)

References

1. Straus, Brian (December 6, 2021). "MLS Next Pro Adds Another Element to U.S. Soccer's Ever-Evolving Lower Club Tier". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
2. Bonagura, Kyle (June 21, 2021). "Major League Soccer to launch development league in 2022". ESPN. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
3. Schneider, Jacob (March 24, 2022). "St Louis CITY2 hosts RNY FC in Inaugural MLS NEXT Pro Match". mlsnextpro.com. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
4. "Match Report: stlvsroc 03-25-2022". mlsnextpro.com. March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
5. Schneider, Jacob (March 25, 2022). "Historic Day in St. Louis as CITY2 beats RNY FC to begin the inaugural MLS NEXT Pro campaign". mlsnextpro.com. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
6. "MLS NEXT PRO IMPLEMENTING TWO NEW COMPETITION RULES FOR SECOND HALF OF INAUGURAL SEASON". MLS Next Pro. July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
7. "MLS NEXT Pro unveils 21 clubs for inaugural season starting March 2022". mlssoccer. December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
8. Rueter, Jeff (January 14, 2022). "MLS Next Pro to have no salary cap, other key differences from MLS structure, sources say". The Athletic. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
9. "2022 MLS NEXT PRO Roster Guidelines". MLS Next Pro. January 31, 2022. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
10. . Toyota Park. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
11. "Historic Crew Stadium". www.ColumbusSports.org. Greater Columbus Sports Commission. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
12. "NKU Soccer Stadium". Northern Kentucky University Athletics. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
13. . revolutionsoccer.net. March 8, 2012. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2013.
14. "BELSON STADIUM". www.RedStormSports.com. St. John's University. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
15. "MSU Soccer Park". www.MontclairAthletics.com. Montclar State University. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
16. "About Talen Energy Stadium". philadelphiaunion.com. from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
17. "York Lions Stadium Conversion". www.YorkU.CA. York University. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
18. "Ball Park A-Z". High Point Rockers. 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
19. "Mecklenburg County Sportsplex at Matthews". www.MatthewsNC.gov. Town of Matthews, NC. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
20. Brazelton, Dave (May 19, 2023). "Huntsville businesses benefit from new Joe Davis Stadium". WAAY 31 ABC. Huntsville, AL. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
21. "Inter Miami increases DRV PNK Stadium capacity for Lionel Messi's debut". as.com. MLS Digital. Archived from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
22. "Osceola County Stadium". www.OHPark.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
23. "Sabercats Stadium". www.HoustonSabercats.com. Houston Sabercats. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
24. "Rock Chalk Park". www.TravelKS.com. Kansas Tourism. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
25. "Swope Soccer Village". KCParks.org. Kansas City Parks & Recreation. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
26. "Stadium Facts". www.MNUFC.com. Minnesota United. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
27. "NSC Stadium".
28. Sullivan, T. R. (October 30, 2012). . Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Archived from the original on May 10, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
29. "About Dignity Health Sports Park". www.DignityHealthSportsPark.com. Dignity Health Sports Park. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
30. "Titan Stadium". Retrieved October 8, 2018.
31. Timbers2, Portland. "Portland Timbers2". Portland Timbers2. Retrieved August 30, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
32. "Providence Park Stadium". www.Portland.gov. City of Portland. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
33. Meyer, Taran (April 25, 2018). "Zions Bank Stadium Provides Unique Soccer Experience". www.RSL.com. Real Salt Lake. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
34. "Quakes announce groundbreaking date for new Stadium" (Press release). San Jose Earthquakes. August 25, 2012. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
35. "Outdoor Fields". www.StarFireSports.com. Star Fire Sports. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
36. . Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Archived from the original on April 11, 2009. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
37. "Seven MLS Affiliated Clubs To Join MLS Next Pro In 2023". mlsnextpro. August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
38. "CONNECTICUT AWARDED MLS NEXT PRO EXPANSION TEAM". CTUnited.com. Connecticut United. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
39. "Cleveland's MLS NEXT Pro Team". Cleveland Pro Soccer. 2023. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
40. Reuter, Jeff (March 10, 2023). "Jamie Vardy's U.S. club Rochester New York FC ceases operations". The Athletic. San Francisco, California. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
41. Tellitud, Jesus (October 8, 2022). "Columbus Crew 2 hoist MLS NEXT Pro Cup with 4-1 win over St Louis CITY2". MLS Next Pro. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
42. "Austin FC II Defeats Defending Champion Columbus Crew 2 To Win 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Cup". MLS Next Pro. October 22, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2022.

External links

• Official website