Welcome back for a popularly demanded power ranking! There are twenty-seven teams in the USL, I've ranked them all, and I have no creativity: thus, a column name was born. I had intended to make this bi-weekly, but, hey, I'm a man of the people and have no life. Before I get into things, make sure that you check out The Fan Experience podcast on Phoenix Rising. I contribute a weekly news segment if you need a rapid catch-up on the USL amidst great discussion of the league's premier club. I also hit up Cue the Smoke to talk Indy and wrote a column on Mark Lowry's system. Anyway, let's dig in to rankings without further ado.
Title Contenders
1.) LOUISVILLE: Corben Bone is quietly putting together a fantastic, all-league caliber campaign yet again. The Indy match was a shade concerning in that the back three looked feckless, but Indy came out very motivated, and the Matsoso step up in the DM role proved an astute change that opened up their attack. Given the midweek dominance and those changes, they stay up top.
2.) TAMPA: The Hartford result was almost certainly a blip, and Tampa's number one in the league for xG right now. Still, on that goal to go down 1-0, you could see some adjustment happening in real time between Junior Etou and Jake LaCava. They, too, looked immense midweek, and I feel better about Antley as the central centerback every single match.
3.) SAN DIEGO: How good was Alejandro Guido against Phoenix? Dominant in the midfield as a defensive presence, brilliant threading through balls, and that goal was unreal. They looked flat on the road during the midweek, but I'm still taking them in a one-off against anyone in the West right now in a vacuum; watch that 10th-place xG differential though.
4.) COLORADO SPRINGS: This Colorado Springs team is so fun to watch right now. Their system is insanely fluid, featuring a fully-actualized Hadji Barry surrounded by a true deep creator in Cam Lindley, a weirdly roving Zach Zandi, and a dynamite right side. I was very, very close to putting them ahead of San Diego here.
5.) SACRAMENTO: How about that hard-pressing approach against Tulsa, and how about super-sub Duke Lacroix? Keko was lively, and the depth of this team really shone. Douglas Martinez is coming good in a major way, if not in the non-penalty goals arena. There's a lot to like here.
6.) TULSA: Brian Brown flashing holdup brilliance in the midweek was a big deal. I've been vocal about his decline as a finisher, but if he can bring the creative skillset with Da Costa, Rivas, Suarez, and the delightful Machuca running off of him, look out. They played Sacramento well, but Moloto's creativity was a huge miss.
Playoff Locks
7.) PITTSBURGH: That second half against Detroit was dispiriting for me. Wyatt Borso and Russell Cicerone, who were killer to start, couldn't find an inch. Yeah, that was a rotated squad on the road, and I still rate this team very highly, but I have a few questions about the quality of some of the new additions in terms of filling out a title contender.
8.) NEW MEXICO: Natural conservatism is stopping me from pushing New Mexico irresponsibly high right now. Neco Brett has been everything you could want; his gravity has opened up the pitch in a real way, and the wingbacks in Zach Prince's system have taken particular advantage. Also, long live Sam Hamilton, born-again central midfielder.
9.) SAN ANTONIO: David Loera has been lovely, Diedie Traore is super fun at left wingback, and the back three of Trainor, Garcia, and Manley is effectively impenetrable. Injuries are holding this team back a step, but they're already adept at grinding out results. This is a team to watch.
10.) PHOENIX: I'm a broken record here, but this Phoenix defense looks very bad. I had attributed the flaws to Manuel Madrid to a certain extent, but things weren't any better with James Musa at centerback. The counterpress that defined past iterations of the Rising is flat, and their fullbacks can't seem to do anything right positionally. For all that, their underlying numbers are quite strong. Hold the faith for now.
11.) BIRMINGHAM: I still want a bit more striker play out of this side, but Horvat was solid in his first real run out against a Switchbacks team that doesn't really let you sit in and cross. The midfield is too disorganized defensively with Enzo Martinez in the pivot for my taste, and at what point does Jonathan Dean's tracking in the box become a problem?
On the Bubble
12.) LOUDOUN: I know I said it last week, but hot damn Sami Guediri is amazing. He slides inside with the utmost intelligence, and it's delightful. Shoutout to that back three, by the way. Sargis is familiar to USL fans, but Grant Lillard has been stronger defensively, and Rio Hope-Gund looks fantastic off the back of a fairly storied college career.
13.) ORANGE COUNTY: Mikko Kuningas couldn't be more crucial to this team's tactical approach right now. He's served as a shuttling wingback in a 3-5-2 or an industrious, line-stretching forward in a 3-4-3 after playing as a defensive wide man during the title run. I honestly didn't love his game in 2021, but I'm seeing it this season
14.) MIAMI: Florian Valot was a ball of energy playing as a #10 off of Romeo Parkes in a slightly adapted 4-4-2 against Loudoun. I'm already dying to see him alongside Kyle Murphy. Miami looked strong early in their game, but they still feel a bit static to me.
15.) DETROIT: Trevor James is good at this coaching thing, huh? Two straight games have seen Detroit grab the match by the scruff of the neck after the break. This time, the edge came through high wingback play that exploited Pittsburgh's aggressive wingers. Deklan Wynne, in particular, has shown with full run in 2022. Sorry Phoenix...
16.) MEMPHIS: Memphis legitimately outclassed a weird, fun Las Vegas team with solid organization and varied buildup. They moved away from the back three into a back four in order to use a double pivot, and it kept them ticking versus the manic Lights press. Aaron Molloy is so, so legit.
17.) EL PASO: How brutal has the start to the season been in El Paso? The whole booing thing with Evan Newton really rubs me the wrong way, especially given the shambolic centerback play that's hanging him out to dry. Diego Abarca is somehow another teenage prodigy in the midfield at least?
18.) LAS VEGAS: This time is fine, at a minimum, and that beats my expectations for this club by a mile. Trejo, Jennings, and Muskovi form a surprisingly hard-nosed and dynamic front three, and their rotation-plagued back four has been great too. The dual Romero goalkeeping rotation beats last season's calamities by a mile as well. Good stuff, even if the off-the-field component is still lacking.
19.) INDY: Indy looked genuinely transformed in the LIPAFC matchup this weekend. I had complained about their midfield holes and lacking forward pressue in defense and their poor buildout in attack; both were answered by a flattened midfield and better fullback play. Justin Ingram is a find.
Down Bad
20.) LOS ANGELES: The RGV game was wildly competent for Los Angeles. Liam Doyle is so great at this team's spine, backing up an underrated Davila-Aguirre pivot. Aguirre is my early-season GAR leader; he's been solid box-to-box. This team isn't really good, per se, but they're competitive.
21.) HARTFORD: I don't like the teal adjacent new color scheme, but their 4-1-4-1 with McGlynn and Andre Lewis in the middle is safe in possession. Danny Barrera is misplaced on the wing in a direct, chippy side, but they, too, can give you a solid game.
22.) RIO GRANDE VALLEY: Jonathan Ricketts is bright, Dylan Borczak surprisingly consistent, and Emilio Ycaza endlessly progressive. Um, end praise, I guess? RGV can hardly get anything offensive down the middle, and it's hurting them badly.
23.) NEW YORK: New York got wholly outclassed at midweek, but I still think that this team is on the fringe of competitiveness. Give me more Jeremy Rafanello! I know that's hard when this team is in their own half for three-quarters of every match, but it stinks seeing Jake Lacava shine while Rafanello hardly gets a touch in space.
24.) MONTEREY: Off the schneid! Monterey's win against Oakland was hard-earned, and it all came through that right wing. Sam Gleadle was a menace from end to end, and Chase Boone constantly drifted from his nominal #10 or second striker role to interchange and find space in the channel.
25.) OAKLAND: The Oakland attack is fairly awful right now, but I'll shout out Ottar Karlsson for a second straight week. Still, just play the damn Diaz/Ward fullback pairing. Oakland is too dire not to keep things simple with their best personnel.
26.) ATLANTA: Jackson Conway will rightly capture the headlines for his hat trick, but Alex DeJohn at centerback and Mikey Ambrose at left back were every bit as crucial to solidifying Atlanta at the weekend. Good riddance in 2023 to MLS loanees suddenly turning bottom-feeders into able opponents, but I won't besmirch a 4-1 win.
27.) CHARLESTON: This ranking just makes me sad. Charleston took a lead on Atlanta by rectifying their asinine, route-one approach against Atlanta, but they ended up losing 4-1. I don't think the Battery are the most talented squad in the league by any stretch, but that Kilwien-Williams-Apodaca-Booth spine with Matt Sheldon in support is better than this.