List of top level minor league sports teams in the United States by city

This article features a listing of the top level professional minor league sports teams based in the United States. The minor leagues listed below also include five teams in Canada (one in the NBA G League and four in the American Hockey League). Triple-A minor league baseball has two leagues in the International League and Pacific Coast League. The United States Soccer Federation has had one top level league since 2018, when the league then known as the United Soccer League, now the USL Championship (USLC), was promoted to a Division II status after a provisional year with two Division II leagues. The North American Soccer League (NASL) contested their loss of Division II sanctioning but lost the case, canceling its 2018 season before effectively folding. There are no affiliated minor leagues for American or Canadian football as most of its recruiting is done through college football, and minor football leagues do not historically have long lifespans before folding.

Teams that will join a league for a future season are indicated in italics.

Rank[lower-alpha 1] Metropolitan area Triple-A Baseball[lower-alpha 2] NBA G League American Hockey League USL Championship
1New YorkLong Island Nets
Westchester Knicks
New York Red Bulls II
Queensboro FC
2Los AngelesSouth Bay LakersLA Galaxy II
Orange County SC
3ChicagoWindy City BullsChicago Wolves
4Dallas–Fort Worth, TexasTexas Legends
5Houston, TexasSugar Land Skeeters (PCL)
6Washington, D.C.Capital City Go-GoLoudoun United FC
7Miami, FloridaMiami FC
8Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaDelaware Blue Coats
9Atlanta, GeorgiaGwinnett Stripers (IL)College Park SkyhawksAtlanta United 2
10Phoenix, ArizonaNorthern Arizona Suns[lower-alpha 3]Phoenix Rising FC
12San Francisco-Oakland-BerkeleyOakland Roots SC
13Inland EmpireAgua Caliente ClippersOntario Reign
Palm Springs
14Detroit, MichiganMotor City Cruise[lower-alpha 3]
15Seattle, WashingtonTacoma Rainiers (PCL)Tacoma Defiance
16Minneapolis–Saint PaulSt. Paul Saints
17San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego GullsSan Diego Loyal SC
18Tampa Bay, FloridaTampa Bay Rowdies
22Charlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte Knights (IL)Charlotte CheckersCharlotte Independence
24San Antonio, TexasSan Antonio FC
26Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento River Cats (PCL)Sacramento Republic FC[lower-alpha 4]
27Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh Riverhounds SC
28Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas Aviators (PCL)Henderson Silver KnightsLas Vegas Lights FC
29Austin, TexasRound Rock Express (PCL)Austin SpursTexas StarsAustin Bold FC
31Kansas CitySporting Kansas City II
32Columbus, OhioColumbus Clippers (IL)
33Indianapolis, IndianaIndianapolis Indians (IL)Indy Eleven
34Cleveland, OhioCleveland Monsters
35San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CaliforniaSan Jose Barracuda
36Nashville, TennesseeNashville Sounds (PCL)
37Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VirginiaNorfolk Tides (IL)
38Providence, Rhode IslandProvidence Bruins
39Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee Admirals
40Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
41Oklahoma CityOklahoma City Dodgers (PCL)Oklahoma City BlueOKC Energy FC
42Raleigh-Durham, North CarolinaDurham Bulls (IL)
43Memphis, TennesseeMemphis Redbirds (PCL)Memphis HustleMemphis 901 FC
46Louisville, KentuckyLouisville Bats (IL)Louisville City FC
47Salt Lake City, UtahSalt Lake Bees (PCL)Salt Lake City StarsReal Monarchs
48Hartford, ConnecticutHartford Wolf PackHartford Athletic
49Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo Bisons (IL)
50Birmingham, AlabamaBirmingham[lower-alpha 5]Birmingham Legion FC
51Grand Rapids, MichiganGrand Rapids DriveGrand Rapids Griffins
52Rochester, New YorkRochester Red Wings (IL)Rochester Americans
53Tucson, ArizonaTucson Roadrunners
55Tulsa, OklahomaFC Tulsa
57Omaha, NebraskaOmaha Storm Chasers (PCL)
58Worcester, MassachusettsWorcester Red Sox (IL)
59Bridgeport, ConnecticutBridgeport Sound Tigers
61Albuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque Isotopes (PCL)New Mexico United
62Bakersfield, CaliforniaBakersfield Condors
65McAllen, TexasRio Grande Valley VipersRio Grande Valley FC Toros
69El Paso, TexasEl Paso Chihuahuas (PCL)El Paso Locomotive FC
70Lehigh ValleyLehigh Valley IronPigs (IL)Lehigh Valley Phantoms
74Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston Battery
75Greensboro, North CarolinaGreensboro Swarm
77Stockton–Lodi, CaliforniaStockton KingsStockton Heat
79Colorado SpringsColorado Springs Switchbacks FC
81Lakeland, FloridaLakeland Magic
83Des Moines, IowaIowa Cubs (PCL)Iowa WolvesIowa Wild
84Springfield, MassachusettsSpringfield Thunderbirds
90Syracuse, New YorkSyracuse Mets (IL)Syracuse Crunch
93Toledo, OhioToledo Mud Hens (IL)
98Harrisburg, PennsylvaniaHershey Bears
101Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PennsylvaniaScranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (IL)Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
105Portland, MaineMaine Red Claws
115Reno, NevadaReno Aces (PCL)
124Salinas, CaliforniaMonterey Bay FC
133Fort Wayne, IndianaFort Wayne Mad Ants
136Canton, OhioCanton Charge
150Fort Collins–Loveland, ColoradoColorado Eagles
153Rockford, IllinoisRockford IceHogs
169Utica, New YorkUtica Comets
178Santa Cruz, CaliforniaSanta Cruz Warriors
181Erie, PennsylvaniaErie BayHawks[lower-alpha 5]
182Sioux Falls, South DakotaSioux Falls Skyforce
194Binghamton, New YorkBinghamton Devils
248Oshkosh, WisconsinWisconsin Herd
  1. As of 2019
  2. Due to a reorganization of Minor League Baseball set to occur in 2021, the teams listed here should be considered tentative.
  3. The Northern Arizona Suns team had been announced as relocating to the Phoenix metro area for the 2020–21 season[1] before relocating to Detroit in 2021,[2] however, the team opted out of the bubble season entirely.
  4. After the 2022 season, Sacramento Republic FC will cease minor-league operations. The Sacramento Republic FC name will be transferred to a Major League Soccer team that will begin play in 2023.
  5. The team that began play as the Erie BayHawks in 2019 is scheduled to relocate to Birmingham in 2022 following arena renovations.

See also

References

  1. "NAZ Suns announce they are leaving Prescott Valley". Arizona Daily Sun. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  2. Beard, Rod (July 29, 2020). "Pistons buy G League team to play in Detroit for 2021-22; Grand Rapids Drive mull options". The Detroit News. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
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