Playoff situation for Florida Super League clubs
Jackson, boat is virtually a lock while Fort Lauderdale and Tampa Bay are close to elimination
With the regular season winding down toward the May 16 finale, the battle for the last two playoff spots has become a game of high-stakes musical chairs in the Gainbridge Super League. But it feels like the “cake is baked” already for all three Florida sides.
1. Sporting Club Jacksonville (1st Place, 37 pts)
Jacksonville is currently the gold standard of the league. After a dominant spring run, JAX barring a huge collapse has basically punched their ticket to the postseason. The style of play and their dominant ability to impose their “patterns of play” on the opposition make them Barcelona-like in this league. Quite frankly, they’re the best team I have seen in the two-year history of this league. At least in terms of quality of play.
The Situation: They sit atop the table with 37 points from 19 matches.
Key Factor: Their attack is the most feared in the league, led by Ashlyn Puerta (11 goals). Having basically secured a spot, their focus now shifts to clinching the Players’ Shield and ensuring home-field advantage for the semifinals. And continuing to deepen the player pool as the season wears on.
2. Fort Lauderdale United FC (8th Place, 19 pts)
Last year’s finalists are facing a much steeper climb in 2026. Currently sitting in 8th place, Fort Lauderdale is mathematically alive but needs a nearly perfect run to close the gap.
The Situation: They are 10 points back of the final spot with nine matches remaining
The Push: Under interim head coach Paul Jennison, the club recently launched a “Playoff Push” ticket package for their final five home games. They statistically have a high-powered offense (3rd-ranked in the league) but one which has disappeared of late. And defensive consistency has been their Achilles’ heel. Flipping goalkeepers constantly has also been pointless.
3. Tampa Bay Sun FC (9th Place, 15 pts)
The defending champions are in the midst of a “sophomore slump.” After a historic inaugural season where they lifted the trophy, the Sun find themselves at the bottom of the table.
The Situation: With only 15 points and only nine fixtures remaining, their chances of defending their title are slim.
The Silver Lining: Despite the standings, they remain a “spoiler” team. Goalkeeper Emory Wegener continues to put up elite numbers, and a late-season surge could still disrupt the seeding of the top four. But after last night’s thumping against Brooklyn FC, I am about ready to declare the Sun dead for this campaign.
Reminder About Format
The Gainbridge USL Super League follows a focused postseason structure:
Qualification: Only the top four teams in the single-table standings qualify.
Format: Single-elimination semifinals followed by a winner-take-all Final.
Hosting: The higher seed hosts each match. Last season Tampa Bay beat Fort Lauderdale in a 120-minute thriller they hosted. This season the odds of either making the postseason are astronomical.
Very small sample size admittedly, but an interesting case study in the relationship between lack of a salary cap/draft(s) and league parity.
Last year's finalists both at the bottom of the table and unlikely to even qualify for the playoffs, meanwhile #1 and #2 at the top are an expansion team (with no expansion draft or other special roster building mechanism in place) and Lexington who were easily last year's worst team.