Monterey Bay FC surges in USL Championship Week 16 power rankings

Monterey Bay FC is making the USL Championship’s Week 16 rankings harder to dismiss. The club beat El Paso Locomotive FC 1-0 at Cardinale Stadium on Saturday night, extended its home winning streak to four for the first time in its five-season history, and was singled out as the hottest team in the league even while sitting last in the Western Conference.

The surge has given new head coach Alex Covello something measurable to sell. Covello’s first three matches produced three losses, including a 4-3 Prinx Tires USL Cup defeat to Athletic Club Boise after Monterey Bay twice led by two goals, but the response has been sharp. Monterey Bay has won four of its past five matches, and over that span the club has posted 8.38 expected goals, averaged 0.14 expected goals per shot and generated 1.68 expected goals per game while allowing only 1.11 expected goals per 90 minutes.

That split between results and standing is what makes the Week 16 table so interesting. Charleston Battery, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Orange County SC, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and Indy Eleven remained among the teams near the top end of the rankings, but Monterey Bay is the one team forcing the loudest re-evaluation. The points column still says last place in the West. The underlying performance, especially over the past five matches, says a club that has stopped bleeding and started climbing.

The broader 2026 backdrop adds even more weight to every weekly swing. The league is in its 16th season overall, its ninth under Division II sanctioning, and the race is unfolding across 25 teams in two conferences. That means there is little room to hide, and Monterey Bay’s latest run, backed by home results and improved shot quality, is arriving at exactly the right time to change how the rankings are read.

There is also no shortage of reminders that one hot stretch can alter the conversation fast. Charleston forward Colton Swan was voted USL Championship Player of the Month for May on June 11 after four goals and one assist in four appearances across all competitions, becoming the youngest winner in league history. Detroit City FC forward Darren Smith then turned Week 14/15 into a showcase of its own, scoring five times in a 6-2 win over Sporting Club Jacksonville and becoming only the second player ever to record a five-goal game in league history.

For the next two weeks, Monterey Bay is the club most likely to prove the Week 16 rankings right or wrong. If Covello’s group keeps producing chances at this rate, the last-place label will start looking increasingly flimsy.