One Knoxville SC

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One Knoxville SC
Full nameOne Knoxville Sporting Club
Founded2021; 4 years ago (2021)
StadiumCovenant Health Park
Knoxville, Tennessee
Capacity6,355
OwnerDrew McKenna
Head CoachIan Fuller
LeagueUSL League One
20245th of 12
Playoffs: Quarterfinals
Websiteoneknoxsc.com

One Knoxville Sporting Club is an American soccer team based in Knoxville, Tennessee, that competes in USL League One, the third tier of the United States soccer league system. They play their home matches at Covenant Health Park, a multi-use stadium designed for soccer and baseball, alongside the Knoxville Smokies, a minor league baseball team for the Chicago Cubs.

History

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USL League Two

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The club was initially unveiled as Knox Pro Soccer starting as a semi-professional USL League Two club with the goal to eventually move to the professional USL League One in the future.[1] The official name for the team, One Knoxville Sporting Club, was announced on July 15, 2021.[2] The official crest for the team, designed by artist Matthew Wolff, was unveiled on August 19, 2021.[3] Mark McKeever was appointed as the club's first ever head coach on January 13, 2021.[4]

The team made their USL2 debut on May 14, 2022 hosting Asheville City SC,[5] where they were defeated by a score of 2–1 in front of 2200 spectators.[6] They recorded their first victory in their next match on May 17, defeating the Tri-Cities Otters by a score of 1–0.[7] In their inaugural season, they won the South Central Division, with an 11–1–2 record, advancing to the playoffs.[8][9] After winning their first two playoff rounds, the club was defeated by North Carolina Fusion U23 in the South Conference Finals (league quarterfinals).[10]

One Knoxville SC and Lexington SC compete at Regal Stadium in Knoxville.
One Knoxville SC home game versus Central Valley Fuego FC

USL League One

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On October 20, 2022, it was announced that the club would move up to the fully professional level, joining USL League One.[11] The club also announced that all of the team's 15 home games would by played at Regal Stadium, home of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers.[12]

The club announced their first professional signing on December 12, 2022, forward Ilija Ilić, who will also serve as assistant coach.[13]

The club scored its first ever professional win with a 2–1 victory over Lexington SC.[14] Midfielder Jimmie Villalobos scored the team's first ever professional goal.[15]

On April 26, 2025, One Knoxville SC set the record for largest home attendance for a USL League One club across all competitions with 6,378 fans in attendance for a match against FC Tulsa in the opening round of the USL Jägermeister Cup.[16]

Women's team

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On March 8, 2025, the club announced the addition of a women's team, which would complete in its inaugural season in the USL W-League beginning that year.[17] Simon Duffy, the women's soccer coach at Carson-Newman University, was hired to lead the new women's soccer team.

Stadium

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During their inaugural season as a club, they used temporary homes through local high school and colleges, specifically Austin East High School, Knoxville Catholic High School, and Maryville College.

Regal Soccer Stadium (2023-24)

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Main article: Regal Soccer Stadium

During their first and second seasons of being in USL League One, they played at Regal Soccer Stadium, home of the Tennessee Lady Volunteers' soccer program. The stadium has a capacity of 3,000 fans. The club achieved their attendance record against Lexington SC, where 2,512 fans attended on March 18, 2023.

Covenant Health Park (2025-present)

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Main article: Covenant Health Park

Since the 2025 season, the team has played at Covenant Health Park alongside the Knoxville Smokies, a minor league baseball team. The stadium was designed to convert between soccer and baseball and includes a retractable pitcher's mound.[18]

Supporters

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The Scruffs are an independent supporters group for One Knoxville. The group's name is a reference to Scruffy City, a commonly used nickname for Knoxville from the 1982 World's Fair.[19][20]

Rivalries

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The Battle of the Barrel (Lexington SC)

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Lexington SC and One Knoxville joined USL League One as expansion sides together in 2023. The rivalry stems from the Kentucky–Tennessee rivalry as Lexington is home to the University of Kentucky and Knoxville is home to the University of Tennessee.[21] The rivalry name comes from the old name for the matchup between Kentucky and Tennessee in college football where a beer barrel trophy was presented to the winner.[22]

The reported trophy for the winner on aggregate score at the end of the USL1 season is "a full-size whiskey barrel and a bottle of bourbon from a distiller located in the losing club's locale."[23] Despite this, neither fan group has yet to see such a prize as of the start of the 2024 season.

Season Date Competition Stadium Home team Result Away team Goal scorers Attendance Series Ref
2023 March 18 USL1 Regal Soccer Stadium One Knoxville SC 2–1 Lexington SC (KNX) Villalobos 17' (pen.), Keegan 40'

(LEX) Smart 28' (pen.)

2,512 KNX 1–0–0 [24]
May 27 Toyota Stadium (Kentucky) Lexington SC 1–1 One Knoxville SC (LEX) Brown 43' (Robertson)

(KNX) Keegan 66' (Leinhos)

2,282 KNX 1–1–0 [24]
August 18 Regal Soccer Stadium One Knoxville SC 1–0 Lexington SC (KNX) Kelly-Rosales 49' (Crisler) 2,522 KNX 2–1–0 [24]
2024 March 23 USL1 One Knoxville SC 2-0 Lexington SC (KNX) Castro Jr 70' (Kelly-Rosales)

Ritchie 88' (Ballard)

1,975 KNX 3-1-0 [25]
June 8 USL Jägermeister Cup One Knoxville SC 2-0 Lexington SC Crisler 50' (Johnson)

Ross 75' (Ritchie)

1,955 KNX 4-1-0 [26]
August 10 USL Jägermeister Cup Toyota Stadium (Kentucky) Lexington SC 0-0

5-3

One Knoxville SC The match ended in a 0–0 draw.

Lexington won the penalty shoot-out 5–3 for the extra point in the Central Group standings

1,173 KNX 4-2-0 [27]

Smoky Mountain Series (Asheville City SC)

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As members of USL League Two and of the league's South Central Division, the two clubs created a rivalry called the Smoky Mountain Series. The series was won by head to head matches, and the tiebreaker being aggregate score. One Knoxville SC won the 2022 Smoky Mountain Series from a 4-3 aggregate win.[28] Since One Knoxville SC has promoted to USL League One, there is no way for these teams to meet again except the U.S. Open Cup, which happened in 2024.

Season Date Competition Stadium Home team Result Away team Attendance Series Ref
2022 May 14 USL2 Austin East High School One Knoxville SC 1–2 Asheville City SC 2,200 ACSC 1–0–0 [29]
June 21 Memorial Stadium Asheville City SC 1–3 One Knoxville SC ? Tied 1–1–0 [30]
2024 March 20 2024 U.S. Open Cup Greenwood Field Asheville City SC 0–2 One Knoxville SC 1,115 KNX 2–1–0 [31]

Although the men no longer regularly participate in the rivalry, the rivalry has continued onto the women's side. With the expansion of One Knoxville SC to USL W League, the clubs are now divisional rivals.

Season Date Competition Stadium Home team Result Away team Attendance Series Ref
2025 May 14 USLW Covenant Health Park One Knoxville SC 0–1 Asheville City SC ? ACSC 1–0–0 [1]
June 21 Greenwood Field Asheville City SC 2–0 One Knoxville SC ? ACSC 2–0–0 [32]

Players and staff

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Current roster

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As of August 10, 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK United States USA Sean Lewis
2 DF England ENG James Thomas
3 DF Norway NOR Sivert Haugli
4 DF England ENG Jordan Skelton
5 DF Jamaica JAM Scott McLeod
6 MF Venezuela VEN Abel Caputo
7 FW Senegal SEN Babacar Diene
8 MF Honduras HON Angelo Kelly-Rosales
10 FW Germany GER Kempes Tekiela
11 FW United States USA Gio Calixtro
12 MF United States USA Callum Johnson
13 DF Spain ESP Dani Fernandez
14 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Mark Doyle
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF United States USA Heath Martin
17 MF Denmark DEN Mikkel Gøling
18 MF United States USA Leo Santos
21 MF Greece GRE Stavros Zarokostas
22 DF United States USA Stuart Ritchie
24 GK United States USA Nicholas Lemen
25 GK United States USA Johan Garibay
26 DF Jamaica JAM Jaheim Brown
27 DF United States USA Dennis Ramirez
29 FW England ENG Kimarni Smith
33 FW United States USA Lucas Meek
39 DF United States USA Ben Brophy
77 MF United States USA Nicola Rosamilia
  1. ^
    USL Academy Contract
    2.

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF England ENG Charlie Machell (on loan to Al Qabila)

Club management

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Front office
Chairman/President United States Drew McKenna
Coaching staff
Head Coach United States Ian Fuller
Assistant/Goalkeeping Coach United States Nick Jaramillo

Record

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Men's team

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Season League Regular Season Playoffs U.S. Open Cup USL Cup
Pld W D L GF GA Pts Pos
2022 USL2 14 11 1 2 34 10 34 1st Conference Finals Not Eligible —
2023 USL1 32 9 11 12 36 39 38 8th Quarterfinals Second round
2024 22 9 8 5 24 18 39 5th Semifinals Second round Knockout stage
2025 17 8 7 2 25 16 31 TBD TBD Third round 6th in Group stage

Women's team

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Season League Regular Season Playoffs
Pld W D L GF GA Pts Pos
2025 USLW 14 3 1 8 12 20 10 7th, South Central Did Not Qualify

References

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  1. ^ "New Knoxville pro soccer team focusing on community". WATE-TV. February 8, 2021.
  2. ^ Raucoules, Gregory (July 15, 2021). "One Knoxville Sporting Club: pro soccer team reveals name". WATE-TV.
  3. ^ Smith, Shannon (August 19, 2021). "Knoxville professional soccer team unveils new logo". WBIR-TV.
  4. ^ Venkataraman, Karthik (January 13, 2022). "One Knoxville SC announces Mark McKeever as first ever head coach". WBIR-TV. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  5. ^ Wilusz, Ryan (May 11, 2022). "Knoxville's new pro soccer team debuts Saturday. Here's why its first game is so special". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  6. ^ Raucoules, Gregory (May 16, 2022). "Inaugural One Knoxville SC match draws 2,200 fans". WATE-TV.
  7. ^ Smith, Savannah (May 17, 2022). "One Knox SC clinches first ever win against Tri-Cities". WVLT-TV.
  8. ^ Canever, Brian Gabriel (July 10, 2022). "One Knoxville SC claims division championship in blowout win". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  9. ^ Camargo, Alberto (July 21, 2022). "Four things to know about One Knoxville SC ahead of USL League Two playoffs". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  10. ^ Russo, Rick (July 30, 2022). "Remarkable first season comes to an end for One Knox SC". WVLT-TV.
  11. ^ Wilusz, Ryan. "That didn't take long! Knoxville's soccer team goes pro after just one season". Knoxville News Sentinel.
  12. ^ "One Knoxville SC to join USL League One in 2023". USL League One. October 20, 2022.
  13. ^ "Signed: Ilija Ilic". oneknox.com. December 12, 2022.
  14. ^ "One Knox SC Schedule". www.uslleagueone.com.
  15. ^ USLLeagueOne com Staff (March 20, 2023). "USL League One Fans' Choice Goal of the Week – Week 1". USL League One.
  16. ^ ethan.triebsch@uslsoccer.com, ETHAN TRIEBSCH- (April 30, 2025). "Knoxville set record, Hearts head home | News & Notes - Week 9". USL League One. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  17. ^ Wilusz, Joanna Hayes and Ryan. "One Knox announces women's soccer team that will play at the new stadium starting in May". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
  18. ^ Hayes, Joanna (April 2, 2025). "Smokies players said it felt like 'the big leagues' walking into new downtown stadium". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
  19. ^ "From giant toys to chili, these Knoxville staples exist thanks to the 1982 World's Fair".
  20. ^ "Welcome".
  21. ^ Raucoules, Gregory (March 15, 2023). "Border rivalry clash to kick off pro soccer in Knoxville". WATE 6 On Your Side. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
  22. ^ Raucoules, Gregory (June 9, 2024). "One Knoxville SC extends unbeaten streak in 'Barrel Brawl' rivalry". WATE 6 On Your Side. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
  23. ^ USLLeagueOne com Staff (March 15, 2023). "Knoxville & Lexington reveal rivalry trophy". USL League One. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  24. ^ a b c "One Knoxville SC vs Lexington SC – live score, predicted lineups and H2H stats". FotMob. March 23, 2024. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  25. ^ "One Knoxville SC vs Lexington SC - live score, predicted lineups and H2H stats". FotMob. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  26. ^ "Match Center | USLLeagueOne.com". www.uslleagueone.com. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
  27. ^ "Match Center | USLLeagueOne.com". www.uslleagueone.com. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  28. ^ Canever, Brian Gabriel. "One Knoxville silences Asheville City to claim the Smoky Mountain Series". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  29. ^ "Asheville City SC at One Knoxville SC - 7:30pm EDT, May 14th, 2022". USL League Two. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  30. ^ "One Knoxville SC at Asheville City SC - 7:30pm EDT, June 21st, 2022". USL League Two. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  31. ^ "Knoxville 2-0 Asheville (Mar 20, 2024) Team Stats". ESPN. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  32. ^ "Modular 11 Match Details". www.modular11.com. Retrieved June 20, 2025.