Nashville SC

Location: Nashville, Tennessee 
Date founded: 2016 (joined MLS in 2020) 
Appearances in CCC: 1 
Best finish: Round of 16 (2024)
First opponent: Atlético Ottawa

History

Major League Soccer's fifth newest club, Nashville SC have a decent record of success since joining the league in 2020 — making the playoffs in all but one of their seven seasons. 

Last year, they finished sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 16-12-6 record, but were eliminated in Round one of the playoffs by Inter Miami. 

Their lone previous Champions Cup appearance came back in 2024. They soundly defeated Moca of the Dominican Republic 7-0 on aggregate in Round One, but were bested 5-3 by Inter Miami in the round of 16. 

One interesting note for Canadian Premier League supporters, the tie could see the return of former Forge FC striker Woobens Pacius to Hamilton — where the first leg will be played due to construction at TD Place. Pacius was prolific against Atleti during his time in the CPL, with five goals and two assists in 15 meetings. 

Nashville's squad also previously featured Canadian international Jacob Shaffelburg and Hamilton-born striker Teal Bunbury, but both departed the club this off-season. 

How they qualified

Nashville qualified by winning the 2025 U.S. Open Cup. They defeated Austin FC 2-1 in the final on October 1, 2025, with Sam Surridge scoring the winner in the second half from the penalty spot. 

The coach

B.J. Callaghan has been Nashville's head coach since July 2024 and led them to their first trophy in club history this past season — the U.S. Open Cup. He spent five years as an assistant coach with the US men's national team under Gregg Berhalter. He also served as the interim head coach during the 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League, which they won. 

3 Key Players

Joe Willis:

The 37-year-old veteran goalkeeper enters his 16th MLS season, the past six with Nashville SC, whom he joined ahead of their inaugural MLS season in 2020. He is a three-time U.S. Open Cup champion. He sits third in the club's all-time appearance leaders, with 205 matches played. 

Hany Mukhtar:

The 2022 MLS MVP, and four-time All-Star remains one of the league's top attackers entering his seventh season with Nashville. In 2025, he had 16 goals to go with 12 assists. He and striker Sam Surridge combined for the vast majority of Nashville's goals last season, with their next most prolific teammate, Jacob Shaffelburg, who has since departed to LAFC, scoring four.

Sam Surridge:

Only Lionel Messi scored more goals this past season in Major League Soccer than the 27-year-old English striker, who found the back of the net an incredible 24 times in 34 regular-season matches. He added six more to win the U.S. Open Cup Golden Boot and one in the playoffs for an outstanding 31 in all competitions.  

Tournament outlook

Nashville probably would have been reasonably pleased to draw tournament debutants Atlético Ottawa in the first round. But their path after that gets a whole lot more complicated.

The winner of this tie takes on defending MLS Cup champions Inter Miami, a familiar thorn in Nashville's side. They were eliminated by Lionel Messi's club in their lone previous Champions Cup appearance, back in 2024. Miami also defeated them in a best-of-three Round one series in last year's MLS Cup playoffs. 

Beyond Miami, there is the potential of Club América in the quarter-final. Not an easy draw by any means.

First round schedule

Leg 1: Tuesday, Feb. 17

Atlético Ottawa vs. Nashville SC — Hamilton Stadium, Hamilton, Ont. 
8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT

Leg 2: Tuesday, Feb. 24

Nashville SC vs. Atlético Ottawa — Geodis Park, Nashville, Tenn. 
8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT