Rock Hill, SC – The American Cornhole League (ACL) today announced the competition structure for the 2025/2026 Pro Teams season.
UPDATED 12/17/25.
TEAM STRUCTURE
Each team will comprise a minimum of six and a maximum of 10 players on a roster. Two players per team will be tagged as a “franchise” player and will be added to a team roster prior to the 2026 ACL Pro Teams draft. Then, the ACL Pro Teams Draft will be four rounds to fill out the remaining minimum roster floor. Any additional players will be added through the post-draft free agency period. There can only be one U18 per team.
EVENT STRUCTURE
The 2026 ACL Pro Teams season will kick off at the Kansas City Signature Open for competition. At each of the ACL Signature Opens, beginning with Kansas City, there will be a single-elimination tournament involving every team, with the winner getting an automatic bid to the ACL Pro Teams Playoffs at the ACL World Championships. Any teams that do not win at a Signature Open will compete in the ACL Pro Teams Challenger Bracket at the World Championships for the last spot(s) in the playoffs. Teams are eligible to compete in Signature Open events after winning previous events.
Each match between teams in the bracket will be a best-two-out-of-three series featuring one singles game, one doubles game, and one tandem doubles game. There may or may not be rounders to determine seeding of each bracket. There may or may not be exhibition matches between teams throughout the season.
DRAFT INFO
Team owners will participate in a four-round snake draft on SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 2026 at 6 p.m. EST. The order of this draft will be randomly determined at the end of the ACL Pro Franchise Player negotiating window.
Prior to the draft, all teams will be provided an informational packet on each pro player which includes bio information and historical statistical data.
SEASON TIMELINE
- December 10th: ACL Pro Franchise Player negotiating window opens for each team owner to negotiate and sign two players to join the team
- December 31st: ACL Pro Franchise Player negotiation window closes. Each team must have two players signed to the roster by this date
- January 3rd: ACL Pro Teams Draft takes place virtually among team owners (streamed live on ACL Facebook)
- March 20th: ACL Pro Teams season begins
FUTURE SEASONS + PARTICIPATION
At the conclusion of the first season of play, team owners will be eligible to keep a certain number of ACL Pro players on the roster. The exact number of players to be kept and the protocol for those negotiations will be determined by the start of teams play this current season.
If a player is drafted to a team and refuses to participate in competition, they will elicit a two-year ban from ACL Pro Teams competition.
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About the American Cornhole League
The American Cornhole League is the worldwide governing body for professional, competitive, and recreational cornhole. The ACL provides the premier cornhole engagement experience by setting the standards for cornhole technology, media, and equipment. For more information on the ACL, visit www.theACL.com. Anyone can play, anyone can win!
