Columbus Crew II

Columbus Crew II sits in MLS Next Pro, the development tier that channels players toward the Columbus Crew first team, and the club's short existence has been shaped almost entirely by that purpose. It was announced as a member of the league on 6 December 2021, built as the last stop on a pathway that starts at the academy and ends in Black and Gold at Lower.com Field. Crew 2 itself stays behind at Historic Crew Stadium, the ground the first team left when it moved venues that same year, playing in front of a capacity of 19,968.

The nickname Capybaras started as a joke in the fan chat and stuck long enough to become official. On the pitch, 2022 was the year that identity paid off: Crew 2 won the MLS Next Pro regular season and then beat St. The following year they went back to the final and lost 1-3 to Austin FC II, having already worked through an Eastern Conference playoff run that included Toronto FC II.

The clearest measure of the club's job, though, is what happens after the matches. Tyler Habrun signed with the first team in 2024 out of this squad, and in January 2026 three more academy products — Chase Adams, Owen Presthus and Quinn Elliot — signed with Columbus Crew as Homegrown Players.