2025–26 Scottish League One

Scottish League One
Season2025–26
Dates2 August 2025 – 2 May 2026
Matches126
Goals339 (2.69 per match)
Top goalscorerOli Shaw
(14 goals)
Biggest home winStenhousemuir 5–0 East Fife (10 January 2026)
Biggest away winKelty Hearts 0–4 Hamilton Academical (20 September 2025)
Montrose 0–4 Hamilton Academical (18 October 2025)
Montrose 0–4 Alloa Athletic (8 November 2025)
Peterhead 0–4 Cove Rangers (27 December 2025)
East Fife 1–5 Queen of the South (24 January 2026)
Highest scoringKelty Hearts 2–5 Cove Rangers (20 December 2025)
Longest winning runInverness Caledonian Thistle
(5 games)
Longest unbeaten runAlloa Athletic
Stenhousemuir
(8 games)
Longest winless runKelty Hearts
(11 games)
Longest losing runEast Fife
(7 games)
Highest attendance2,484
Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Stenhousemuir
(21 February 2026)
Lowest attendance250
Hamilton Academical v Cove Rangers
(30 August 2025)
Total attendance94,335
Average attendance761
2026–27 →
All statistics correct as of 21 February 2026.

The 2025–26 Scottish League One (known as William Hill League One for sponsorship reasons) is the 13th season of Scottish League One, the third tier of Scottish football. The season began on 2 August 2025.[1]

Ten teams contest the league: Alloa Athletic, Cove Rangers, East Fife, Hamilton Academical, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Kelty Hearts, Montrose, Peterhead, Queen of the South and Stenhousemuir.

Teams

The following teams changed division after the 2024–25 season.

Stadia and locations

Alloa Athletic Cove Rangers East Fife Hamilton Academical
Recreation Park Balmoral Stadium Bayview Stadium Broadwood Stadium[2][a]
Capacity: 3,100[3] Capacity: 2,602[4] Capacity: 1,980[5] Capacity: 8,086[6]
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Kelty Hearts
Caledonian Stadium New Central Park
Capacity: 7,512[7] Capacity: 2,181[8]
Montrose Peterhead Queen of the South Stenhousemuir
Links Park Balmoor Palmerston Park Ochilview Park
Capacity: 4,936[9] Capacity: 3,150[10] Capacity: 8,690[11] Capacity: 3,746[12]
Notes
  1. ^ Hamilton Academical are ground-sharing with Cumbernauld Colts.

All grounds are equipped with floodlights.

Personnel and kits

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Alloa Athletic Scotland Andy Graham Scotland Scott Taggart Pendle Northern Gas and Power
Cove Rangers Scotland Paul Hartley Scotland Mitch Megginson Adidas KR Group
East Fife Scotland Dick Campbell Scotland Alan Trouten Erreà MPH Group (Home)
JADA (Away)
Harley Taxis (Third)
Hamilton Academical Scotland Darian MacKinnon Scotland Stephen Hendrie Kurt None
Inverness Caledonian Thistle Scotland Scott Kellacher Northern Ireland Danny Devine Puma Craig Wood Solicitors
Kelty Hearts Scotland Thomas O'Ware England Craig Clay Adidas Bellway
Montrose Scotland Stewart Petrie Scotland Andrew Steeves Uhlsport Montrose Port Authority
Peterhead Scotland Jordon Brown
Scotland Ryan Strachan
Scotland Jason Brown Puma The Score Group
Queen of the South Republic of Ireland Peter Murphy England Matty Douglas Macron The Venue Dumfries
Stenhousemuir Scotland Gary Naysmith Scotland Gregor Buchanan Uhlsport LOC Hire

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Hamilton Academical Scotland John Rankin Resigned 29 November 2025 5th Scotland Darian MacKinnon 1 December 2025

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 25 16 5 4 44 16 +28 48[a] Promotion to the Championship
2 Stenhousemuir 25 11 10 4 35 21 +14 43 Qualification for the Championship play-offs
3 Alloa Athletic 25 11 7 7 35 20 +15 40
4 Queen of the South 26 11 6 9 41 35 +6 39
5 Peterhead 24 9 5 10 35 45 −10 32
6 Montrose 25 9 5 11 33 45 −12 32
7 East Fife 26 8 4 14 26 46 −20 28
8 Cove Rangers 26 5 8 13 29 34 −5 23
9 Hamilton Academical 25 12 5 8 39 27 +12 20[b] Qualification for the League One play-offs
10 Kelty Hearts 25 3 7 15 22 50 −28 16 Relegation to League Two
Updated to match(es) played on 21 February 2026. Source: [13]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Play-off (only for deciding promotion, play-off participation and relegation).[14]
Notes:
  1. ^ Inverness Caledonian Thistle were deducted five points for entering administration during the previous season.
  2. ^ Hamilton Academical were deducted six points for breaching SPFL rules regarding amateur players, a further nine points for failing to hold at least a bronze level licence and then six more points for failing to pay players' wages on time.

Results

Teams play each other four times, twice in the first half of the season (home and away) and twice in the second half of the season (home and away), making a total of 180 games, with each team playing 36.

First half of season (Matches 1–18)

Home \ Away ALL COV EFI HAM ICT KEL MON PET QOS STE
Alloa Athletic 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 3–0 0–1 4–0 0–2 0–0
Cove Rangers 0–0 0–1 2–1 0–1 0–2 3–3 1–2 0–2 0–1
East Fife 0–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 2–1 1–1 0–1 2–1 1–0
Hamilton Academical 1–0 0–0 1–2 3–1 3–1 2–0 3–0 1–2 2–0
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1–0 1–0 4–1 4–0 2–2 1–0 2–0 4–0 1–2
Kelty Hearts 0–2 2–5 0–3 0–4 0–3 0–3 1–2 1–1 0–1
Montrose 0–4 0–3 2–1 0–4 0–2 1–2 2–1 2–1 3–0
Peterhead 2–1 3–1 4–1 2–2 0–1 3–2 1–1 3–0 1–4
Queen of the South 1–0 1–1 3–0 1–4 0–2 2–1 1–0 4–0 1–1
Stenhousemuir 1–2 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 2–2 3–1 3–1 0–0
Source: [15]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second half of season (Matches 19–36)

Home \ Away ALL COV EFI HAM ICT KEL MON PET QOS STE
Alloa Athletic 2–2 18 Apr 3–0 21 Mar 7 Mar 4–1 28 Mar 2 May 0–0
Cove Rangers 4 Apr 2 May 21 Mar 0–0 1–1 3–1 7 Mar 1–1 18 Apr
East Fife 28 Feb 2–1 7 Mar 25 Apr 0–1 2–3 11 Apr 1–5 28 Mar
Hamilton Academical 11 Apr 2–0 1–0 0–1 28 Mar 28 Feb 25 Apr 14 Mar 3 Mar
Inverness Caledonian Thistle 3–1 14 Mar 3–0 2 May 18 Apr 7 Mar 17 Mar 27 Mar 1–1
Kelty Hearts 1–1 25 Apr 14 Mar 0–0 28 Feb 11 Apr 1–1 4 Apr 0–2
Montrose 14 Mar 28 Mar 4 Apr 18 Apr 2–1 3 Mar 1–1 3–2 2 May
Peterhead 10 Mar 0–4 3–1 2–3 4 Apr 2 May 21 Mar 18 Apr 14 Mar
Queen of the South 1–2 11 Apr 21 Mar 4–1 2–2 3–1 25 Apr 28 Feb 7 Mar
Stenhousemuir 25 Apr 28 Feb 5–0 4 Apr 11 Apr 21 Mar 2–2 2–2 2–0
Updated to match(es) played on 21 February 2026. Source: [15]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

As of 21 February 2026

Scoring

Top scorers

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Scotland Oli Shaw Hamilton Academical 14
2 Scotland Kieran Shanks Peterhead 11
3 Scotland Mitch Megginson Cove Rangers 9
Scotland Alfie Bavidge Inverness Caledonian Thistle
5 Scotland Callum Sandilands Montrose 8
Scotland Kai Kennedy Queen of the South
7 Zambia Chanka Zimba Inverness Caledonian Thistle 7
Scotland Jason Brown Peterhead
Scotland Matthew Aitken Stenhousemuir
Scotland Euan O'Reilly Stenhousemuir

Awards

Month Manager of the Month Player of the Month
Manager Club Player Club
August Scotland Scott Kellacher Inverness Caledonian Thistle Scotland Ross Munro Inverness Caledonian Thistle
September Scotland Oli Shaw Hamilton Academical
October Scotland Gary Naysmith Stenhousemuir Scotland Kieran Millar East Fife
November Scotland Scott Kellacher Inverness Caledonian Thistle Scotland Oli Shaw Hamilton Academical
December Republic of Ireland Peter Murphy Queen of the South England Matty Douglas Queen of the South
January Scotland Gary Naysmith Stenhousemuir Scotland Matthew Aitken Stenhousemuir
February
March
April


References

  1. ^ "Key dates for 2025/26". SPFL. 13 January 2025. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  2. ^ "CLUB STATEMENT – NEW DOUGLAS PARK". Hamilton Academical FC. 1 May 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  3. ^ "Alloa Athletic Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  4. ^ "Cove Rangers Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  5. ^ "East Fife Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  6. ^ "Hamilton Academical Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  7. ^ "Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  8. ^ "Kelty Hearts Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Montrose Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  10. ^ "Peterhead Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  11. ^ "Queen of the South Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  12. ^ "Stenhousemuir Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  13. ^ "League One Table". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
  14. ^ "The Rules of the Scottish Professional Football League" (PDF). SPFL. pp. 38–39. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  15. ^ a b "William Hill League One Results". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 21 February 2026.