2002 PDL season

The 2002 USL Premier Development League season was the 8th PDL season. The season began in April 2002 and ended in August 2002.

Cape Cod Crusaders finished the season as national champions, beating Boulder Rapids Reserve 2–1 in the PDL Championship game. Des Moines Menace finished with the best regular season record in the league, winning 15 out of their 18 games, suffering no losses, and finishing with a +49 goal difference.

Name changes

 * Boulder Nova became Boulder Rapids Reserve
 * Lafayette Lightning became Austin Lightning
 * San Fernando Valley Heroes became Los Angeles Heroes

New franchises

 * Twelve teams joined the league this year, including eight brand new franchises:

Promoted

 * The Calgary Storm were promoted to the A-League.
 * The New York Freedom and Westchester Flames were promoted to USL Pro Select.

Folding

 * Eight teams left the league prior to the beginning of the season:
 * Colorado Springs Ascent - Colorado Springs, Colorado
 * Miami Strike Force - Miami, Florida
 * North Jersey Imperials - Paramus, New Jersey
 * Okanagan Predators - Kelowna, British Columbia
 * San Gabriel Valley Highlanders - Glendale, California
 * Twin Cities Phoenix - Edina, Minnesota
 * West Dallas Kings - Dallas, Texas
 * Wichita Jets - Wichita, Kansas