The draw for the second round of the KDM Evolution Trophy will take place tomorrow at 1pm – and it will take a much simpler form than last year.

The 2025/26 edition of the Challenge Cup saw a raft of changes, none more significant than the introduction of the opening league phase that has persisted for this season.

Like this season, the top six teams joined the 10 Championship sides entering the competition in the knockout rounds as being seeded for the round of 32.

That meant teams qualifying from the league phase in positions seven to 22 were unseeded, again like will be the case for tomorrow’s draw.

However, last year, every team was grouped into pairs, with the top two seeds playing the bottom two qualifiers and so on until meeting in the middle.

That format has been scrapped for the 2026/27 competition, which will instead see an open draw where any seeded team can be drawn against any unseeded team.

Home advantage will alternate between the pots for the 16 matches, meaning there is no guarantee of a home draw for anyone.

Ross County earned a seeding for the second round draw by finishing second in the league phase, amassing 15 points from their six matches.

Last season, they entered the competition in the knockout stages as a Championship side, beating Celtic B 4-0 in the second round before losing to second-tier rivals St Johnstone in the third.

The Staggies have a strong history in the competition, reaching five finals – a tally only bettered by Highland rivals Inverness Caledonian Thistle on six – and winning three of them, most recently under current boss Stuart Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson in 2019.

Seeded teams

Livingston

Partick Thistle

Arbroath

Dunfermline Athletic

Raith Rovers

Queen’s Park

Ayr United

Greenock Morton

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Stenhousemuir

Clydebank

Ross County

Airdrieonians

Cove Rangers

Peterhead

East Kilbride

Unseeded teams

Elgin City

Alloa Athletic

Hamilton Academical

Montrose

Celtic B

Queen of the South

Stirling Albion

Aberdeen B

Bonnyrigg Ros

Edinburgh City

Berwick Rangers

St Mirren B

Annan Athletic

Formartine United

The Spartans

Kelty Hearts