Secondary active transporters, such as those that adopt the leucinetransporter fold, are found in all domains of life, and they have the unique capability of harnessing the energy stored in ion gradients to accumulate small molecules essential for life as well as expel toxic and harmful compounds. How these proteins couple ion binding and transport to the concomitant flow of substrates is a fundamental structural and biophysical question that is beginning to be answered at the atomistic level with the advent of high-resolution structures of transporters in different structural states. Nonetheless, the dynamic character of the transporters, such as ion/substrate binding order and how binding triggers conformational change, is not revealed from static structures, yet it is critical to understanding their function. Here, we report a series of molecular simulations carried out on the sugar transporter vSGLT that lend insight into how substrate and ions are released from the inward-facing state of the transporter. Our simulations reveal that the order of release is stochastic. Functional experiments were designed to test this prediction on the human homolog, hSGLT1, and we also found that cytoplasmic release is not ordered, but we confirmed that substrate and ion binding from the extracellular space is ordered. Our findings unify conflicting published results concerning cytoplasmic release of ions and substrate and hint at the possibility that other transporters in the superfamily may lack coordination between ions and substrate in the inward-facing state.T ransport of sugar molecules across membranes is virtually ubiquitous in biology, and it is of central importance in human health. The uptake of glucose is especially crucial due to its pivotal role in cellular metabolism and energy production. In mammals, glucose is absorbed in the small intestine and kidney via sodium-dependent glucose transporters (SGLTs), which localize to the apical membrane and concentrate glucose in the epithelia. SGLTs fall into the large leucine-transporter (LeuT) structural family of secondary active transporters that have evolved to concentrate a wide array of substrates across membranes using the energy stored in the Na + electrochemical potential gradient. For symporters in this family, transport occurs by an alternating access mechanism (1) in which the transporter first binds ligands in an outward-facing conformation, and then transitions to an inwardfacing conformation that releases the cargo to the cytoplasm. The order of ion and substrate binding and unbinding is likely tied to the function of the transporter, making it possible to convert the energy stored in the ion gradient into a substrate gradient, and vice versa when these proteins operate in reverse.Extensive biochemical uptake assays and electrophysiological studies of SGLTs have led to a view of Na + /glucose cotransport in which Na + binding precedes sugar binding on the external face of the transporter. Kinetic models adhering to this mechanism satisfactorily account fo...