KitSZN: The Hunt for Southern Style and Midwest Charm
With nods to the USL Cup, this is one of the more authentic episodes to date. From Omaha's rock band vibes, to historical nods and outdoor culture in Alabama, this episode is on the hunt.
Each week we will highlight and talk about 4 kits from across the USL. Each kit is rated 1-5 based on four categories:
Design & Aesthetics
Authenticity & Tradition
Visual Details & Execution
Innovation & Impact
We then average the score between myself and my Co-Host Fox for our overall score. So without further ado, here are this week's kits:
Union Omaha: 311 Kit
This may be one of the more unique looking kits to come out of the USL in 2025. Depending on your fandom, that could be a positive or negative thing. While design wise, there is nothing inherently wrong - it most certainly got people’s attention.
Here is the official description of the kit:
Union Omaha partnered with Omaha-bred rock band 311 to release a special jersey to be worn for their 311 Night match on June 12th against Greenville Triumph SC. This evocative jersey was designed by Nick Hexum, lead singer of 311 and minority owner of Union Omaha. The jersey plays into 311’s roots with a vivid look at the Omaha skyline as it stretches into space above. It features both club and band logos, as well as a Spotify code for 311’s discography.
Here is my quick pros and cons of this kit:
Pro: Local collab that speaks to folks in Omaha
Con: Almost looks like AI art - it isn’t, but gives that vibe
Pro: Colorful and unique with the Omaha skyline
Con: Screen-printed and has a more “This would be a great graphic design” instead of a great kit design
Overall, this kit gets your attention, it is authentically Omaha and it may just send you to another world with it’s design.
Our score comes out to be: 2.88
Des Moines Menace: Pride Kit
In the age of loud and proud Pride kits, this take from Olive & York with Des Moines attempts a more subtle look. Featuring tie dyed shoulders in a rainbow pattern plus a fun font for the number, this is a fun looking kit.
In comparison to Omaha’s kit above, this kit feels more like a kit design than a cool graphic design. The tie dye affect is really good. However, outside of that there isn’t really anything. That’s fine honestly, but that won’t help this kit any.
Going for a subtle, fun pride kit vibe this year - and not as Menacing - Des Moines’ 2025 Pride Kit is simple yet fun. That is why our score is: 3.50
Birmingham Legion FC: Hunt for Glory Home Kit
When the USL announced they were expanding the Jägermeister Cup to include Championship sides, I hoped we see some cup kits. Well, to my pleasure Birmingham did with their Hunt for Glory Kits. The name comes from the Jägermeister Cup’s tagline “Shot of Glory”. Featuring a nice camouflage pattern that isn’t a nod to any military branch and more towards hunters, is quite refreshing.
Well I always enjoy a good camo kit, always seeing them only being applied to military gets boring and becomes stale quickly. To be frank, I tend to not see a lot of USL gear for outdoorsmen. There’s also something about Birmingham and the color green that I like….
While celebrating outdoor culture of Alabama and the USL’s Jägermeister Cup, Birmingham has given us a modern camo kit for the inner outdoorsmen in us all. While they kit cannot be bought online, there is another caveat - for fans, this kit is reversable.
For the price of $95 - thanks Kaylor for that information - you can buy this BOTH Hunt for Glory designs on one kit! Basically, $95 for two kits. Can not go wrong with that. So this kit gets a score: 3.13
Official Shop - Only available at the stadium on match days
AFC Ann Arbor: Shimmering Silver Kit
AFC Ann Arbor is celebrating their 10th season as a club - which is a massive moment for any US club. In celebrating their 10th season, AFC Ann Arbor decided to use their home kit as a nod to past kits. For Ann Arbor, that means using a grey kit. Normally known for their blues, Ann Arbor continues to use all the colors available to them.
With a simple darker grey double stripe down the middle and sharp blue contrast in the collar and cuffs, this kit will look sharp but lacks a lot of the details we love at KitSZN. Still using their classic blues was a good idea and honoring a club’s history is important - I wanted to see more when it comes to design. We can look at this year’s green away or women’s purple kit as examples. Sometimes a simple kit gets the job done at home.
AFC Ann Arbor’s Shimmering Silver kit is a simple nod to the past in their 10th season, while also using their traditional blues to put together a kit that doesn’t quite belong with the rest of Ann Arbor’s 2025 kits. Giving us a score of: 2.00
Before I do any further breakdown, please check out our interview with Jamie Armine from AFC Ann Arbor! It was such a great conversation around the club, the ideas for this year’s kits and as a result of this interview, I was able to attend a match here on June 22nd. Thanks again to everyone at AFC Ann Arbor for the invite!
Check out our interview here:
Montgomery United: Skyline Kit
Montgomery United went with a clever little hoops kit for their inaugural USL L2 campaign. Going with a simple white kit with grey hoops, Hummel decided to accent the kit with Montgomery’s red for the chevrons and logos. They also decided to put the Montgomery skyline into the middle hoop in rather great detail.
I am always a fan of a good skyline - how can you not tie your city any better than with a skyline of it??? - this kit ultimately feels too busy for me. From the grey skyline on the grey hoop, to being too top heavy, it just didn’t land right with me.
Skylines are good, hoops are good, just wanted a little better spacing and color selection but for their inaugural season, this kit will work just fine. That is why our score is: 2.63
Official Shop - Unknown
You can catch the full episode here on Spotify or YouTube:
As a result of another collaboration with a USL L2 team, please stay tuned for a fun giveaway next week featuring a former USMNT player!
Let me know your thoughts on how we did in the comments below!