ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minneapolis City SC head coach Justin Oliver, with the departure of a number of long-serving Crows in recent seasons, is counting Nick Kent among the shortlist of veteran leaders on his 2025 roster; the centerback having made 13 senior-team appearances, to-date. Currently wrapping up his junior year of college, this summer with City could be Kent’s last.
Kent’s head coach at Macalester describes him as less-physical, and less of a vocal leader, than his brother, Max. And, per Nick’s own admission, their sister, Ellie, was the most-talented at soccer among the Kent progeny, born to parents who met while playing Division I ball at Wisconsin-Madison.
So why profile this youngest of Kent siblings? Is he not merely tracing his older brother’s footsteps from St. Louis Park High School, to Macalester, to City?
“They’re really different players,” said Scotts head coach Gregg Olson. “The only similarities between [Nick and Max], frankly, are that they’ve both played centerback at Macalester, and both are really good at soccer.”
To Olson’s first point, about the pair’s differences, Nick’s 6-foot-4 frame is lithe compared to the broad build of Max’s, which falls two-inches shorter. While both are competitive, the younger often leads quietly, and by example. The elder wore his heart on his sleeve. When contesting for the ball, Nick makes use of his height and length, unable to draw upon strength equal to Max’s.
And per Olson and Nick, Nick’s distribution is better.
“Max would be disappointed to hear me say that… he knows it, too,” said Olson.
“Recency bias is a bitch,” responded Max, having last played for the Scots in 2018. “But they’re probably right, by-and-large.”
While describing both in commendatory terms off the field, Olson distinguished Nick as the more philosophical.
“Nick comes in and talks life, and soccer, in the office, more than darn-near any player that’s ever come through here,” said the Scots coach of more than a dozen years. “It’s tremendous. He has this willingness, as a college student, who for sure has things that are way more interesting than talking to me, to be doing. But he prioritizes having a really good relationship, which I absolutely admire and adore.
“Not that Max didn’t come in. We had a great relationship and still do. I still see him when he comes back into town. It’s just a little bit different. Oddly, a little bit more mature with Nick, because its wholistic instead of just about soccer.”
To Olson’s second point, about both being quite good at soccer, Nick did start all-but-one league game alongside his brother for the Crows last season. Due to a six-year age gap, it was the first time the siblings had played on the same team. And, in a quiet summer for City goals, Nick tied for a widely-distributed team lead after scoring a pair, including the game-winner away to Rochester.
On the collegiate front, Kent the Younger has thrice earned All-MIAC honors, and already matched his older brother’s career total of a pair of Division III All-Region selections.
“He’s been there since, literally, day-one, game-one of his freshman year,” said Olson. “It’s not that he’s got blazing pace and he’s going to win you the game on a diving header. He’s the guy who you can have typed-in on the lineup sheet — 18 of them for us — at the beginning of the season, to fill in later around him.
“He doesn’t really have a bad day. Or, his bad day is still like an eight-out-of-ten. He’s been just that rock of stability at centerback for us, in the spine of the defense.”
Per Olson, that reliability, in lieu of taller peaks and lower valleys, might actually hinder the amount of attention Nick receives for a higher accolade.
“I think, ultimately, it could be what holds him back his senior year from being [selected as] a [Division III] All-American; that he’s grown [steadily] each year with his game,” said Olson.
And what does the diplomatic and understated Nick Kent make of having his name mentioned as a potential All-American?
“I never got [All-Region] and thought, ‘Ugh, I should have got All-American,’” said Nick. “My main focus is how we do as a team, and any personal stuff is just a nice recognition. I’m never going to be mad if I don’t get them.”
The defender did agree that a reliably-high level of play at the back doesn’t always draw as much notice as that paid to attacking players, and offered a parallel in one of his Scots teammates.
“Similar story-ish.” began Nick. “The goalie that I’ve played with at Macalester the last three years [Sam Price], who’s a phenomenal goalkeeper, probably the best goalkeeper I’ve played with after club soccer—”
“—The best you’ve played with?” the author interrupted, taking the opportunity to try to drag Kent into a MIAC-wide controversy. “So… better than your City teammates Daniel Sessler [Saint Mary’s] and Evan Siefken [Saint John’s]?”
Nick flashed the trace-element of a nervous smile, but recovered after only the briefest of hesitations.
“What I was going to say,” he restarted, “is [Price] competes with Sessler and Siefken. I think he’s in the same tier as Sessler and Siefken.
“He came from the Chicago Fire academy. Came to Macalester because he’s a very smart kid. But he’s someone who is incredibly consistent. And like you said, those players sometimes get overlooked because they’re consistent. They conceded a goal, or less-than a goal, per game. ‘He plays the same every day. We know how good he is.’ — stuff like that.”
Reflecting upon watching web-streams of the Final Four last December with some of his Macalester teammates on campus, Nick acknowledged that it is only natural for players to measure themselves against their peers.
“You’re watching Amherst versus Conn College,” Kent reflected, “and you think, ‘I could fit in with that team’. We were watching the finals this year, and someone says, ‘Oh, he’s not that good. How is he in the finals?’ Well, first off, he’s in the finals, so he is a good player.
“It’s hard, because as athletes, we like to compare ourselves to others; we’re competitive.”
But for Kent, the only target worth aiming at was collective success.
“I think it can be tough as a defender, because how do you compare one defender from the MIAC to one defender in the NESCAC, if you’re not [as with forwards] comparing goals scored?” he asked. “The easiest way to compare defenders is if you’re going to watch them both play. We play against a lot of region opponents, so a lot of coaches in the region have seen me play. It’s hard to be an All-American if you’re not in the national tournament.
“I wouldn’t say my main goal is to be an All-American. But, I think if my goal was to be an All-American, my first goal should be for us to make the tournament.”
One opposing coach whose attention Kent hasn’t escaped is Oliver. While the two will reunite as Crows in this Sunday’s season opener, with Oliver also at the helm for St. Olaf, they’ve remained fall-through-spring foes.
“Nick is somebody that I’ve been very, very familiar with for a long time,” Oliver said. “I heavily recruited Nick to come to St. Olaf. He ended up deciding to go to Macalester, which is a great school and a great fit for him.”
Oliver recalled when the Oles and Scots last met at Macalester, and during pregame, he saw Nick out of uniform and in street clothes.
“Man, I feel bad, because I want to, obviously, play against the best players,” Oliver said. “Also, another side of me is relieved that one of the best players in our conference and region isn’t going to be playing that day, so it makes three points potentially a bit more likely for us.”
Oliver was careful not to provide bulletin-board fodder in supplying the anecdote, but the author is free to note in Kent’s absence that day, the Scots conceded a season-high five goals.
“I’m super pumped that Nick is back with the squad,” Oliver said, this time in his capacity as a Crow. “He’s phenomenal at winning seconds and thirds, very good in the air, and then he’s got an exceptional passing range.
“He also brings a lot of intangibles that other people don’t get to see. And this year, having some older, experienced players like his brother not in the squad, Nick has done a good job of stepping into more of a leadership role.
“I think that Nick is still passionate, but he leads a bit more cool, calm and level-headed. He can get emotional at times, which, it’s good to see that come out. But he’s great at leading by example. He sets the tone. One of the first players to training. Gets people ready. Good at picking people up when their heads are down.”
As to leading his own life, that the younger Kent walked a familiar path was still done by choice.
When Nick was 16 and Max a senior-team player for City, the Futures program was being launched. The younger Kent notes the older did give him an early heads up about the opportunity, but left it to Nick to pursue. There was no real pressure from his parents to become a Badger, nor from his brother to become a Scot or Crow.
“I ultimately chose Macalester because I liked the idea of being in the city,” said Kent. “And I love the program that’s been built by the people before me. But, I also feel like, right now, the people on the team, myself, are also working really hard to leave our own footprint on the program, and change it where we see opportunities.”
So, too, for Kent this summer with City. Once his full tenure with the club, including his time with the Futures dating back to 2020, is taken into account, only Jonah Garcia’s might be comparable among this summer’s squad.
“It’s crazy to think I’m one of the people who have been here the longest,” said Kent. “If you’ve been here for three years like Curtis [Wagner] and Joe [Highfield] — who are two people I know well through club soccer, people who live up to what the club is about — you’re a veteran.
“It’s up to the guys who have been here, before, to show everyone else what the club is about, and what we do, here.”
That roster, assembled by Oliver and new sporting director Casey Holm, has the front office bullish on the Crows competing for their first division title since joining League Two.
The next three months will tell. Hopefully, Kent and the Crows make some noise.
“Nick is extremely competitive, it just doesn’t come out as much, verbally,” added Olson. “It’s something I would like to see come out from Nick more.”
