Founded in 2005, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes Division of the Central Conference.

The Cincinnati Kings first entered the USL Second Division in 2005, under the leadership of Yacoub Abdallahi, an entrepreneur from Mauritania in Africa who graduated from Northern Kentucky University, and player-manager Jon Pickup, a former English U-16 international, who played professionally in England with Wigan Athletic, Blackburn Rovers and Chester City.

From their home at Corcoran Field on the campus of Xavier University, the Kings made an immediate splash in the league, remaining unbeaten in their first five games, and enjoying a comprehensive 5–0 win over Northern Virginia Royals in just their second ever competitive match.

However, Cincinnati's mid-season form stuttered slightly; the Kings lost four in a row, conceding a late goal against Long Island Rough Riders, and giving Wilmington Hammerheads and own-goal winner in the first game of June.

The Kings' main problem was a lack of consistency, and their inability to build any kind of unbeaten momentum – their strongest run of form coming towards the end of July when they rattled off four wins in a row, including two 4-goal hauls against Long Island Rough Riders.

However, despite losing their final two regular season games of the year to Pittsburgh Riverhounds and Western Mass Pioneers, their results were enough to leave them in fourth place in the table, and in the playoffs.

Jeff Hughes and John Krause were Cincinnati's top scorers, with 4 goals each, Nowaf Jaman contributed 4 assists, and head coach Pickup was named USL2 Manager of the Year.

The year started positively with a move away from University accommodation to the Town and Country Sports Club, just across the border in Wilder, Kentucky, which owner Yacoub purchased as the Kings' permanent home for $11.3 million.

The Kings finished the season in 8th place in the Great Lakes division, decisively out of the playoffs; Judson McKinney was the team's top scorer, with four goals, while Aaron Miller and Jonathan Sutton contributed two assists each.