Accolades: (2012) Earned America East Second Team honors in his initial UMBC campaign. (2013) Selected to NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Second Team All-America… NSCAA All-Northeast Region First Team honoree… Named to America East Defender of the Year and to AE First Team and All-Championship team. (2014) One of eight defenders named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch list... Selected to All-Tournament team of Doubletree Classic and UNLV Nike Invitational... For the second consecutive year, named America East Defender of the Year and to AE First Team and All-Championship team... Selected to BennettRank All-American Team.
Earned NSCAA Third Team All-America honors, becoming first Retriever to earn the honor in back-to-back years... Also tabbed to Soccer America College MVP First Team... Selected to College Cup All-Tournament Team and was the ECAC Defender of the Year and First Team honoree... Named Dr. Charles R. Brown UMBC Outstanding Male Athlete for the 2014-15 season.
Selected by the Houston Dynamo in the second round (No. 30) of the 2015 MLS College Draft.
2014: Started 22 games for the Retrievers thus far while being an anchor on defense... Scored first goal of the season against William & Mary... Added a goal at UNH in a 2-0 victory and scored the game-tying goal vs. Hartford in the title game of the America East Tournament.
2013: Started all 22 games and has now started 42 in a row in his two seasons for the Retrievers… Earned All-Tournament team honors in both of the team’s tournaments… Scored his first goal in the black-and-gold in the 4-1 against Radford on Sept. 14…Added an assist on the game-tying goal versus Navy on Sept. 17… His consecutive minutes-played streak was snapped at 3,316, when he left the contest at Vermont on Oct. 16 for the final 16 minutes due to injury… Scored the game’s second goal in the 49th minute in the 4-0 America East championship game victory over Hartford.
2012: The lone UMBC field player to play every minute (2120) of all 22 games… Set a single-season record for minutes played by a Retriever field player and tied Phil Saunders for the overall mark… The central fullback had to be accounted for on UMBC’s very effective set pieces… Recorded 17 shots on the campaign, including three in America East title game vs. UNH and a pair at UNC in NCAA Second Round affair… Posted his first UMBC point, assisting on Joe Glos’ game-winning goal vs. Howard on Oct. 2.
Background: Majoring in sociology… A two-time NSCAA All-American, a three-time NSCAA All-South selection and a First Team All-Metro selection by The Baltimore Sun… A member of the Archbishop Curley squad which went 21-3 and won the MIAA title in 2006… Lists the Friars’ 1-0 win over McDonogh that season as his best prep performance… A two-year captain on the pitch, he also competed in sprints and the triple jump for the Friars, leading the squad to the 2008 MIAA “A” title… Also lettered in wrestling… Competed in soccer for one season at CCBC-Essex… A member of the 2006 and 2007 Super Y League National Pool and helped the Baltimore Bays to 2008 State Championship and 2010 US Soccer Development Academy Final 8…Lists favorite professional team as Barcelona… Nicknamed “Big O”…Son of Koman Ballo and has five slblings… Born April 2, 1991.
CAREER STATISTICS
| Year | GP-GS | SH | G | A | Pts. |
| 2012 | 22-22 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2013 | 20-20 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 2014 | 23-23 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Career | 65-65 | 41 | 5 | 3 | 13 |
