2016: Made 21 regular season appearances for the Swope Park Rangers, recording one assist – coming on Mark Anthony Gonzalez’s first professional goal against Portland Timbers 2 on June 4. Ballo was sent off on his first start for the Rangers after receiving two yellow cards in the first half against Saint Louis FC on May 7. Ballo’s next start came against OKC Energy FC on June 18 and started all but three games for the remainder of the season. He struck up a solid defensive partnership with Amer Didic that saw SPR go 10-0-2 in the regular season when the two started together. He was named to the USL Team of the Week for Weeks 18 and 25 while he was also named on the bench for Week 22. Ballo started all four games in the USL Cup Playoffs and was one of just three players to play every minute in the side’s run to the USL Cup Final. Played every minute of eight of the Rangers’ nine shutouts in 2016.
2015: Drafted by the Houston Dynamo in the second round (30th overall) of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft. Ballo made two appearances for the Dynamo during their preseason, playing against Vancouver Whitecaps FC and Houston’s Under-18 team. On March 24, Ballo was loaned to Houston’s USL affiliate the Charleston Battery, but did not make an appearance before he was waived by the Dynamo on April 23.
College: Played three years at the University of Maryland – Baltimore Country after spending his freshman year at the Community College of Baltimore County Essex. He made 65 appearances for UMBC, tallying five goals and three assists in that time. Ballo helped the Retrievers reach the NCAA College Cup for the first time in program history in 2014, falling in the final four to eventual champions Virginia. Ballo was twice named America East Defender of the Year and was also a two-time All-American, while he was one of eight defenders listed on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List as a senior.
Personal: Born in Bamako, Mali, but moved to Baltimore, Md. when he was nine years old.