Then-senior forward Maouloune Goumballe dribbles past a defender before putting a low cross into the box. Collins Oduro receives the cross from his teammate. He turns and blasts a shot past University of Virginia then-junior goalkeeper Joey Batrouni to give the Hoosiers the lead in the 11th minute of play. Oduro runs to the left-side of the pitch right by the flag post where he is celebrated by his teammates.
It was the decisive goal in Indiana men’s soccer’s 1-0 NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen win over Virginia on Nov. 26, 2023.
For Oduro, a freshman at the time, the goal was the first of many key accomplishments he achieved throughout his career in Bloomington.
However, his journey to Indiana was one filled with hardships, such as being away from his family for 10 years. But it also brought new friendships and, ultimately, a brand-new life experience for the Ghanaian footballer.
Oduro grew up in Bibiani, Ghana, a town in the Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai Municipal District with a population of almost 168,000, per the 2021 census.
Growing up, Oduro was inspired by his parents and six siblings, who also all played soccer from a young age. Oduro’s dad pushed him to play the game as a kid and bought him equipment to build a love for it.
“I remember my first cleat my dad bought me, and then obviously a soccer ball,” Oduro said. “It just was fun. It was just like the best thing that has happened to me. I literally went to bed that night wearing that cleats to sleep, and I just never wanted to take it off.”
As Oduro played soccer in Bibiani, his skills continued to grow. Eventually, his family opted to enroll him in the Right to Dream Academy in Ghana when he was a kid to make that happen.
The Right to Dream Academy’s three pillars are “Football,” “Education” and “Character.” Playing and studying at the Academy, which he said was the best in Africa, helped shape Oduro into the person he is on and off the pitch.
“Everything that I learned in the house was even better there because they told us how to be disciplined, very respectful,” Oduro said. “Everything I have right now is just from the Academy. Like everything I learned about my character... We were learning that character traits, everything.”
Oduro also created new friendships at the academy that have helped him throughout his career, like his relationship with KK Baffour.
Baffour is a year older than Oduro and currently a senior midfielder at the University of Notre Dame. When the two faced off this season on Sept. 7, Oduro led Indiana to a 1-0 victory over Notre Dame, scoring the only goal of the match. Both players also competed against each other in the Academy growing up and still stay in touch almost daily.
Baffour was an inspiration to Oduro when he was evaluating his options. When he was leaving the Academy, he had two choices, Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley said. The first was to move to the United States and pursue higher education and soccer. The second was moving to a lower-level league in Europe where he wouldn’t be able to obtain the same education as he would in America. Oduro ultimately chose to move to the United States.
For Baffour, it’s refreshing to see how far Oduro has come since their time together at the Academy.
“It's mostly inspiring stuff. It's just like we both know how far we want to go with soccer,” Baffour said. “So, whenever we do talk, almost every single day, it's mostly about inspiring, so keeping our head down and just grinding and trying to get to the goals we want to get to in the future.”
When Oduro came to the United States, he enrolled in The Phelps School, an all-boys school in Chester County, Pennsylvania, for his senior year of high school.
Oduro was named the captain of the school’s soccer team and led it to a 22-2 record during the 2022-23 season.
Phelps won the Penn-Jersey Athletic Association title but lost in the state championship. Oduro scored 39 goals and tallied 80 total points on the year.
Oduro was also named the 2022 Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year, which he considers “one of the best achievements” in high school.
As his senior year of high school progressed, Oduro met with Indiana associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Kevin Robson. The two met a couple of times over the phone and in-person, before Indiana offered Oduro a chance to play in Bloomington.
“He just naturally lights up a room, the way he talks about his family, the way he talks about his teammates. He was talking about his teammates at Phelps on the visit,.” Robson said. “... But I think that here at IU, we have such a great feeling chemistry and making everybody feel welcome. I think that just he naturally just adapted to that type of environment that coach (Todd) Yeagley in particular and his father (Jerry Yeagley) have created.”
Oduro also described Todd Yeagley as a “second dad in the U.S.” Their relationship has made the forward feel at home throughout his three-year career in Bloomington.
“He just helps me through all my family stuff, just like personal stuff that I go through. He just helps me through that,” Oduro said. "And he's the best coach that has coached me. And I can't really trade it for anything else. I'm just happy and glad I got opportunity to play for him.”
Following Oduro’s sophomore season with the Hoosiers, he was drafted by Orlando City SC in the second round of the 2025 MLS SuperDraft.
But after heavy consideration, Oduro opted to return to Indiana for his junior season.
And now, in what is likely his final year of soccer at Indiana, Oduro has balanced pursuing his degree and bringing a high level of play on the pitch every game.
This year, he's improved in terms of moving off-the-ball and his defensive awareness while being a leader on the field and using his voice more, Yeagley said.
While Yeagley has referred to Oduro as a dynamic player, his impact on the pitch will ultimately be a driving factor in Indiana’s pursuit of its ninth NCAA championship this postseason
Yeagley said Oduro brings a “different life experience to the team, “where most of the players grew up in the Midwest and the U.S.”
“He wants to achieve something and leave here with his degree and his family back home,” Yeagley said. “I know it’s important to them as well as it is to him because he didn’t have to do the college path.”
Follow reporters Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) and Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer and matfuent@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men's soccer season.
