Richard Ballard (born January 26, 1994) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

for

One Knoxville SC One Knoxville Sporting Club is an American soccer team based in Knoxville, Tennessee that competes in USL League One, the third tier of the United States soccer league system. History USL League Two The club was initially unveiled as Knox Pro ...

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championshi ...

Early life

Personal

Ballard was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

to John and Debi Ballard, and attended high school at

duPont Manual High School duPont Manual High School is a public magnet high school located in the Old Louisville neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It serves students in grades 9– 12. It is a part of the Jefferson County Public School District. DuP ...

. While at Manual he played three years of varsity soccer. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

he scored 21 goals with 24 assists while leading Manual to the district 12 title and be named to both the All-District and All-State First teams.

College and youth

Ballard played four years of

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

between 2012 and 2016, including a red-shirted year in 2013. During his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

year Ballard appeared in 13 matches, starting four, and was named to the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

All Freshman team. Ballard and Indiana won the

2012 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship The 2012 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament is a single-elimination tournament involving 48 teams to determine the champion of the 2012 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 54th edition of the tournament. Indiana defeated Georget ...

. Over the next two seasons he appear in 30 matches for Indiana scoring one goal as a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

. As a

he started all 21 of Indiana's matches with four goals and 2 assists while being named to the All-Big Ten second team. While at college, Ballard appeared for

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

side

River City Rovers Derby City Rovers were an American semi-professional soccer team based in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Derby City was also known for their elite-level youth teams that played in local, state, regional and national leagues. Founded in 201 ...

in 2012 and 2013.

Club career

Louisville City

2017 season

Ballard signed with

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues curren ...

side Louisville City on February 6 and made his professional debut on March 25 against Saint Louis. He appeared in 25 of Louisville's 32 league matches, being used primarily as a substitute, scoring three goals. He also appeared in both of Louisville's

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

matches, scoring one goal as well as all four of Louisville' USL Cup Playoff matches. Although he didn't score in regulation time during any of the USL Cup matches, he converted the final shot of the

Penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

in the Eastern Conference final against

New York Red Bulls II New York Red Bulls II is an American professional soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid. History Red Bull New Yo ...

. Ballard and Louisville won the USL Cup Final against

Swope Park Swope Park is a city park in Kansas City, Missouri. At , it is the 51st-largest municipal park in the United States, and the largest park in Kansas City. It is named in honor of Colonel Thomas H. Swope, a philanthropist who donated the land to t ...

with Ballard being named a finalist for USL Rookie of the Year.

2018 season

Ballard had his contract renewed with Louisville and he made his season debut on March 17 against USL expansion side

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is a Major League Soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The team began play in the league in 2020 as a continuation of the USL club of the same name and plays its home matches at Geodis Park. It is principally owned ...

. In early April Ballard suffered a stress fracture causing him to miss significant time. He finished the year making only four appearances across Louisville's 34 league matches without scoring a goal. Although he didn't make an appearance in any of Louisville's four

USL Cup The USL Championship Final is the post-season championship match of the USL Championship, the second tier of professional men's soccer in the United States. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North American sports lea ...

playoff matches Ballard and Louisville went on to win the USL Cup Final against

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

Miami FC

On January 14, 2021, following a year off from competitive play, Ballard signed with USL Championship side

Miami FC The Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 2016 se ...

Detroit City

On January 10, 2023, Ballard signed a two-year deal with USL Championship side Detroit City. He left Detroit following their 2023 season.

One Knoxville

Ballard joined

club One Knoxville on January 11, 2024.

Honors

Club

Louisville City FC Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, known through the 2018 season as the United Soccer League (USL), which is currently the second tier of th ...

(2):

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

References

External links

*
Richard Ballard
at Indiana Hoosiers {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballard, Richard 1994 births Living people American men's soccer players Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer players Derby City Rovers players DuPont Manual High School alumni Louisville City FC players Miami FC players Detroit City FC players Men's association football midfielders Soccer players from Louisville, Kentucky USL League Two players USL Championship players One Knoxville SC players