Ayo Oke (soccer)

Last updated

Ayo Oke
Personal information
Full name Ayooluwa Naomi Oke
Date of birth (2003-04-05) April 5, 2003 (age 22)
Place of birth Lawrenceville, Georgia, U.S.
Height 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Position(s)
Team information
Current team
 Denver Summit
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2021–2022 California Golden Bears 33 (2)
2023–2024 UCLA Bruins 32 (3)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2025 Pachuca 31 (1)
2026– Denver Summit 0 (0)
International career‡
2018 United States U-15
2018 United States U-16
2019 United States U-17 4 (0)
2019 United States U-18 4 (0)
2022 United States U-20 11 (0)
2025– United States U-23 2 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of November 11, 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of December 2, 2025

Ayooluwa Naomi Oke (born April 5, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a right back for Denver Summit FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She played college soccer for the California Golden Bears and the UCLA Bruins. She then signed with Pachuca and helped the club win their first Liga MX Femenil title. She represented the United States at the youth international level, appearing at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.

Contents

Early life

Oke was born in Lawrenceville, Georgia, the daughter of Nigerian parents Kolade and Ronke Oke, and has an older brother. [1] She played club soccer for NTH Tophat, earning All-American honors twice, and played high school soccer at Brookwood High School. [1]

College career

Oke played in 13 games, starting 11, and scored 1 goal for the California Golden Bears as a freshman in 2021, being named to the Pac-12 Conference all-freshman team. [2] She played and started in 20 games, scored 1 goal, and jointly led the conference with 9 assists as a sophomore in 2022, earning second-team All-Pac-12 honors. [1] She then transferred to the reigning national champion UCLA Bruins, starting all 19 games and scoring 1 goal with 4 assists in 2023. She contributed to 11 clean sheets and was again named second-team All-Pac-12 as the Bruins won the conference title but were upset as a one seed in the NCAA tournament first round. [1] [3] She dealt with injury over her senior season in 2024, playing in 15 games with 5 starts and scoring 2 goals with 1 assist. [1] [4] She had two goal contributions in the Big Ten Tournament as the Bruins won the tournament in their first year in the conference, then scored in their loss in the NCAA tournament second round. [5]

Club career

Pachuca

Liga MX Femenil club Pachuca announced on January 14, 2025, that they had signed Oke to her first professional contract. [6] She made her professional debut one day later as a substitute in 2–2 draw with Cruz Azul. [7] In the playoffs, she scored her first professional goal in a 4–1 victory over Atlas in the quarterfinals second leg. [7] In the semifinals, she started both legs against Monterrey as the Tuzas advanced to their fourth league final in club history, though she injured her ankle in the return leg. [8] Due to the injury, she played limited minutes in the Clausura 2025 final as Pachuca held off América to win their first league title. [9] On September 5, she scored her first Liga MX Femenil regular-season goal in a 3–2 win over Juárez. [7] Pachuca finished second in the Apertura 2025 regular season but lost in the playoff quarterfinals. [10]

Denver Summit

On January 6, 2026, NWSL expansion team Denver Summit FC announced that they had acquired Oke and signed her to a three-year contract. [11] ESPN reported that the transfer fee was close to US$450,000, making it the most expensive transfer for an American coming into the NWSL. [10]

International career

Oke played friendlies for the United States youth national team at the under-15, under-16, under-17, and under-18 levels. [12] [13] She played in the first six games (two starts) for the under-20 team at the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, allowing no goals, and was unused for the final as they defeated Mexico. [12] [14] She played in two games at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, starting in their 3–0 loss to the Netherlands, as the United States failed to make it out of the group stage. [12] She played for the under-23 team against NWSL competition in the 2023 preseason. [15]

Honors

UCLA Bruins

Pachuca

Individual

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Ayo Oke". UCLA Bruins . Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Ayo Oke". California Golden Bears . Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  3. ↑ Friedman, Isabelle (November 10, 2023). "UC Irvine cuts No. 1 seed UCLA women's soccer's NCAA run short with late-game shot". Daily Bruin . Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  4. ↑ Garcia, Samantha (September 1, 2024). "UCLA women's soccer begins series of away games with matchup against Pepperdine". Daily Bruin . Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  5. ↑ Abumansour, Rahaf (November 14, 2024). "Big Ten crown in hand, women's soccer prepares for NCAA tournament redemption". Daily Bruin . Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  6. ↑ Santoy, Héctor (January 15, 2025). "Las Tuzas del Pachuca tienen nuevo refuerzo: Ayooluwa Oke". Organización Editorial Mexicana . Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 "Oke Ayooluwa". Flashscore. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  8. ↑ Gaspar, Melina (May 7, 2025). "Liga MX Femenil: Semifinals Recap and Big Final Preview". All for XI. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  9. ↑ Garrido, Esteban (May 9, 2025). "¡Paliza! Pachuca Femenil golea a América en la Final de Ida". Récord (in Spanish). Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  10. 1 2 Kassouf, Jeff (December 29, 2025). "Sources: Denver to sign Oke for NWSL record fee for American". ESPN . Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  11. ↑ Newman, Kyle (January 6, 2026). "Denver Summit FC signs up-and-coming star in defender Ayo Oke" . The Denver Post . Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 Ayo Oke at Soccerway OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  13. ↑ "U.S. U-15 Girls National Team earns 3-2 win over Japan". SoccerWire. August 23, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
    "U.S. U-16 Girls National Team routs Belgium 5-1 in UEFA Tournament". SoccerWire. May 15, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  14. ↑ "USA Wins Concacaf Women's U-20 Championship With 2-0 Victory Over Mexico". United States Soccer Federation. March 12, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  15. ↑ "U.S. Under-23 Women's Youth National Team Falls 3–0 To OL Reign To Open Thorns Preseason Tournament". United States Soccer Federation. March 12, 2023. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Pachuca beats America on aggregate to capture its first Liga MX Femenil title". Associated Press. May 12, 2025. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
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