Oakland Roots have started their season strong at 2-1-0, currently on top of the USL Championship Western Conference. A lot of Roots’ players have been impressive through the first three games, but among those standing out has been central midfielder Bobosi Byaruhanga.
Bobosi is currently Roots’ best overall-rated player by FotMob with a 7.98. His eight shot attempts rank in the top four percent of midfielders, while his two big chances created put him in the top eight percent, and his 15 successful duels have him in the top 12 percent.
Roots head coach Ryan Martin appeared on USL All Access before the start of the season, where he said that he expects Byaruhanga to become “one of the best central midfielders in the league after this year.”
Since then, Bobosi got things started against Monterey Bay with one created chance and seven passes completed into the final third. He was Roots’ best-rated player against New Mexico United despite not recording any goals or assists, logging three shots and five passes into the final third. He then gained his first goal contribution of the season with an assist to Wolfgang Prentice in Oakland’s 2-2 draw with Phoenix.
Martin was asked about what he is noticing from Bobosi following Oakland’s home opener against New Mexico on March 14, praising the midfielder’s intangibles that make him an “elite” player at the position.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a guy who has his range of running and can cover the amount of ground that he can. The way his timing and ability to anticipate second-balls, tackles, and challenges are elite. When you’re looking at an elite box-to-box midfielder, he checks a lot of those boxes,” Martin said.
As for where he’d like Bobosi to improve, Martin said the midfielder can get a bit too casual in possession at times, which leads to turnovers.
“The one area we’re really challenging him on right now is that he gets a little casual in possession, and he turns the ball over a little bit too much. To be where he wants to go and where we want him to go, we just need a little more consistency on the ball. But, he’s coming a long way and coming out of his shell in terms of his personality. He’s a really good complement to Tommy [McCabe] in the middle of the park as well,” Martin said.
Bobosi has been “here, there, and everywhere” for Oakland Roots through its three games thus far. The Blog’s Luis De Guzman highlighted Byaruhanga after the last two games, drawing attention to how his heatmap shows the midfielder being used in all levels of the pitch.
Fellow central midfielder Tommy McCabe also had high praise for Bobosi back on March 14, noting how his ability to recover the ball has been vital to their success. In fact, Bobosi is the league’s No. 1 midfielder in recoveries with nine per game and 27 in total. He had six most recently against Phoenix, 10 against New Mexico, and 11 versus Monterey Bay.
“Bobosi is the roaming, do-it-all player. He’s been incredible. His ability to recover the ball has been really important for us,” McCabe said.
Byaruhanga, 24, started his professional career with Vipers SC fresh out of the club’s academy in 2019. He earned the 2021 Airtel FUFA Male Player of the Year award, winning two league titles in the process.
From there, he traveled to the Czech Republic on loan with MFK Vyškov in 2022. Austin FC II signed him to a season-long loan in January of 2023, playing as the club’s starting midfielder in its MLS Next Pro Cup title.
He signed another loan with Austin FC II for 2024. Oakland signed him to a contract in March of 2025.
Last year, he appeared in 21 matches and started 13 times for 1,412 minutes, one assist, 20 shot attempts with three on target, 480 successful passes with 44 completed long balls, created five scoring chances and two big chances, eight successful dribbles, won 54 duels, 27 tackles, and 85 recoveries.
In 2026, he’s totaled 270 minutes in three starts, recording one assist, eight shot attempts with two on target, 117 successful passes with six completed long balls, created three scoring chances and two big chances, two successful dribbles, won 15 duels, nine tackles, nine interceptions, and 27 recoveries.