Payton Pierce
Ohio State Buckeyes
91
Elite

Payton Pierce

Ohio State BuckeyesElite
MLBDefenseElite
Projected Starter

Is Payton Pierce starting?

Payton Pierce is the projected starter at MLB for Ohio State Buckeyes.

Junior · #26 · 6'1", 232 lbs

See full Ohio State Buckeyes depth chart ›
Play Dynasty as Coach Ohio StateFree. You call every play.

Depth at MLB · Ohio State Buckeyes

  1. 12691Payton PierceStarter
  2. 21774Tarvos Alford
  3. 32368Garrett Stover
  4. 43762Zach Hayes

Ohio State Starting Lineup

Full Ohio State depth chart ›

Top linebackers in the Big Ten

Rolijah HardyIndiana · WLBJayden MontgomeryIowa · WLBOwen ChamblissNebraska · WLB

The Story

Elite-Tier Talent

A 4-star recruit out of Lovejoy, ranked #204 nationally coming out of high school. In 2025: 44 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 0 sacks. That's 4% of the team's production at his spot — good for a 91 overall (Elite tier).

Recruit4★ · #204 Natl2-Yr Total48 tackles · 0 sacksTeam Share4%
Lucas, TX
Jersey
#26
Class
JR
Height
6'1"
Weight
232 lbs

Career Stats

SeasonTklTFLSacks
2025441.50
2024400

Regular-season totals from public sources. Derived splits (completion %, yards per carry, catch rate) aren't available in our current dataset.

Recruiting Profile

Stars
★★★★☆4-star
Composite
0.9210
National Rank
#204
High School
Lovejoy
Hometown
Lucas, TX

Why this rating?

On a 94-rated defense; 74th-percentile production (×1.00 for competition level) put them +1 vs unit starters → 91.

Team defense (SP+)
94
Rating basis
On-field stats
On-field production
Outperforms 74% of peers
Recruiting pedigree
Top 25% recruit
Strength of schedule
Faces easier competition — rating adjusted down (×1.00)
Depth-chart adjustment
+1 for role

2026 projection — based on SP+ (a respected team-efficiency metric; 2026 not published yet, using 2025), 2025 production, recruiting, and the 2026 transfer portal; capped to depth-chart order.

2026 Game Log

Oct 10WMDTKL 4
TKL
4
SOLO
0
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final W 45-16

Oct 3WIOWATKL 6
TKL
6
SOLO
3
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final W 31-14

Sep 26WILLTKL 6
TKL
6
SOLO
2
SACK
0.5
INT
0
PD
0

Final W 42-19

Sep 19WKENTTKL 2
TKL
2
SOLO
1
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final W 59-3

Sep 12LTEXTKL 9
TKL
9
SOLO
6
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final L 24-23

Sep 5WBALLTKL 3
TKL
3
SOLO
0
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
1

Final W 56-3

Payton Pierce's 2026 game-by-game stat log.

The People's Ratings

Is our 91 OVR fair?
91
Elite
Vote to see what thousands of fans think

Team Role

44 tkl · 1.5 TFL · 0 sacks
Usage / Involvement50%
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Overall ratings blend team strength (SP+), on-field production, and recruiting. Higher = more impactful.