Is Payton Pierce starting?
Payton Pierce is the projected starter at MLB for Ohio State Buckeyes.
Payton Pierce is the projected starting MLB on a Elite Ohio State — 91 OVR.
See full Ohio State Buckeyes depth chart ›Depth at MLB · Ohio State Buckeyes
- 12691Payton PierceStarter
- 21775Tarvos Alford
- 32370Garrett Stover
- 43362Eli Lee
What's Next
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).
- Jersey
- #26
- Class
- JR
- Height
- 6'1"
- Weight
- 232 lbs
Career Stats
| Season | Tkl | TFL | Sacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 44 | 1.5 | 0 |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
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 99-rated defense; 74th-percentile production (×1.00 for competition level) put them -1 vs unit starters → 91.
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
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
| OPP | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12 | LTEX | 9 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 5 | WBALL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Payton Pierce's 2026 game-by-game stat log.
The People's Ratings
Team Role
Overall ratings blend team strength (SP+), on-field production, and recruiting. Higher = more impactful.