Ohio State did not defend its national championship this past winter. Ranked No. 1 through the bulk of the season, the Buckeyes dropped their final two games, falling to eventual national champion Indiana in the Big Ten Championship and to runner-up Miami in a Cotton Bowl quarterfinal.
This spring, though, Ryan Day's Buckeyes defended their championship with ease.
With 11 total selections and four of the top 11, Ohio State was once again the champion of the draft using the Selection Points formula.
Created in 2021, Selection Points assigns a numerical value to each draft pick: the first pick is worth 250 points, the second is worth 249, and so on all the way down to 1. Rather than using pre-school arithmetic, Selection Points values draft picks in a way that mirrors the draft itself -- each pick is fractionally less valuable than the one that came before it. A team that produces two first-rounders grades out better than a team with four seventh-rounders, in the same way an NFL team would rather have two firsts than four sevenths. In this way, we can state that Oregon's seven picks were 32 percent more valuable than Oklahoma's seven, because three Sooners went off the board at pick 224 or later.
Ohio State's 11 picks equated to 1,871 points, a good bit behind last spring's 2,225 points. While last year's Buckeye class did not have a player go off the board until No. 19, Ohio State boasted seven of the top 45 picks and 14 in total. This year's class still ranks among the top-10 all-time, dating back to 2001. More on that below.
Elsewhere, historic performances on the field were reinforced by historic performances in the draft.
After reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time in their respective program histories, Texas A&M (1,551 selection points), Miami (1,480) and Texas Tech (1,155) finished second, fourth, and sixth in the draft. It was Miami's second straight season to lead the ACC's draft output, although last season the Hurricanes finished 12th nationally -- and their first pick went off the board nine spots earlier. Iowa State was the Big 12's top finisher in 2025 at No. 13 in the nation.
On the flip side, Clemson finished third with 1,497 points, following a year that saw the Tigers start at No. 4 and finish 4-4 in the ACC and 7-6 overall. Preseason No. 2 Penn State also finished in the top 10 on draft weekend with 938 points, one spot behind semifinalist Oregon and two spots ahead of national champion Indiana. With 895 points and at No. 11 nationally, Indiana posted the lowest score by a reigning national champion in the 6-year history of this formula.
Finally, the SEC once again led the way in total draft picks and in Selection Points. Leading the nation for the 20th consecutive year, the conference shattered its own record with 87 total draft picks, with all 16 schools contributing to that total. While the SEC occupied only three spots in the Selection Points top-11, 11 schools in the It Just Means More Conference cracked the top 25, including an 0-8 Arkansas team that still boasted four draft picks.
2026 Selection Points Top 25
1. Ohio State -- 1,871 selection points (11 draft picks)
2. Texas A&M -- 1,551 (10)
3. Clemson -- 1,497 (9)
4. Miami -- 1,480 (9)
5. Georgia -- 1,310 (8)
6. Texas Tech -- 1,194 (9)
7. Alabama -- 1,155 (10)
8. Oregon -- 983 (7)
9. Penn State -- 938 (7)
10. Notre Dame -- 931 (6)
11. Indiana -- 895 (7)
12. Florida -- 865 (7)
13. Missouri -- 848 (6)
14. Washington -- 831 (7)
15. Michigan -- 784 (6)
16. LSU -- 745 (7)
17. Iowa -- 695 (7)
18. Oklahoma -- 671 (7)
19. Tennessee -- 665 (5)
20. Arizona State -- 649 (5)
21. Texas -- 641 (6)
22. Auburn -- 527 (4)
23. USC -- 512 (3)
24. Utah -- 466 (3)
25. Arkansas -- 459 (4)
Historic Selection Points performances
1. 2020 LSU -- 2,383 (14)
2. 2016 Ohio State -- 2,351 (12)
3. 2022 Georgia -- 2,304 (15)
4. 2025 Ohio State -- 2,255 (14)
5. 2017 Alabama -- 2,020 (10)
6. 2004 Ohio State -- 1,999 (14)
7. 2021 Alabama -- 1,939 (10)
8. 2020 Alabama -- 1,903 (9)
9. 2026 Ohio State -- 1,871 (11)
10. 2025 Georgia -- 1,781 (13)
11. 2006 USC -- 1,755 (11)
12. 2025 Texas -- 1,740 (12)
13. 2002 Miami -- 1,734 (12)
14. 2023 Alabama -- 1,727 (10)
15. 2015 Florida State -- 1,714 (11)