Jesus Machado Jr. holds the MLB · Starter spot in Rice Owls’s linebacker room. Where he sits among the room’s front-line roles:

Jesus Machado Jr. is a 6'1", 216-pound linebacker from Miami, Florida who transferred to Rice from Houston. The former Champagnat Catholic standout initially played at Tulane, where he appeared in 49 games and recorded 158 career tackles across 1,100 defensive snaps in the American Conference. In 2023, he earned Second team All-AAC honors after posting 98 tackles, including 12 against Rice. After sitting out the 2024 season due to injury, Machado transferred to Houston in 2025 and appeared in four games, including one versus Rice where he recorded seven tackles on 15 defensive snaps.

Tulanethrough 2024

Houston2025

Rice2026 — present