Orlando Pirates

Kicker Axel Perez joins the Pirates for the 2026 season. This will be Perez’ third year in the Indoor Football League.

Last season with the Bay Area Panthers, the 6’0”, 195 native of Gardenia, CA, ranked fourth in the league for kickers with 114 points. He connected on 12 of 25 field goals (48%), made 78 of 103 extra points (46.4%), and was sixth, averaging 6.7 points per game. He had a season high three field goals against the Arizona Rattlers and a long field goal of 52 yards against the Northern Arizona Wranglers.

In 2024, his first season in the league, Perez was the IFL Special Teams Rookie of the Year playing for Northern Arizona. An Indoor Football League All-Rookie Team selection, Perez made 15 of 28 field goals (53.6%) with a long of 48 yards. He also made 75 of 100 PATs. His signature game that year was against Bay Area, where he produced 17 points, which included two field goals, a pair of recovered onside kicks, and four drop kicks, with one being the game winner in a come-from-behind victory.

Perez played collegiately at Harbor College in Los Angeles, CA.  With the Seahawks, he became one of the best junior-college punters in the nation in 2019. At LAHC, Perez attracted All-State accolades for his punting and was selected as an All-Southern California Football Association First-Team kicker.

Perez then enrolled at Hampton University in Virginia, where he played from 2021 through 2022. Perez handled both the kicking and punting duties while playing for the Pirates. 

As a punter in his senior season, Perez had an impressive 41.3-yard average. As a place kicker, he converted eight of 13  field goal attempts for a success rate of 61.5 percent. The season before, he was almost perfect, making ten of his eleven field goal attempts.