A central midfielder from West Lothian in Scotland, Ballantyne played for Edinburgh rivals Hearts and Hibernian in his youth career before making the move to St. Johnstone at the age of 15. The Scotsman would spend nine years with the Perth club, scoring two goals in 11 appearances, although the majority of it was spent out on loan in Scotland’s League One and League Two, where he’d rack up more than 100 appearances. Four of his loan spells were with Montrose, whilst one was with Clyde, and in his earlier days his first taste of senior football was with BSC Glasgow.

After leaving St. Johnstone, Ballantyne signed for Linfield on June 15, 2024, reuniting with his former St. Johnstone teammate Kyle McClean in the Blues’ midfield.

Ballantyne made his Linfield debut in a 2-0 defeat away to Icelandic side Stjarnan in Conference League Qualifying on July 11, 2024.