Jordyn Adams Returns to Football After Baseball Stint
Eight years after opting for a career in professional baseball instead of college football, Jordyn Adams, a former first-round draft pick for the Los Angeles Angels, is set to give football another shot.
Reports indicate that Adams, now 26, will be joining Southern Methodist University this fall to play for the Mustangs, marking an unusual turn in his athletic career.
Adams will step into a program under head coach Rhett Lashley, who has impressed audiences by turning the Mustangs into a rapidly advancing team, boasting an impressive 31-10 record over the last three seasons.
With the Mustangs losing their top two receivers, Jordan Hudson and Romello Brinson, to the Dallas Cowboys this offseason, Adams finds himself in a prime position to make an impact.
This decision to switch back to football is especially interesting given Adams’ strong reputation as a football player coming out of Green Hope High School in North Carolina. He was a five-star recruit and a highly regarded prospect, committed to North Carolina State to play both football and baseball, having turned down powerful programs like Alabama and Clemson, and joining a talented recruiting group that included NFL stars like Ja’Marr Chase and Jaylen Waddle.
However, everything shifted when Adams was selected by the Angels as the 17th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft.
Rather than heading to Chapel Hill, Adams chose to pursue baseball and signed a substantial contract reportedly worth $3.5 million. Back then, this decision seemed financially sound, as NIL opportunities for college athletes hadn’t emerged yet.
These days, the NIL landscape is quite different, with players like Oregon State’s Dacorien Moore—considered a top receiver in the upcoming recruiting cycle—valued at around $712,000, and Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith reportedly earning between $4 million and $5 million annually through such opportunities.
These figures echo the financial environment Adams faced when he signed with the Angels. His last contract with Baltimore netted him about $740,000 before his baseball journey came to an end.
Unfortunately for Adams, his baseball career didn’t follow the expected trajectory. Though he was previously one of the top three prospects on the team and had stints in 38 games with both the Angels and the Orioles, his performance was underwhelming—a .165 batting average, one home run, and five RBIs.
Despite his exceptional athleticism in the minors, including 55 home runs during his professional career, he couldn’t secure a consistent spot in major league rosters.
Aiming to leverage the athletic skills that once made him a top football prospect, Adams is ready to pursue this new chapter.
Because he has never enrolled in college, Adams still qualifies under the current NCAA regulations, although changes to these eligibility rules are being discussed. As it stands, he will be eligible to enroll at SMU for the upcoming season, making this a compelling gamble for both him and the program—it’s likely to be one of the standout stories in college football this year.
