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In the latest example of a professional athlete making the jump back to the collegiate level, former Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jordyn Adams is finally getting her chance to play college football at SMU.
One of the top wide receivers in the 2018 class, which also featured Ja’Marr Chase, Adams was set to attend North Carolina to play both baseball and football until he was drafted 17th overall by the Angels that year, with a lucrative signing bonus.
A bona fide 5-star prospect, expectations were high for Adams when he decided to sign with North Carolina.
But when MLB came calling with a lucrative payday and opportunity, the talented receiver’s life story changed course.
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Jordyn Adams of the Milwaukee Brewers catches a fly ball during the eighth inning of a spring training game against the Cleveland Guardians at American Family Fields in Phoenix on February 21, 2026. (David Durochik/Diamond Images)
After starting his career with the Los Angeles Angels, Jordyn would finally make his big league debut in 2023.
He ended up playing in 17 games that season for the organization before playing another 11 games in 2024, ultimately bouncing around a few clubhouses before ending his baseball career two weeks ago after playing his final minor-league game.
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Finishing with 13 hits at the MLB level, his professional career never really took off, bouncing around the minor-league system while briefly making it to the show. Adams hit 55 homers during his time in the minors.
Jordyn Adams of the Los Angeles Angels hits a walk-off single to defeat the Chicago White Sox in the 13th inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 18, 2024. (John McCoy/Getty Images)
Now, after following in the footsteps of others, most recently Monte Harrison at Arkansas, Jordyn Adams is finally getting to grips with college.
As of last week, the two-way player signed with the SMU Mustangs, where he will play wide receiver this fall. Will he have the same burst of success we saw from Monte Harrison at Arkansas?
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That remains to be seen, but the chance to pursue his second career while entering college for the first time was an option he obviously had in the back of his mind.
Jordyn Adams strikes out during the ninth inning of her Orioles debut against the Chicago White Sox at Oriole Park in Baltimore on May 31, 2025. The Orioles won 4-2. (Diamond Images/Getty Images)
In case you were wondering, yes, this is legal under NCAA rules since he never actually went to college or started his eligibility clock.
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But as the NCAA prepares to adopt the “5 in 5” rule, the timing of Adam’s enrollment at SMU was clearly a clear sign that he needed to get to college now.
Under the potential new rules, an athlete’s clock would start the moment they graduated from high school or turned 19.
Would this affect Adams? I would doubt it, and I don’t imagine SMU wants to waste time on a player who may end up being ineligible, so the decision makes sense for both parties. And remember, he never actually committed to North Carolina in 2018, so he technically has years of college football eligibility left.
He may be a tad older, but we’re about to find out if Jordyn Adams still has any juice left on the football field.
