The 2018 wide receiver recruiting class was spearheaded by top prospects Amon-Ra St. Brown and Ja’Marr Chase. Both elite talents lived up to the immense hype and have since become All-Pro receivers in the NFL.
Lost in that group was the player who sat between Brown and Chase in the rankings — a once highly-touted prospect whose path took a different turn. That player is Jordyn Adams.
He was the No. 2 receiver recruit in the class and originally committed to North Carolina, but he never played a college snap. Instead, he turned to baseball after being selected 17th overall by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2018 MLB Draft.
Now 26, Adams has retired from baseball and is set to return to football after announcing his decision to step away from the sport. He has enrolled at SMU and plans to play wide receiver for the Mustangs this season, per On3.
Adams spent seven seasons in professional baseball, primarily in the minor leagues.
He earned brief call-ups with the Angels and the Baltimore Orioles, but never lived up to his first-round draft status. He appeared in just 38 career MLB games and hit .165 with one home run and five RBIs before a final minor league stint with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Jordyn Adams appeared in 10 games at the major league level for the Baltimore Orioles in 2026. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Prior to pursuing baseball full-time, Adams put together a slew of accolades throughout his high school career at Green Hope High School in Cary, North Carolina. During his senior season, he recorded 1,060 yards and 19.1 yards per reception.
He was ranked as the No. 14 overall recruit in the 2018 class and chose the Tar Heels over Alabama, Clemson and LSU, per 247Sports. The players ahead of him in the rankings include Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Micah Parsons, Patrick Surtain and St. Brown.
Adams’ college football eligibility this season could depend on a proposed NCAA rule change.
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors advanced an age-based “Five-for-Five” model that would give athletes five years of competition within a five-year eligibility window. The clock would begin after an athlete graduates from high school or turns 19, whichever comes first. If the “Five-for-Five” rule is enacted, it could jeopardize Adams’ eligibility.
Adams wouldn’t be the first former MLB player to turn back the clock. In 2024, former Miami Marlins outfielder Monte Harrison retired from baseball at 30 years old and enrolled at Arkansas as a wide receiver.
Harrison remains with the Razorbacks as they prepare for the 2026 season. If Adams suits up for SMU this year, he would have four years of eligibility remaining under coach Rhett Lashlee, barring any “five-for-five” changes, and could quickly become one of college football’s most intriguing storylines.
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