Nashville’s Journeyman Athlete Returns to the Gridiron: Jordyn Adams Enrolls at SMU

Photo / Nashville Sounds

By David Oglesby

A sports dream that once seemed split between two worlds—football and baseball—has taken a new turn for former Nashville Sounds player Jordyn Adams.

According to a CBS Sports report, Adams has enrolled at SMU and plans to join the Mustangs’ football program, returning to the sport that first made him a national recruit.

For Nashville fans who saw Adams during his time with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, the move feels like a full-circle moment: the same athlete who arrived pursuing a professional baseball path is now stepping into college football with the intent to compete on the field again.

From 5-star football recruit to pro baseball veteran

Adams wasn’t just a standout athlete—he was viewed as one of the sport’s future stars. In the 2018 recruiting class, 247Sports ranked him as the No. 3 wide receiver and No. 14 overall prospect nationally, with only elite prospects like Amon-Ra St. Brown and Ja’Marr Chase rated ahead of him at the position.

He ultimately signed with North Carolina, intending to play both football and baseball. But that plan changed when the Los Angeles Angels selected him with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft on a signing deal worth more than $3 million.

From there, the football-to-baseball pivot became real life—Adams spent the next stretch of years climbing through the Angels’ system, making his major league debut in 2023 and appearing in 17 games that season, then returning for 11 more games in 2024.

In total, his MLB experience came in 38 games, with 13 hits, one home run, and five RBIs—while his longer runway of at-bats came primarily in the minors.

Most recently, Adams was in the Nashville Sounds organization, with his last Triple-A appearance listed as May 20. (cbssports.com)

The other recent example: Monte Harrison’s football return

Adams’ decision mirrors a story that already played out in college football last year.

Monte Harrison, a former MLB outfielder, made a similar jump by enrolling at Arkansas as a wide receiver after nearly a decade in professional baseball. Reports at the time described him as moving from a long baseball career into football competition—following the same idea that he could still pursue what he loved growing up.

That precedent matters because it shows how the NCAA pathway for older “non-traditional” athletes can still exist—at least in some circumstances—when a player’s college timeline is unusual.

How Adams is still eligible to play college football (and why it’s complicated)

Adams’ case is unusual because he never enrolled at North Carolina after turning pro. The CBS Sports report notes that NCAA eligibility rules are still being discussed and debated, including proposals tied to an age-based “five-for-five” concept that could reshape eligibility for future athletes.

But for Adams personally, the current reality is that he is eligible to play college football.

In other words: while the rules may be shifting in the background, Adams’ football return is happening now.

What it means for SMU—and for Nashville

SMU is getting a rare kind of athlete: a former elite high school receiver, a proven pro-caliber competitor, and a player who has already lived through the pressures of both development leagues and the MLB spotlight.

For Nashville area sports fans, Adams’ move is more than a roster update—it’s a sign that the route athletes talented enough to play on an elite level in one sport can for some translate into another.

If you'd like to catch Adams live in action this upcoming season, the closest SMU will play to Music City is at Louisville's L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium on September 19.