Major League outfielder Bubba Thompson will return to school at age 26.
As reported by AL.comThe former Texas Rangers first-round pick is leaving the diamond to enroll at South Alabama, where he plans to join the football team.
This is not entirely out of place. Thompson was an all-state quarterback at McGill-Toolen Catholic School in Mobile in 2016 and reportedly had scholarship offers from the University of Tennessee and Ole Miss.
However, he has focused exclusively on baseball for the past eight years, reaching the majors in 2022 before moving from the Rangers to the Kansas City Royals to the Cincinnati Reds. Thompson even received a World Series ring from the Rangers, although he was in Cincinnati when Texas beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in October 2023.
Thompson opted for free agency last May when he was demoted to Triple-A Chattanooga with his lifetime MLB average at .232. He has been out of baseball since then.
A South Alabama spokesperson did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for confirmation.
Bubba Thompson, 26, has played parts of two MLB seasons with three different teams.
Bubba Thompson puts his calling card on the draft board after being selected 26th overall by the Texas Rangers during the 2017 Major League Baseball Draft in Secaucus, New Jersey.
The South Alabama Jaguars are coming off a 7-6 season that included a win over Western Michigan in the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl.
Interestingly, Thompson chose South Alabama, where incoming starter Gio Lopez is coming off a strong season and has already announced his intention to stay with the Jaguars rather than transfer to a major program.
During the season, Lopez completed 66 percent of his passes for 2,559 yards, 18 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He also added another 465 yards and seven touchdowns on 83 carries.
If there is a reason to join South Alabama, it could be promising head coach Major Applewhite, the former Texas quarterback who was fired by Houston in 2020 but has since helped improve the Jaguars program.
Thompson is not the first baseball player to opt for football.
Current Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was selected by the Oakland Athletics with the ninth pick in the 2018 MLB Draft.
What is more unique is seeing a baseball player return to college in an effort to find success on the football field.
However, Josh Booty did just that in the 1990s and early 2000s. A two-sport star at Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, Louisiana, Booty first reached the majors with the Florida Marlins before enrolling at LSU. where he played quarterback for the Tigers.
Booty ultimately played three seasons in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns.