I will take this one. Yes, God COULD have created Adam via evolution. But we don't have to wonder if this is how it happened, because in His Word, he lays it out. Adam was created from dust.
It's plausible to deny it as well. Because "evolution" usually refers to some naturalistic process by which man arose without any supernatural act. So to say 'God could create Adam via evolution' is like saying 'God could create Adam without God.' Which is a contradiction.
-— . Adam was created from dust. -—
It’s not a detailed explanation of the process, leaving a lot of room for speculation.
Darwin didn’t invent evolutionary theory. St. Augustine believed something similar. Darwin’s novel theory was “survival of the fittest” as a mechanism of evolution. St. Thomas Aquinas believed in Special Creation in separate ages. That’s where I’m leaning these days.
God is the Author of Scripture and Creation. They must conform to each other, since God is Truth Itself. We are far from an obvious synthesis.
You are looking at it too simplistically. Suppose life arose from non-living matter, ie. dust. This first simple life then evolved into more complex life, eventually leading to the physical body of humans. Suppose God created the conditions that would inevitably lead to this occurrence. Would it not then be correct to state that He created humans from dust? The Bible states simply that God created humans from dust. It does not say that there were no intermediate steps.
Remember, the Bible was written to give moral guidance to a pre-industrial tribe with little scientific knowledge. Any knowledge of the world that the Hebrews had came from observation and common sense. Modern science shows that common sense is not always an accurate guide to the way the universe works. Essentially, from the viewpoint of scientific knowledge, the Hebrews were children. When you explain things to your children, do you do so using the complete modern scientific understanding, or do you find a simpler way to explain things that your children can understand? Why would God not do the same for the Hebrews? The Bible explains what the Hebrews needed to know, namely that God created everything. They lacked the scientific understanding to grasp the full details.