For Alabama Crimson Tide fans who want something to attend to other than Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher, there’s plenty of news from Tuscaloosa. In every case, it is pretty big news.
Alabama Crimson Tide Gymnastics
After eight head-coaching seasons, Dana Duckworth has decided to step down. Counting her time as a student-athlete and assistant, Duckworth has been involved with the Crimson Tide program for 27 seasons.
As reported by rolltide.com, Duckworth said,
"I have decided to step down and focus on my family for now. I have all the confidence in the world in this team and wish nothing but great things for their future.It has been an absolute honor to compete for, recruit and coach so many amazing women who have been a part of the Alabama gymnastics family."
A national search will be conducted for Duckworth’s successor.
Crimson Tide Women’s Golf
On Friday afternoon, the Crimson Tide women will begin competition for an NCAA Championship. The Crimson Tide is one of 24 teams competing at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ. It will be the 16th trip to the NCAA Finals for the Tide, with a National Championship having been won in 2012 and a runner-up finish in 2018.
Alabama is the tournament’s 9th seed and is joined in the field by eight other SEC teams.
Crimson Tide Softball
Also on Friday, the Crimson Tide begins NCAA Tournament play. It will be the 23rd consecutive regional competition for Patrick Murphy’s team. The Tide’s opening game is against Chattanooga. The other two teams in the Tuscaloosa Regional are Stanford and Murray State.
Alabama has hosted 19 NCAA Regionals and this week will be its 17th straight in Tuscaloosa.
Crimson Tide Men’s Basketball
Nate Oats got his 12th scholarship player this week and he will compete for a starting role. Saint Bonaventure graduate transfer Dominick Welch has joined the Alabama Crimson Tide.
The 6’5″ small forward played four seasons for the Bonnies. Last season he averaged 12.3 points per game with 37.4% three-point shooting. He also made 57.7% of shots at the rim.
His outside the arc numbers are interesting. As the tweet below shows, his percentage would have been a point or two higher if not for attempts in the middle of the three-point area.
Dominick Welch shot chart from his 21-22 season at St. Bonaventure. You can see why Welch believes Alabama’s system would be a good fit for his game. @CrimsonXover #RollTide pic.twitter.com/OvSOXGflNH
— Alex Boothe (@AlexBootheTV) May 19, 2022
Welch has excellent shooting form and can get threes off the dribble. He along with Darius Miles and freshman Brandon Miller should give Nate Oats plenty of perimeter firepower.
Welch was pursued by Texas Tech and other programs.
Nate Oats has one more scholarship slot available but does not have many minutes to entice another transfer.