The focus in Tuscaloosa this summer has been on Kalen DeBoer’s recruiting heater, but Nate Oats has continued to keep Alabama in the upper echelon of college basketball with his work in the offseason. The latest positive development for Alabama basketball came in the 2026 class with four-star and the No. 26 overall recruit in the class, Chris Washington Jr., who included the Crimson Tide in his top seven.
Alabama was featured along with Auburn, Cincinnati, Florida A&M, Ole Miss, Villanova, and, perhaps most notably, Tennessee. The Volunteers are important in the race for Washington because the 6-foot-7, 175-pound wing is the top-rated player in the state of Tennessee.
NEWS: 2026 Top-25 recruit Chris Washington Jr. is down to seven schools, he tells @Rivals.
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) July 21, 2025
The 6-8 small forward is the No. 1 ranked player in the state of Tennessee. https://t.co/8VhFsFGYJK pic.twitter.com/f6klY0FMZY
4-star Chris Washington Jr. features Alabama in SEC-heavy top 7
Alabama has yet to add a commit in the 2026 class, but that’s not unique because only three of the top 25 players in the country have committed, and just six of the top 50. With many rosters just recently becoming finalized for the 2025-26 season, the primary focus on the recruiting trail is only beginning to shift to 2026 and players like Washington.
If 2025 is any indication, though, Oats will continue to recruit at a high level in future cycles. His 2025 class ranks No. 5 in the country by 247Sports Composite Rankings, which is eye-popping for a program that has primarily built through the transfer portal and assembled another impressive portal class this offseason.
Washington has long been a top recruit in the 2026 class. With forward size and guard skills, he would be an ideal fit in Oats’ wide-open offensive system. However, it could be important for him to add weight to his slender frame before leaping to the SEC level. Concerns about the physicality of the league could be why Washington is still considering Cincinnati, Villanova, and even Florida A&M, which plays in the SWAC.
His recruitment still has a long way to go, but especially with Auburn, Ole Miss, and Tennessee still in the mix, he is a prospect that Oats and his staff need to stay on top of, and who could be a foundational piece for the 2026 class.