Alabama Crimson Tide news and notes from the weekend that was in Crimson Tide athletics.
3 Alabama freshmen make 3 different decisions on Tide Hoops futures
Alabama basketball got a good bit of production from its 2025 freshman class, highlighted by Amari Allen's star turn and London Jemison's steady improvement. Over the weekend, three of the Crimson Tide's four-man freshman class made decisions on their futures. All chose differently.
First up, Jemison announced he would return to the Crimson Tide for his sophomore season. The former 4-star recruit got better and better as the season went on, ultimately earning a spot in Alabama's starting five down the stretch. He'll be a key piece of next season's team.
Shortly after Jemison's decision, Davion Hannah, a former 4-star recruit in his own right, announced his decision to enter the Transfer Portal. Hannah only played in 10 games this past season, showing some intriguing traits but also how far he had to come in his development to see meaningful playing time at this level.
And then on Sunday night, Allen announced that he would enter the 2026 NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility. Allen will go through the pre-draft process and participate in the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago from May 10-17. He'll have until May 27th to remove his name and return for his sophomore season.
Alabama basketball Transfer Portal update
Oats and Alabama missed out on Furman guard Alex Wilkins, who committed to Kentucky before the Crimson Tide could get him on campus for a visit. The Wilkins miss looms a bit larger in the aftermath of Allen's NBA Draft decision.
Alabama appears to have moved on from Syracuse forward Donnie Freeman. The Tide pivoted to Boise State forward/center Drew Fielder, who was in Tuscaloosa over the weekend for a visit. Oats and Alabama are still working to close the deal, but Fielder's attention would shore up the Alabama frontcourt for next season.
With Allen declaring, it'll be interesting to see if Oats starts to get more aggressive in trying to find a difference-maker at guard.
Alabama softball sweeps Kentucky
Bouncing back from a disheartening mid-week defeat at the hands of Samford, Patrick Murphy and Alabama softball did what it should do against SEC bottom-feeder Kentucky. The Crimson Tide swept the Wildcats, bookending the weekend with a pair of shutouts with a thrilling comeback win sandwiched in the middle.
Alabama won 9-0 via run-rule to open the series on Friday. Jocelyn Briski tossed a shutout while the Tide's offense was powered by homers from Marlie Giles, Brooke Wells, Ana Roman, and Audrey Vandagriff.
Saturday was a back-and-forth affair. An Alexis Pupilo homer put Alabama up 2-0 early, but Kentucky broke through on Vic Moten with three runs in the 6th to take the lead. The 'Cats added an insurance run in the 7th to take a 4-2 lead as Alabama came up to bat in the final inning.
RBI singles from Wells and Giles tied the game at 4, and then Vandragriff hit a walk-off infield single to win the game.
On Sunday, freshman Kaitlyn Pallozi and Briski shut down the Kentucky bats, holding the Wildcats to a combined four hits in a shutout effort. A pair of RBI doubles by Wells highlighted the offensive effort in a 4-0 Alabama win to earn the sweep.
Alabama baseball salvages a Sunday win to avoid a sweep at Texas
Following last weekend's stunning home sweep at the hands of Arkansas, Rob Vaughn and Alabama had to do whatever it took against No. 4 Texas to avoid a second straight SEC sweep.
A 10-2 loss on Friday was followed by a 3-1 loss on Saturday, and the Crimson Tide entered Sunday's matchup in Austin with its back against the wall.
Freshman pitcher Myles Upchurch delivered when Alabama had to have it. He shut down the Longhorns, throwing 5.1 shutout innings. Out of the bullpen Ashton Crowther kept the door closed, throwing 3.2 innings and allowing just one run.
Alabama's offense, which was quiet all weekend, did just enough. A Jason Torres RBI single, along with an extra run in the 7th off a Brady Neal double play, was all Upchurch and Crowther needed for the Tide to escape with a 2-1 win and avoid the sweep.
Will Anderson signs massive contract extension with the Texans
Will Anderson is now the highest paid non-QB in NFL history.
The former Alabama All-American and No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Anderson and the Houston Texans reached an agreement on a 3-year, $150 million contract extension over the weekend that includes $134 million guaranteed.
Anderson is coming off his best season as a pro, finishing runner-up in the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year voting behind Cleveland's Myles Garrett.
5-star Alabama QB target Elijah Haven down to 2 schools
This coming Saturday, 5-star QB Elijah Haven, the No. 1 QB in the 2027 recruiting class, will announce his college decision. The Baton Rouge native further trimmed his list down to two schools: Alabama and Georgia.
All signs continue to point toward Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide coming out on top.
Add us as a preferred source on Google