It was another busy Monday for the Alabama Crimson Tide with news and notes coming from both the football and basketball programs.
Alabama football has begun preparation for the Third Saturday in October matchup with Tennessee as they take to the road to battle the Vols in Knoxville this weekend.
For Alabama basketball, the preseason AP Poll was released as well as the preseason SEC predictions by the media.
Let's dive in and recap the busy day:
Top JUCO Edge Kevonte Henry flips commitmet to Alabama
Alabama moved in relative silence in the recruitment of the No. 1 junior college edge rusher Kevonte Henry. Henry committed to Mississippi State back in June, but he took an official visit to Tuscaloosa this past weekend that was kept quiet by both parties.
On Monday, Henry flipped his pledge from the the Bulldogs to the Crimson Tide. Back in 2022, Henry was a four-star prospect coming out of high school and started his collegiate career at Oklahoma. He entered the portal in December following his freshman season and has been at Cerritos College in California the last couple of years.
BREAKING: Elite JUCO EDGE Kevonte Henry has Flipped his Commitment from Mississippi State to Alabama, he tells @on3sports
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) October 14, 2024
The 6’4 240 EDGE from Los Angeles, CA is Ranked as the No. 1 EDGE in JUCO (per On3) 👀
Will have 2 years of eligibility remaining https://t.co/sICclm8pxg pic.twitter.com/HhOqws9yvK
Courtney Morgan gets a lot of the credit here. He's had a relationship with Henry since he was a high school recruit. Henry initially committed to Michigan when Morgan was on staff in Ann Arbor before flipping to Oklahoma on signing day after Morgan had joined Kalen DeBoer at Washington.
Henry will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Alabama Basketball achieves highest preseason AP Ranking
The preseason AP Men's Basketball poll was released on Monday, and Alabama achieved its highest ranking in program history in the preseason poll, ranking No. 2. Previously, the highest preseason ranking for the Crimson Tide was No. 7 ahead of the 1990-91 season.
Alabama was one of nine SEC teams in the poll, but the only one ranked inside the Top 10.
Nate Oats led Alabama to the program's first Final Four last season, and with a loaded roster and high expectations, will be looking to deliver the program's first national championship.
Alabama picked to win SEC, Mark Sears preseason SEC Player of the Year
The SEC released the projected order of finish by the media, and Alabama was selected as the favorite to win the competitive league. The projected order of finish:
- Alabama
- Auburn
- Tennessee
- Arkansas
- Texas A&M
- Florida
- Texas
- Kentucky
- Ole Miss
- Mississippi State
- South Carolina
- Georgia
- Missouri
- LSU
- Oklahoma
- Vanderbilt
Mark Sears was picked to the All-SEC 1st team and is the preseason SEC Player of the Year. Grant Nelson was selected to the All-SEC 2nd team.