Nate Oats and Alabama got the news it was expecting on Wednesday regarding senior wing Houston Mallette.
Mallette's application for a medical redshirt has been officially approved, per Alabama's NIL collective Yea-Alabama:
Mallette transferred to Alabama from Pepperdine last offseason. He was the first addition in the Transfer Portal last year, committing to the Crimson Tide before the Crimson Tide's run to the Final Four.
Mallette was expected to be a role player for the 2024-25 team, but issues with his knees kept him out for most of the summer. It was announced prior to the season that Mallette would redshirt. However, Alabama appeared to burn Mallette's redshirt following Latrell Wrightsell's season-ending injury.
Mallette made his debut for the Crimson Tide in Chapel Hill in December, playing nine minutes and connecting on both of his three-point attempts in Alabama's 94-79 win over the Tar Heels.
Mallette ultimately played in six games last season but struggled to find minutes once Chris Youngblood returned from injury. His final appearance for Alabama was on January 8th against South Carolina. It was then announced that his knee issues had flared up again, and he would indeed be seeking a medical redshirt to return next season.
Now, Alabama knows it will have Mallette back as expected. He should have a bigger role on next season's team. In 2023-24 at Pepperdine, Mallette averaged 14.7 points per game and shot 41% from three.
His leverage numbers in limited minutes were strong this past season. He could be one of the most important two-way players for the Tide next year.
Mallette's return adds clarity, but Nate Oats still has work to do
Alabama still has two open roster spots to sort out. It is believed that Wrightsell will also get a medical redshirt to return next season, but even with his return, the Crimson Tide still has two open roster spots to sort out.
Alabama may not fill both spots, but they are expected to fill at least one of them. The Crimson Tide's top target is USC transfer Desmond Claude. Claude was expected to take an official visit to Alabama a couple of weeks ago, but it got rescheduled. He's still expected to visit Alabama, but a date has not yet been set.
With the announcement of Auburn bringing back Tahaad Pettiford, Oats and Alabama could use a big splash to get momentum swinging back toward Tuscaloosa.