Nate Oats and Alabama got off to a running start with their 2027 recruiting class, landing a commitment from 5-star Georgia native Chase Lumpkin on Wednesday. The No. 25 player in the composite rankings, Lumpkin gives the Crimson Tide a head start in this cycle.
Oats has consistently attracted high-end talent to Tuscaloosa, and the 2027 class isn't going to be any different. Adding a 5-star player this early puts Alabama in a strong position to continue adding elite targets. Alabama signed the No. 6-ranked class in the composite rankings in the 2026 cycle, and could make a push for a second straight Top 10 class.
With the new five-for-five rule, it'll be even more difficult for Oats and every other coach to determine how many roster spots they are going to have available. This could be a smaller class for Oats, depending on how he feels about roster retention.
As we've seen quite a few times, Oats and Preston Murphy are adept at finding late additions to recruiting classes when they figure out they have spots available. In the 2026 class, the Crimson Tide added off-the-radar big man TJ St. Louis and then got 2027 5-star guard Anderson Diaz to reclassify into the 2026 class.
While that will be something to monitor in the spring and summer of 2027, Alabama has several targets still on the board with some lined up for visits in the coming weeks.
Alabama's 2027 recruiting board following Chase Lumpkin's commitment
PG Devin Cleveland
Cleveland is a 6-foot-3 combo guard from Indiana who is ranked as the No. 29 overall player in the composite rankings. It'll be interesting to see how aggressive Alabama is in its pursuit of Cleveland, with Lumpkin already on board and the expectation of having Diaz in 2027-28, too. Alabama could also bring back Aden Holloway for a fifth season of eligibility, too.
But Lumpkin is currently scheduled for a visit to the Capstone on September 18th. He also has visits scheduled with TCU, Missouri, and Michigan.
SG RJ Moore
A 6-foot-6 sharpshooter out of North Carolina, RJ Moore is scheduled to visit Alabama on September 25th. Whether that visit happens now is in question because Moore recently committed to Rutgers.
PF Zion Green
4-star PF Zion Green out of Chandler Prep in Arizona is also slated for a visit to Alabama on September 25th. He's a stretch-four type in the Noah Clowney mold that Oats always covets.
Green also has visits set up with Oklahoma, Kansas, and Ole Miss. He'd be a nice complementary piece to this recruiting class.
SF Malachi Jordan
Alabama looked like an early leader for 5-star Malachi Jordan out of Nashville. Oats got some face time with the Prolific Prep star while serving as an assistant coach for the USA's U18 national team.
Jordan is slated to visit Alabama on October 9th, but things have quieted down between the Crimson Tide and the 5-star forward. He'll see Kansas, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee in the coming weeks after visiting USC last weekend. At this point, I wouldn't count on his visit to Tuscaloosa ever taking place.
PG TJ Jamison Jr
Similar to Moore, Jamison announced a commitment after scheduling his visit to Alabama, so it remains to be seen whether he shows up on campus on October 10th as scheduled. Moore is currently committed to Baylor, and with the addition of Lumpkin, Alabama may not be as heavy in its pursuit.
Those are the guys currently slated to visit the Crimson Tide this fall. Oats and Alabama have other offers out there, though, and will look to add a couple more visits to take advantage of the football calendar.
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