Nate Oats has Alabama basketball in position to potentially land the No. 1 recruiting class in the 2026 cycle.
The Crimson Tide has built a ton of momentum with recent commitments from 4-star wings Chris Washington Jr. and Tarris Bouie. Alabama has also hosted a ton of elite prospects and remains in contention for many others.
This weekend, Alabama is hosting a surprise visitor: 5-star combo guard Brandon McCoy, the No. 6 overall prospect in the country according to the 247 composite.
5⭐️ Brandon McCoy, the No. 2 overall player in the 2026 class, is taking an official visit to Alabama this weekend, sources tell @Rivals. https://t.co/2ocfRhKMH4 pic.twitter.com/YPfnyOSKyW
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) September 27, 2025
McCoy recently visited Arkansas earlier this month and has a visit scheduled to Duke in November. The California native has great size at 6-foot-5, and uses his length well on the defensive side of the court. He has a quick first step and can get to the rim, which would obviously be a major asset in Oats' offensive system.
McCoy is just the latest elite recruit to come to Tuscaloosa for an official visit this fall.
Nate Oats has loaded up on elite talent visiting Alabama
Along with Washington and Bouie, who committed shortly after their visits, Alabama has also hosted these elite recruits - in order of visit:
4-star G Ikenna Alozie
5-star SG Caleb Holt
5-star PG Dylan Mingo
5-star SF Jaxon Richardson
4-star SF Cole Cloer
4-star PF/C Darius Ratliff
4-star PF/C Adonis Ratliff
Alabama is in good shape to land an elite class in 2026 and could very well end up with the top high school class. With two wings already committed, Alabama would like a guard or two, and certainly a big man or two.
It's unknown how many players Oats plans on taking from the high school ranks, but based on the commitments they've already taken and the players they are contending for, it looks like it's going to be five or more.
Ideally, Alabama would like to land Caleb Holt and either Dylan Mingo or Brandon McCoy.
In terms of bigs, Alabama's focus so far has been on the Ratliff twins, who are likely a package deal in this class. They are the sons of former NBA veteran Theo Ratliff, and so far, they have only visited Alabama.
Oats' top priority remains Alabama native Caleb Holt, who will be able to go anywhere he wants to. Many figured his recruitment would come down to Alabama and Auburn, and with Bruce Pearl's recent retirement, the Crimson Tide would seemingly have a significant leg up at this point.