Nate Oats and Alabama are on fire on the recruiting trail. A week after landing 5-star PF Zion Green to pair with 5-star combo guard Chase Lumpkin, the Crimson Tide just landed a third Top 100 prospect in the 2027 recruiting class.
4-star big man Yohane Kabongo, the No. 91 overall player in the composite rankings, committed to Alabama on Sunday, choosing the Tide over SEC rivals Mississippi State and Tennessee:
NEWS: 4⭐️ Yohane Kabongo has committed to Alabama, he told @Rivals. ⁰⁰The 6-foot-9 center is a top-80 overall recruit in the 2027 class. https://t.co/8i16VexfJH pic.twitter.com/7QwXHqHnAV
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) November 8, 2026
Alabama lands 4-star center Yohane Kabongo in another massive Nate Oats recruiting win
Kabongo is a bit on the shorter side for a traditional center at just 6-foot-9, but he makes up for it with a 7-foot-2 wingspan and some exceptional athleticism. He's got a similar build and frame to guys like Brandon Garrison and Jamarion Davis-Fleming.
With Alabama changing things up on defense to go to a more switch-heavy system after years of playing drop, guys like Kabongo are required. He can move his feet and hold up in one-on-one situations against guards.
Adding a developmental big man makes sense for Alabama. They have two on the current roster with Collins Onyejiaka and TJ St. Louis right now, but keeping both of them into the 2027-28 season is unlikely, considering neither is going to be part of the Tide's rotation this year.
Oats has once again reeled in one of the nation's top recruiting classes. A three-man haul of Lumpkin-Green-Kabongo is elite. It's also likely the end of the work for the 2027 class, barring a surprise reclass candidate in the spring as Oats evaluates the available spots for next season's roster.
Oats has frequently landed elite recruiting classes during his time in Tuscaloosa. That's impressive considering that Alabama is nowhere near the top of the country or the SEC in spending. Oats consistently gets guys on a discount to play in his system.
Oats and assistant coach Preston Murphy are one of the best recruiting duos in the country. Murphy builds the relationships, and Oats routinely closes the deal.
This likely sews up a Top 10 recruiting class for the Tide, and they'll likely shoot up into the Top 5 after this commitment for now. A three-man class probably won't stick near the very top, but Oats has accomplished exactly what he set out to accomplish in the 2027 cycle.
Alabama has hosted three official visitors this fall: Lumpkin, Green, and Kabongo. All three are now in the Crimson Tide's recruiting class. That's efficient work on the trail.
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