Keitenn Bristow was an under-the-radar Transfer Portal pickup for Nate Oats a year ago after winning the WAC Freshman of the Year award at Tarleton State. Alabama got flashes of the vision with Bristow, particularly in his standout performance in the Crimson Tide's win in Chicago over Illinois.
Unfortunately, Bristow's season was marred by injury. He started the year off sidelined, and his season ended that way, too, after just 10 games. Alabama took a cautious approach with the sophomore big man, one they found success with previously with Houston Mallette.
Mallette, who transferred to Alabama from Pepperdine, only played in six games during the 2024-25 season for the Tide before shutting it down. He took a medical redshirt and returned this past season, turning into a valuable rotational piece for Oats.
Oats is hoping for a similar outcome with Bristow.
“Keitenn’s been working really hard,” Oats said on Wednesday at the Regions ProAm. He’s put on a lot of weight. Henry (Barrera) sent me a video yesterday. He looks great. Everything that was wrong with him looks great. I think he’s getting back to, similarly to what we did with Houston (Mallette) the year before, he came to us with all the knee injuries and couldn’t really move and wasn’t athletic enough to play in the SEC, and I thought he had a great year this year. I thought Clarke (Holter) and Henry did a great job with Houston, and I think they’re doing similarly with Keitenn, and he’s looking good, he’s putting on weight.”
Nate Oats says that Keitenn Bristow "looks great" amid rehab process
If you pressed any Alabama basketball fan and asked them who they thought would be the most obvious Transfer Portal loss after this season, the majority of them likely would have answered with Bristow.
His injury was kept ambiguous, and the rumor mill went flying about the reasoning behind his not playing. But the portal window came and went, and Bristow remained in Tuscaloosa. That could pay major dividends for Oats and company next season.
Guys like Amari Allen and London Jemison, who are more guard/wing types, spent the majority of the season at the four spot for the Crimson Tide, with Bristow and Taylor Bol Bowen sidelined so much.
Now, with Bristow returning and the portal additions of Drew Fielder (Boise State), Brandon Garrison (Kentucky), and Jamarion Davis-Fleming (Mississippi State), that's four players who can man the frontcourt for Alabama without even getting into small-ball options.
Bristow has a load of potential and was thought to have barely scratched the surface during his first season of college basketball at Tarleton State. If he can get healthy and continue his developmental path, he'll be a key part of Alabama's rotation in 2026-27.
Add us as a preferred source on Google