The early signing period is already open for the 2026 college basketball recruiting class, yet many of the top recruits remain uncommitted. That list of top prospects still up for grabs got a bit deeper on Monday four-star wing Christopher Washington Jr. de-committed from Alabama.
Nate Oats’s 2026 recruiting class shrank from two players to just one, four-star guard Tarris Bouie, who signed with the program last week, but this may surprisingly be good news for the Crimson Tide.
NEWS: 2026 Top-30 overall recruit Chris Washington Jr. has decommitted from Alabama, he told @Rivals.
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) November 17, 2025
The 6-8 small forward is reopening his recruitment. https://t.co/wZvxoRvEt2 pic.twitter.com/tsocOIwHZp
2026 4-star wing Christopher Washington Jr. de-commits from Alabama
Washington was Alabama’s top-ranked 2026 recruit, a 6-foot-9, 195-pound small forward who is ranked as the 41st-best player in the country according to 247Sports Composite. The Murfreesboro, Tennessee native committed to the Crimson Tide last September, a lengthy athlete built to thrive in Alabama’s fast-paced transition-heavy style.
However, his de-commitment from the program is a signal that at least one of two higher-ranked recruiting targets could be heading to Tuscaloosa.
Caleb Holt or Qayden Samuels could replace Washington in Alabama’s class
Three of the top-five ranked players in the country are currently uncommitted, including five-star shooting guard Caleb Holt. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Floridian is the third-ranked player in the class and Oats’s top-ranked target. Alabama and Kentucky are seen as the leaders in a crowded recruiting battle for Holt, with Houston, Arizona, and Providence also in the mix.
Holt would be a massive addition for Alabama and the highest-ranked recruit in program history, surpassing Collin Sexton, who was the No. 6 Composite recruit in the 2017 class. Derrion Reid, a 2024 five-star who has since transferred to Oklahoma, is currently the highest-ranked recruit of the Nate Oats era, a few spots ahead of Brandon Miller.
If Washington’s de-commitment isn’t to make space for Holt, it could be to create a spot for Qayden Samuels. The 6-foot-6 five-star wing is a top 20 recruit in the 2026 class.
Samuels took an official visit to Alabama in early October, and the Crimson Tide is viewed as the favorite in his recruitment.
Best-case scenario for Alabama is that this isn’t an either-or proposition. The Tide could still land both Holt and Samuels, stacking the 2026 recruiting class with wing talent after Washington’s de-commitment.