Happy Monday, everyone. It was a fine weekend on the diamonds, as softball laid waste to an overmatched NDSU squad and baseball swept previously 5th-ranked Auburn. The baseball thing is particularly amusing as Auburn fans had latched onto that program as the last hope for what has been a disastrous school year for their athletic department.
Alabama’s basketball season ended with a thud on Friday against Michigan, and Nate Oats will now have to rebuild the team again. The good news is that, according
to Nick Kelly, he is expected to have the financial resources to build a team that can cut down the nets.
Let’s start at a macro level. Alabama’s roster in 2025-26 cost about $8 million in revenue sharing and NIL, per sources. The Crimson Tide is expected to exceed that number for its basketball roster in 2026-27. By how much is unknown at this time.
Considering Alabama has now reached four consecutive Sweet 16s at $8 million or less, the thought is a roster budget in the neighborhood of $12 million would be enough for the Crimson Tide to truly contend for a national championship.
Each year, Alabama has been increasing its roster budget for men’s basketball. Two years ago, the Final Four roster was a far cry from an $8 million group. If Alabama exceeded $1 million total for all its players in 2023-24, it didn’t do so by much, per sources.
Kelly also notes in there that decisions from Amari Allen, Aiden Sherrell, and Aden Holloway will go a long way toward determining the nucleus. Allen has loads of potential but, considering his struggles late in the season, it’s tough to imagine that a NBA team would be willing to offer him a fully guaranteed deal at this stage. Another year in college would be highly beneficial for him. Sherrell is a guy that Nate simply has to keep, and bringing in a big that would allow him to play more at the four spot would probably help. I maintain that Oats had expected Collins Onyejiaka to round into a significant contributor by the end of the season, but that never was able to materialize due to his health.
The young linebackers are reportedly doing well in spring football action.
The Tide can’t help but get younger at the position. After Alabama’s first spring scrimmage on Friday, head coach Kalen DeBoer said a few less-experienced players had stuck out.
“Very competitive,” DeBoer said. “You’ve got guys like QB (Reese) coming back, Abduall (Sanders), Luke (Metz). All those guys know the system, and Duke (Johnson), as well, knows the system. They have a little bit of a head start. It’s fun seeing the growth that a guy has from even the end of the season, getting the install in the winter, putting some more mass on and becoming more confident. Those guys are certainly doing that.”
Josh Pate thinks that Alabama will get solid QB play regardless of who wins the job.
Josh Pate discussed his confidence levels for various SEC quarterbacks heading into the 2026 season on his YouTube show, “Josh Pate’s College Football Show.” He specifically mentioned Alabama as the only team currently facing a quarterback battle. However, he indicated that this competition would not influence his confidence rating for the team.
“No matter who it is, I’ve got medium to high confidence in Alabama’s quarterback situation, regardless of who ends up starting,” Pate said. “… If they do [improve], then you could get really, really high-level production.”
That confidence stems from the overall structure of Alabama’s offense, not just the individual at quarterback. Pate pointed to improvements along the offensive line and the talent at the skill positions as reasons for optimism.
An under the radar tight end commit has the potential to be a diamond in the rough.
Keegan showed Alabama what he had always shown Sindoni. Keegan ran a 4.65 40-yard dash in Tuscaloosa, catching everything in sight and showing Crimson Tide coaches “one of the best camps they had ever seen,” Sindoni said.
When Alabama was interested in Keegan, Sindoni was not shocked.“We have this saying in practice,” Sindoni said. “And we say, ‘OAO,’ which means ‘Oakley’s always open.’ It doesn’t matter who’s on him. Just put the ball near him and somehow he comes down with it. It doesn’t matter if they interfere with him. It doesn’t matter what the situation is. He finds a way to catch the pass.”
Last, Ronnie Harrison is still managing to hang around the NFL.
Former Alabama defensive back Ronnie Harrison has reportedly signed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Harrison will look for a fresh start in Miami next season, as the former Alabama star was a solid contributor on the Atlanta Falcons’ defense in 2025. An eight-year NFL veteran, Harrison is a versatile defender that will undoubtedly add an instant boost to the Dolphins’ defensive unit in 2026. Harrison recorded 29 total tackles and two TFL last year, while also matching his career high in sacks with two.
That’s about it for today. Have a great week.
Roll Tide.
