Happy Monday, everyone. Alabama softball easily took care of LSU to advance to Oklahoma City, and championship caliber pitching was the key.
The competition was elevated this weekend as Alabama played an SEC foe in LSU compared to the mid-major schools during the regional round, and the Tide’s top-two pitchers still made it extremely difficult on opposing batters.
Briski and Moten continued to limit free passes with just two total walks compared to 23 strikeouts over the two wins. Briski was even dealing
with a little sickness on Friday and appeared to shut down the Tigers with ease.
Anything can happen in Oklahoma City, and Alabama will be tested off the bat against a UCLA offense that leads the nation in home runs with 196. But the Tide should have the arms to keep it in any game and make a deep run at the WCWS.
Make no mistake, the defense has also played a role.
The defense deserves half of that credit. Just in Saturday’s game alone, Ambrey Taylor made one grab at third base that prevented at least a base hit. But the signature defensive play of the game might have been via Kristen White. With the bases loaded and two outs in the second inning, White tracked down a shot to center field that fell just shy of a grand slam. That would have put LSU up 4-0 in the second inning.
Instead, the Tigers never mustered more than one run.
“If they’re not the great athletes they are, they’re not going to make these plays,” Murphy said. “You think of all the hits we took away, it’s because of our athleticism on defense.”
Alabama effectively wasted the career of Montana Fouts thanks to a lack of power hitting and some high profile defensive meltdowns. This year’s squad has two outstanding pitchers, hits homers and plays elite defense.
Get that ring, ladies.
Nick Kelly expects the QB competition to last well into camp.
Russell shined during A-Day, but Mack was banged up. All indications out of the program are that the battle remains close heading into the summer.
Unless one quarterback quickly emerges once preseason practices begin, it’s a reasonable expectation Alabama looks to name a starter about two weeks or closer to the season opener. That’s more on the track of DeBoer’s previous stops than the 19 days from a season ago.
It’s also not impossible Alabama plays both Mack and Russell to start the season, but it’s always better for a program when one quarterback makes it clear he should be the starter.
Brad Crawford has Dijon Lee Jr. on his list of impact sophomores for 2026.
7. Dijon Lee, CB, Alabama
Lee made an immediate impact in Tuscaloosa as an all-SEC freshman team honoree after showing coaches he was the most consistent option at cornerback and unseating previous starter, Domani Jackson. A former five-star recruit rated as the No. 1 player out of California in the 2025 cycle for the Crimson Tide, Lee is a physical menace at 6-feet-4 and 205 pounds and runs like a wide receiver on the outside.
Classmates Lotzeir Brooks, AK Dear and Michael Carroll will all have a chance to shine as well.
This is a nice piece from Dick Harmon of The Deseret on CFP expansion.
Expansion has some great pros — fairness, finances, broader joy. But if you chase the dollars too hard, you risk turning this mess into just another pro league with better tailgates.
Administrators, choose wisely. Don’t let the soul of the game end up like so many old mascots — stuffed, mounted and forgotten in the rush for more.
After all, in football as in life, sometimes less really is more.
But in this greedy age?
Well, pass the helmet. We’re probably going big anyway.
Last, we will get the final word on Amari Allen’s NBA Draft decision this week.
The NBA Draft deadline is on Wednesday, May 27, and Allen confirmed he won’t make his decision until then to 247Sports’ Brett Greenberg, who also reported that four different squads from the league will have the forward for workouts.
The Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat are among teams that Allen said he was visiting with.
In the majority of mock draft projections, Allen is expected to go either late in the first round or early in the second. The NBA Draft is set to take place June 23-24.
That’s about it for today. Have a great week.
Roll Tide.
