Happy Friday, everyone. Alabama softball kicks off their WCWS pursuit at noon today against USC Upstate. It has been noted that their regional draw is tougher than it appears.
Alabama (49-7) is joined by Southeastern Louisiana (46-14), Belmont (40-11) and USC Upstate (36-21) in the Tuscaloosa Regional. All three teams have played a postseason weekend at Rhoads Stadium at least once since 2024. Upstate and Belmont won their respective conference tournaments in the Big South and Missouri Valley.
Southeastern
Louisiana put together such a strong regular season, that it was able to earn an at-large spot in the NCAA tournament despite not winning the Southland tournament. SELA played Alabama in the regional final two years ago and beat LSU twice in the Baton Rouge Regional last season to eliminate the Tigers at home before succumbing to Nebraska.
Alabama, Southeastern Louisiana and Belmont all rank in the top-five nationally in team ERA. Alabama is No. 2 at 1.60. SELA is fourth at 1.67, and Belmont is fifth with a 1.82 ERA highlighted by the nation’s leader in Maya Johnson with a 0.66 ERA.
Better bring the bats, ladies.
Chase Goodbread ranks the QBs that Alabama will face this season.
1) Gunner Stockton, Georgia – Stockton steadily improved throughout his first season as a starter, finishing with 24 TD passes and just five interceptions. Nobody knows that better than Alabama fans, who saw the beatable version of Stockton in September, only to witness him steamroll the Tide in December. Stockton edges out Marcel Reed to top the list; he’s steady, heady and ready.
Nick Kelly’s podcast discusses where Alabama fans are with Kalen DeBoer at the moment, if you’re into that sort of thing.
“All the Bama fans not backing DeBoer, stay on that side, you do not know ball and you don’t deserve to celebrate with us when he brings another title back to Tuscaloosa,” one fan said after our exclusive interview with DeBoer. Another said, “Either roll with us or gtfo.”
Others are more skeptical: “KD of Bama has no chance of winning a national title.”So what’s at stake for DeBoer with sky-high expectations in his third season?
AL.com Alabama reporter Nick Kelly and “Beat Everyone” host Ben Flanagan weigh in on all of that and more.
A lawsuit against Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. pertaining to the aftermath of the Oklahoma game last season was dropped.
Alabama football fans finally received some clarity regarding the legal drama surrounding defensive back Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. After months of lingering headlines following a chaotic night in Norman, a Cleveland County judge officially dismissed the lawsuit filed against the University of Alabama sophomore.
The legal battle began after the 2024 showdown between Alabama and the University of Oklahoma. When the Sooners secured a dominant 24-3 upset, thousands of fans flooded the grass at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. In the middle of the field-storming frenzy, an Oklahoma student alleged that Kirkpatrick struck them as the Tide players fought their way toward the locker room.
Dre still has legal issues from a 2025 arrest that he must work through.
Calvin Ridley returned to the Titans.
“He’s good,” Daboll said. “He’s, you know, Rid is Rid. I got a long-standing relationship with Rid back to 2017. He means a lot to me as a player. He was a good player for us when I was at Alabama. But as a person, we developed a pretty good relationship, and it’s good to have him here.
“We’ve changed some stuff as we’ve went over the last 10 years. But a smart, good player, good teammate. Got a lot of appreciation and love for Rid.”
“He’s good,” Daboll said. “He’s, you know, Rid is Rid. I got a long-standing relationship with Rid back to 2017. He means a lot to me as a player. He was a good player for us when I was at Alabama. But as a person, we developed a pretty good relationship, and it’s good to have him here.
“We’ve changed some stuff as we’ve went over the last 10 years. But a smart, good player, good teammate. Got a lot of appreciation and love for Rid.”
Last, Alabama appears to lead for an elite 2027 edge rusher.
“I actually wanted them to be my last official visit,” Green said. “I feel like I wanted that last impression to be the last thing on my mind, honestly.”
That statement alone is enough to grab the attention of Crimson Tide fans, but Green went even further when discussing where Alabama stands in his recruitment.
“Alabama was one of those schools that I was leaning hard towards in my recruitment throughout this whole period of time,” Green explained. “So I was like, man, I just have to save what I think is the best for the last, honestly.”
For much of the recruiting process, Alabama has been viewed as one of the major contenders, maybe even the outright leader for the elite pass rusher. His latest comments will only intensify that belief.
That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.
Roll Tide.
