Bama Central

Alexis Pupillo, Houston Mallette Headline Crimson Tide Athletes of the Week

Recognizing the Crimson Tide athletes who dominated this week from Tuscaloosa to the pros.
Theodore Fernandez|
Alabama Head Coach Patrick Murphy and Alabama Softball Player Alexis Pupillo (31) in action against Florida State during the Dugout Club Classic at Joanne Graf Field in Tallahassee, FL on Saturday, Feb 21, 2026.
Alabama Head Coach Patrick Murphy and Alabama Softball Player Alexis Pupillo (31) in action against Florida State during the Dugout Club Classic at Joanne Graf Field in Tallahassee, FL on Saturday, Feb 21, 2026. | UA Athletics

It was an eventful week for Alabama athletics. Softball put the nation on notice with an undefeated weekend in Tallahassee, highlighted by two wins against top-10 Florida State and a historic freshman performance. Basketball stretched its SEC win streak to six games, winning the game of the year against Arkansas in double-overtime and handling LSU on the road. The week was so eventful that it was hard to represent all of the sports on campus, as baseball's offensive explosion against Rhode Island, gymnastics' first win in Auburn since 2018, and women's basketball's down-to-the-wire win in Gainesville all flew under the radar. Here are the Crimson Tide Athletes of the Week for the week of Feb. 17-23, 2026:

Freshman of the Week: Kaitlyn Pallozzi

Pallozzi became the first freshman in Alabama softball history to throw a perfect game, going 21 up, 21 down in the Crimson Tide's Friday morning win over Elon. She struck out six batters in the performance, drawing national attention for her dominance in the circle.

Pallozzi also pitched 2.1 innings against Dartmouth, giving up four hits and one earned run before being relieved by Vic Moten (see below). That performance is what keeps her from receiving the Athlete of the Week Award, but it was still a phenomenal weekend for Pallozzi, who was also named SEC Freshman of the Week.

Honorable Mention: Vic Moten

Moten has been sensational to start the season. The 2025 Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year was named the National Freshman of the Week in the opening week of the season and has continued to shine since. She threw a complete-game shutout against Florida State on Saturday, giving up just three hits in Alabama's 8-0 win.

Her start was more meaningful for the Crimson Tide than Pallozzi's due to the significance of the win over a top-10 opponent. Pallozzi gets the nod simply due to the rarity of throwing a perfect game, but it was an extremely close call. Softball On SI may have had the best take on this, simply electing to have the duo split its Freshman of the Week award.

Athlete of the Week: Alexis Pupillo

This week's Athlete of the Week award race was the tightest in the history of the column. Both freshmen softball pitchers had strong cases, while Justin Lebron and Labaron Philon dominated for the Crimson Tide in their respective sports. Ultimately, Pupillo gets the nod for her slugging in Alabama softball's two wins over Florida State.

The senior hit three home runs over those two wins over the top-10 ranked Seminoles. She went 7-for-13 on the weekend for Alabama with six RBI. She hit one home run in Alabama's 8-0 win on Friday and followed it up with two homers in the 5-1 victory on Saturday, driving in three runs in that game. She also delivered an RBI-single in the team's Sunday win over Dartmouth, driving in what would prove to be the game-winning run with two outs in the fifth inning in a 3-2 win over the Big Green.

What pushed Pupillo above the other candidates was her consistency over numerous games and the importance of her play to Alabama's success. It was just a dominant week for the former Northern Illinois transfer, who was named the Softball America Star Player of the Week on Tuesday morning.

Honorable Mention: Labaron Philon Jr.

Philon scored a career-high 35 points for the Crimson Tide in its 117-115 double-overtime win over Arkansas on Wednesday. He went toe-to-toe with SEC Player of the Year favorite Darius Acuff and came out victorious. It was an electric performance that made him an early frontrunner for the award. Unfortunately for Philon, he was severely limited in Baton Rouge on Saturday, scoring just eight points in 24 minutes after entering the game "banged up." It was the first time Philon failed to score 10 points this season, and opened the door for Pupillo to snag the award.

Honorable Mention: Justin Lebron

Lebron is slugging at a tumultuous pace to start the season. He hit three home runs in Alabama's series sweep of Rhode Island and is tied with UCLA's Roch Cholowsky for the national lead with five. He made a number of impressive plays at shortstop, both in Alabama's midweek win over Samford and in the series against the Rams. Lebron will be in contention for this award just about every single week as he likely competes for the Golden Spikes Award this spring.

Honorable Mention: Jessica Timmons

Timmons scored a career-high 34 points in Alabama women's basketball's 76-71 Sunday afternoon win over Florida. The fifth-year senior has posted career numbers all season and will likely receive All-SEC recognition in March. She is averaging 16.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists this season and has begun appearing on WNBA Draft boards. Timmons took over against the Gators down the stretch, hitting a go-ahead three with 1:23 to play and putting the nail in Florida's coffin with an and-one to put Alabama up two scores in the final minute.

Pro Athlete of the Week: Chris Youngblood

After spending the first three months of the season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Youngblood, who was playing on a two-way contract, ran out of time with the team. The Thunder opted to release him rather than give him a full-time roster spot, and Youngblood signed with the team's G-League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. He has had an exceptional two weeks with the team, and just averaged 21.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.3 steals this past week.

Youngblood looks like a more polished version of the player who was a superstar with USF in 2024. It is the first time we have seen him in a starring role since then, and it is clear that he has developed greatly since that time. While it is hard to forecast if Youngblood could find a long-term NBA home, it certainly looks like he could be a superstar in the EuroLeague if that is the route he pursues.

Clutch Athlete of the Week: Houston Mallette

Mallette has emerged as an X-Factor for Alabama basketball. He is beloved by his teammates and coaches and has finally gained the approval of the fanbase after a slow start to the season. Mallette delivered two of the biggest shots of his career, draining a pair of threes in the two overtime periods in Alabama's 117-115 win over Arkansas last Wednesday.

After going scoreless over 23 minutes in regulation, Mallette ended up being a massive part of the Crimson Tide's thrilling victory. The second three came with just 51 seconds left in double-overtime, when Philon found Mallette open in the corner to put the Crimson Tide up by four points in the final minute. It would prove to be the game-sealing bucket for Alabama.

Mallette also grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds with under two minutes to play in Saturday's win over LSU. He grabbed the second one while falling out of bounds and called a timeout to keep the possession alive for Alabama with the team up by eight. Mallette's intangibles make him an incredibly valuable player entering the home stretch of the season. He is a guy who can be fully trusted to make the right decisions when the season is on the line in the coming weeks.

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Theodore Fernandez
THEODORE FERNANDEZ

Theodore Fernandez is BamaCentral’s baseball beat reporter and a co-host of The Joe Gaither Show. He also works as a weekend sports anchor at WVUA 23 News in Tuscaloosa and serves as one of the station’s lead high school sports reporters. Fernandez is a news media student at The University of Alabama and is pursuing a master’s degree in sports management.

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