Bama Central

Latrell Wrightsell, Mark Sears Headline Crimson Tide Athletes Of The Week

Recognizing the Crimson Tide athletes who dominated this week from Tuscaloosa to the pros.
Theodore Fernandez|
Feb 14, 2026; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (3) goes to the floor as he loses the ball in the lane at Coleman Coliseum. Alabama defeated South Carolina 89-75. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News
Feb 14, 2026; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (3) goes to the floor as he loses the ball in the lane at Coleman Coliseum. Alabama defeated South Carolina 89-75. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With baseball and softball officially starting up, we have hit the busiest part of the year on the sports calendar. From now until the end of basketball and gymnastics, there will be a game almost every day, giving us plenty of opportunities for star performances from Tuscaloosa's best athletes. Here are the Crimson Tide Athletes of the Week for the week of Feb. 10-16, 2026:

Freshman of the Week: Myles Upchurch

Upchurch's much-anticipated Crimson Tide debut was moved up from Sunday to Saturday due to Sunday's projected rain. In the second game of the Saturday doubleheader, which also served as the rubber match between Alabama and Washington State, Upchurch delivered, striking out nine batters in four innings. His fastball hit the mid-90's, and his control was impressive, walking just two and allowing only two hits across four scoreless innings.

Upchurch was one of the prize jewels of Rob Vaughn's No. 8-ranked recruiting class, and he very much looks the part. As a weekend starter on a Crimson Tide team with high aspirations, Upchurch could very well be a National Freshman of the Year candidate this spring.

Athlete of the Week: Latrell Wrightsell Jr.

Wrightsell put together the best two-game scoring output of his Crimson Tide career last week. The sixth-year senior scored 21 points off of seven threes in Alabama's Wednesday night win over Ole Miss, becoming one of just three players in the nation to have 20 or more points off of only three pointers in multiple games this year.

Wrightsell followed that up by scoring 19 points on 6-for-11 shooting in the Saturday victory over South Carolina, putting his average at 20 points per game for the week. While his offensive statistical impact typically comes almost exclusively in the scoring department, Wrightsell added three rebounds and three assists in each game. He has officially overcome an early-season slump and is playing like one of Alabama's best offensive weapons. Wrightsell looks like an improved version of the sharpshooter that helped the Crimson Tide make a Final Four run two years ago.

Pro Athlete of the Week: Mark Sears

It was a quiet week on the professional front. Football is finally over, and the NBA and the G-League were on all-star break for most of the week, meaning the majority of teams only played one game. Sears used his one game to put forth one of the best performances of his career. Sears scored 33 points with five rebounds and six assists for the Wisconsin Herd in the team's 124-110 loss to the Birmingham Squadron.

Sears appeared in seven games over the first two months of the season, averaging 3.1 points in 3.7 minutes per game before being waived. He has been one of the leading scorers on the affiliate Herd since signing there, averaging 15 points per game and 5.3 assists for the team.

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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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