Ranking the 2025-2026 Alabama Crimson Tide Teams

The majority of Alabama programs reached the NCAA postseason during the athletic calendar, but which stood out about the rest?

Highlights from the 2025-2026 Alabama athletic season as shot by BamaCentral photographer Sarah Munzenmaier | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

The 2025-2026 Alabama athletic competition calendar came to a close with baseball's loss to Texas at the College World Series on Monday. It wrapped up a successful season for Crimson Tide athletics with a majority of teams making the postseason and several making deep runs.

BamaCentral is attempting to rank each Crimson Tide team's performance over the 2025-2026 season. I'm acknowledging up front that this is not an exact science. This list is subjective and hard to determine as it is difficult to compare teams with different thresholds for success and different postseason formats. For example, men's and women's basketball both have a 68-team single elimination postseason tournament, so it is easy to compare those two programs, but how do you compare basketball to cross country or gymnastics or? Not every sport even quantifies wins and losses.

With that said, I did my best, and here is the ranking of all of Alabama's teams this past season:

1. Softball- 56-9 (19-5 SEC)

May 28, 2026; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide starting pitcher Jocelyn Briski (23) smiles after her team defeated the UCLA Bruins during the NCAA Women’s College World Series at Devon Park. | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

Alabama softball is the only Crimson Tide team to be among the last four standing in its respective sport as Patrick Murphy's squad reached the Women's College World Series semifinals before losing to Texas Tech. Alabama had a great regular season, picking up the most conference wins since 2014 and also reached the SEC tournament title game before earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.

2. Men's Cross Country

The University of Alabama Track and Field Team during the 2025 SEC Cross Country Championship at Cherokee Farm Cross Country Course in Knoxville, TN on Friday, Oct 31, 2025. Photo by Nolan Clark | UA Athletics

The men's cross country is the only Crimson Tide program to claim an SEC team title during the 2025-2026 athletic calendar with its SEC championship back on Oct. 31, 2025. The team would go on to finish sixth at the NCAA championships.

3. Football- 11-4 (7-1 SEC)

Dec 19, 2025; Norman, OK, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson (15) runs the ball in the second half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family OK Memorial Stadium. | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Year 2 under Kalen DeBoer was a roller coaster for Alabama football starting with a loss against Florida State in the opener. The Crimson Tide bounced back and rattled off eight straight wins before earning a spot in the SEC championship game. Alabama got beat badly by Georgia but still secured a place in the College Football Playoffs. The Tide erased a 17-point deficit at Oklahoma in the first round to advances to the quarterfinals where it lost to eventual national champion Indiana by 35 points. While the season may not be up to some fans' standards, Alabama was one of the last eight teams standing in college football.

4. Men's Basketball- 25-10 (13-5 SEC)

Feb 18, 2026; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama head coach Nate Oats gives a congratulatory five to Alabama guard Houston Mallette (95) after Mallette hit a key three pointer in the second overtime against Arkansas at Coleman Coliseum. Alabama defeated Arkansas 117-115 in double overtime. | Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the fourth straight postseason, Alabama men's basketball reached at least the Sweet 16, where it lost to eventual national champion Michigan. Nate Oats put together one of his best coaching season, working through a multitude of injuries to place the Crimson Tide as a top-four seed in both the SEC and NCAA tournaments.

5. Baseball- 42-21 (18-12 SEC)

Jason Torres hits a grand slam against St. John's in super regionals | UA Athletics

Alabama baseball made history in 2026, breaking the program's College World Series drought that went back to 1999. It was a quick 0-2 trip for the Tide to Omaha, but this team will be remembered as the one to kick back down the door to the CWS. Alabama finished fourth in the SEC standings with 18 conference wins.

6. Gymnastics

Azaraya Ra-Akbar sticks the landing on her uneven bars routine in the meet against Oregon State on Jan. 30, 2026. | Sarah Munzenmaier/Alabama Crimson Tide on SI

Alabama gymnastics was a top-five team all season long under fourth-year head coach Ashley Johnston, but the team failed to reach the NCAA championships, losing to Utah, Minnesota and UCLA in the Corvallis Regional Final. It was, by far, Alabama's best regular season under Johnston, and the team was one of two programs in the national to never score below a 197. It would be ranked higher if not for the disappointing finish in the postseason.

7. Women's Swimming and Diving

Alabama Swimmer Charlotte Rosendale (Freestyle), Alabama Swimmer Cadence Vincent (Freestyle/Backstroke), Alabama Swimmer Emily Jones (Backstroke), Alabama Swimmer Tessa Giele during NCAA Championships at Georgia Tech Aquarium in Atlanta, GA on Wednesday, Mar 18, 2026. | UA Athletics

The women's swim and dive team used several standout performances to catapult itself to a fourth place finish at the SEC championships and a 11th place finish at the NCAA championships. It was the fifth time in the last six seasons that Alabama finished among the top 15 at the NCAA championships.

8. Men's Track and Field

Alabama Track Athlete Christopher Crawford (Throws), Alabama Track Athlete Samuel Ogazi (Sprints) and Alabama Track Athlete Christopher Young (Throws) in action against NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, OR on Friday, Jun 12, 2026. | UA Athletics

Technically, track and field is split into two different seasons with both indoor and outdoor schedules. The men's team finished in 12th place at both the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships while coming in second at the SEC outdoor championships. Samuel Ogazi provided the highlight of NCAA season with his individual national titles in the 400m race at both NCAA championship events this season.

9. Women's Cross Country

Alabama Track & Field Athlete Doris Lemngole (Cross Country/Distance) in action during the NCAA Cross Country National Championship at Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, MO on Saturday, Nov 22, 2025. | UA Athletics

If we were ranking individual Alabama athletes, Doris Lemngole would be at the top of the list. However, this ranking is based on teams. The women's cross country team came in second place at SECs and 16th place at NCAAs. Lemngole did win the individual cross country NCAA title.

10. Men's Swimming and Diving

Alabama Swimmer Jonny Hoole (Free) during NCAA Championships at Ga Tech Aquatic Center in Atlanta, GA on Saturday, Mar 28, 2026. | UA Athletics

Alabama put together another top-25 finish in the pool, coming in 24th at NCAAs. The Crimson Tide came in sixth place at the SEC championships.

11. Women's Track and Field

There were some outstanding individual performance for Alabama on the track in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, but the overall team results weren't as strong. Alabama finished 28th at the NCAA indoor championships and 15th at the NCAA outdoor championships, which is still really good.

12. Women's Basketball- 24-11 (7-9 SEC)

Alabama women's basketball did reach the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight time, but it was an up-and-down regular season for Kristy Curry's squad with an undefeated non-conference slate before putting up a losing record in SEC play. The team did advance to the Round of 32 with a win over Rhode Island before losing by one point to host team Louisville.

13. Soccer- 11-9-2 (4-6-0 SEC)

The Alabama soccer team also had an inconsistent regular season with a losing record in conference play. However, the team did reach the NCAA tournament and won a game at home against Northwestern in the opening round before losing to No. 1 Stanford in the Round of 32.

14. Men's Golf

It almost feels wrong to have the men's golf team this low after the team won two tournaments early in the season. However, the team came in 11th place at SEC championships and did not advance to match play compteition. Men's golf did make the NCAA tournament, but the Crimson Tide did not advance out of regionals.

15. Volleyball- 14-13 (5-10 SEC)

Volleyball starts the list of teams that did not make the NCAA postseason in their respective sports. In Rashinda Reed's fourth season, the Tide did show signs of improvement. The team did finish with a winning record for the first time in Reed's tenure, earning the most SEC wins since she started, plus winning a match in the SEC tournament. Alabama volleyball finished 12th in the SEC.

16. Rowing

The rowing team came in third place out of four teams at the SEC rowing championships under first-year head coach Kumari Lewis but did not qualify for the NCAA championships.

17. Women's Tennis- 13-12 (4-11 SEC)

Women's tennis completed Year 3 under head coach Jonatan Berhane with 13 total wins. The Crimson Tide finished 13th in the SEC but did win one match at the SEC tournament against Mississippi State. It did not reach the NCAA tournament.

18. Men's Tennis- 12-17 (3-11 SEC)

It was a tough season for the men's tennis team with just three SEC wins, coming in 14th out of the 15 men's tennis teams in the SEC. The Tide lost to Vanderbilt in its lone match at the SEC tournament and did not advance to NCAAs with a losing record.

19. Women's Golf

Mic Potter had a fantastic career as the head coach of Alabama women's golf, highlighted by a national championship in 2012, but his final season with the Crimson Tide was definitely not his best. The women's golf team won its first tournament of the season at the Lady Paladin Invitational, but it was often towards the bottom of the leaderboard after that. Alabama finished in dead last at the SEC championships and did not make the NCAA tournament.

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