Alabama Shortstop Justin Lebron Makes Impact in Saturday Lineup Against Texas A&M

Lebron didn't miss (or waste) any time after checking out of Friday's game an inning early.

Alabama baseball shortstop Justin Lebron (1). | Alabama Athletics

When one of the best players in college baseball leaves a game early, especially for reasons that are not initially discernible, eyebrows are raised. That's what happened in No. 17 Alabama's 6-4 road win over No. 19 Texas A&M on Friday.

Superstar shortstop Justin Lebron, a sophomore Florida native, exited the contest moments after striking out in the top of the eighth inning. When the Crimson Tide players emerged for the home half, freshman Jon Young Jr. was playing shortstop.

Lebron, who bats second in the team's order, had been hitless and having one of the rare challenging games of what has otherwise been an exceptional 2025 season (12 home runs and 45 batted in across 20 games). It turns out he left the game due to illness.

That situation did not affect his status for Saturday's contest, which Alabama won 6-2. He reached scoring position in his first plate appearance, a double that should have gone in the books as an error. A first-inning baserunner, though, is a first-inning baserunner regardless of how said runner gets on. He followed that up by hitting a solo home run in the sixth to break a scoreless tie.

The sophomore added an RBI single to bring home Brady Neal in the next inning, making Lebron responsible for the first two runs of the game against the Aggies (10-8, 0-2 SEC). He was also one of the runners to get aboard in the ninth inning, touching home on Will Hodo's big-time grand slam.

Whatever was plaguing Lebron, the Crimson Tide's best position player, on Friday night did not play any kind of factor on Saturday. Alabama (19-1, 2-0 SEC) as such won its first SEC series of the campaign in two games, against the preseason No. 1 team, no less. Lebron was 3-of-4 with two runs scored.

The final game of the series, which starts on Sunday at 4 p.m. CT, will have a national audience on the SEC Network. It is set to be the first game of the 2025 season that has been nationally televised, affording a larger audience the chance to see Lebron's start to the campaign play out in real time.