Alabama Basketball Embracing New Identity for 2026-27 Season

MOUNTAIN BROOK, Ala. — Nate Oats couldn't have been clearer after Alabama's 2025-26 season ended at the hands of Michigan in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

"We know we got to get bigger," Oats said. "Some of it was some injuries and stuff that happened... Our guys handled the adversity with the lineup well. I couldn't be more proud of a group."

Fast forward today, Alabama's roster for the upcoming season looks much different, with nine newcomers in Tuscaloosa. 12 of the 15 players are at least 6-foot-6, which should help in many areas that the Crimson Tide has struggled in.

"You look at some of the losses we had, a lot of those...we just kind of got manhandled on glass," Oats said at SEC Tipoff '27 on Tuesday. "So, the big point of emphasis for us in the offseason was getting significantly bigger, not just taller, kind of at the two, three and four.

"Like you saw (Drew) Fielder and (Brandon) Garrison both here, those guys are capable of playing the four. We've got Jamarion Davis-Fleming in, who is capable of playing four and five both. We got definitely bigger, kind of the two, three and four spots. We had pretty good size at the five, but our backup fives sometimes weren't that big. We're bigger. Hopefully, it helps fix the rebounding issues. Fix some of the defensive issues we've had."

Alabama has been the nation's top-scoring team in each of the last three seasons. Oats' offensive production has been led by the guards in that span: Mark Sears, Labaron Philon Jr., Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Aden Holloway and Chris Youngblood.

It's helped the Crimson Tide reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament in each of those seasons, including the first Final Four appearance in program history in 2023-24. But with each loss in March Madness, being the smaller team played a pivotal role.

"Last year, Alabama was playing four guards," Alabama transfer forward Drew Fielder said on Tuesday. "If you see a lot of the teams last year who had a lot of success, they sometimes played three bigs. I appreciate having the flexibility of the lineups to do multiple things. Yeah, you want to get size, but you also want to get versatility and all of our bigs are super versatile.

"I appreciate being able to do different things, play different roles and fill in wherever our team needs. But like I said, the way we play, you have to be flexible, you have to be connected. It's a lot of fun."

Nevertheless, Alabama isn't made up of a bunch of giants. The Crimson Tide added four freshmen wings this offseason, with each bringing something to the table to earn significant minutes. Cole Cloer specializes behind the arc, but Tarris Bouie, Jaxon Richardson and Qayden Samuels will each attack the basket and run to the rim.

"It just gives you options," Fielder said. "We always talk about spacing for shooters, but vertical spacing is also a really big thing, especially in the NBA. So I really appreciate being able to kick out to the corner but also drive in and go to the rim. It allows you to force the defense into a tough position. So it's been really fun."

Heights of Every Alabama 2026-27 Player:

7-0 TJ St. Louis
6-11 Collins Onyejiaka
6-11 Drew Fielder
6-10 Brandon Garrison
6-10 Jamarion Davis-Fleming
6-9 Keitenn Bristow
6-8 London Jemison
6-8 Cole Cloer
6-6 Jaxon Richardson
6-6 Qayden Samuels
6-6 Tarris Bouie
6-6 Amari Allen
6-2 Anderson Diaz
6-1 Aden Holloway
6-0 Preston Murphy Jr.

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