Judge Makes Decision Regarding Aden Holloway's Request to Travel Out of State

The Alabama guard did not travel with the team to Chicago this week nor to Tampa during the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, following his arrest.

Feb 28, 2026; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Aden Holloway (2) shoots the ball and ties the game against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

CHICAGO — Alabama basketball arrived in the Windy City on Wednesday evening for the Midwest Regional, but Aden Holloway wasn't on the plane.

However, Jason Neff, Holloway's attorney, filed a request for him to be allowed to travel out of state beginning today, and judge Joanne Jannik approved it on Friday morning.

The 4-seed Crimson Tide is set to face 1-seed Michigan in Chicago in the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Friday evening. Holloway was listed as out for the game on Thursday night's initial availability report, and the final report will be released two hours before tipoff.

Holloway was suspended by head coach Nate Oats on March 16, as the guard was arrested that morning and removed from campus after being charged with first-degree possession of marijuana (more than two pounds) and failure to affix a tax stamp.

Holloway, Alabama's second-leading scorer, didn’t travel with the Crimson Tide to Tampa last weekend for the Round of 64 victory over 13-seed Hofstra nor the Round of 32 win over 5-seed Texas. He wasn't at Thursday morning's practice viewing either, and Oats didn't comment on his guard during the press conference that followed the practice.

At the end of the day, while Holloway is a tremendous key to Alabama's success, the Tide didn't have much of a problem without him in the first two rounds. When combining the Hofstra and Texas Tech wins, UA shot 46 percent from the field and 39 percent from behind the arc. In fact, the Tide's 19 3-pointers against the Red Raiders are the third-most in NCAA Tournament history (Alabama owns the No. 1 spot with 25 against BYU in the 2025 Sweet 16).

But of course, Michigan is a different standard.

Holloway was named to the All-SEC Third Team on March 9. He earned a starting role after being the Crimson Tide's sixth-man in 2024-25, and he's certainly made the most of it. The junior finished the regular season 14th in the conference in points per game (16.8 on 48.0 percent from the field) and eighth in assists per game (3.9).

Alabama is the only program in the country to reach the Elite Eight in each of the last two seasons, and an upset win over the Wolverines in the Midwest Regional semifinal would add another tally to that remarkable achievement.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Threads and Blue Sky for the latest news