Alabama Basketball Among Top Schools for Elite 2026 Prospect

Cole Cloer, one of the top small forwards in the 2026 recruiting class, officially named his top schools this week, including the Crimson Tide among them.

2026 4-Star SF Cole Cloer during his official visit to Alabama | Credit @colecloer on Instagram

Nate Oats and the Alabama men's basketball staff look to be closing in on yet another elite prospect in the 2026 recruiting class.

Less than a month after landing Chris Washington, Jr. and Tarris Bouie, the Crimson Tide was named among the top schools for one of the highest rated small forwards in next year's class, 4-Star Cole Cloer.

The 6-foot-7, 190 lb. prospect named Alabama among North Carolina, UCONN, Florida and North Carolina State, according to Joe Tipton of Rivals.

NEWS: 2026 Top-30 recruit Cole Cloer is down to five schools, he tells @Rivals:

North Carolina, NC State, UConn, Alabama, and Floridahttps://t.co/VZx3Bk6Rkn pic.twitter.com/86FJCn7zJV

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) September 23, 2025

Hailing from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, Cloer is ranked as the No. 11 player at his position in the class and the No. 5 overall prospect in the Sunshine State, according to 247Sports' composite ranking.

He recently made the trip to Tuscaloosa on September 16, and was even joined by Alabama's own Ryan Williams for a photoshoot. Cloer posted several photos from the visit to his Instagram.

As of now, the lengthy wing player has visited three of his five finalists, also making the trip to Florida on September 5 and UCONN on September 12.

Cloer is a dynamic offensive threat with the ability to shoot from almost anywhere on the floor with great efficiency. Across 20 games in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL), he knocked down nearly 44 percent of all his shots, including a 33 percent clip from beyond the arc.

He is also a solid rebounder, averaging just under five per game in the EYBL.

While Cloer may need to develop a bit in terms of his strength in order to handle himself on the defensive end against the rigor of the SEC, many of the physical tools are already in place.

As of now, Alabama holds just two commitments in the 2026 recruiting class, both of which made their announcements within the last month. Oats and the Crimson Tide staff added four players in last year's class, but look to be taking a bit more of an active approach in this year's group.

The Tide has already welcomed several elite visitors from the upcoming class, one of which, 5-Star Caleb Holt, is an Alabama native. Can Oats and the staff put together another top ranked recruiting class?

Alabama Basketball Visitors

September 5

• 4-Star CG Ikenna Alozie, 6-foot-2, 185 lbs. - Dream City Christian School (Glendale, Arizona)

September 12-13

• 5-Star SF Caleb Holt, 6-foot-5, 200 lbs. - Prolific Prep (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) - originally from Huntsville, Alabama
• 5-Star PG Dylan Mingo, 6-foot-5, 190 lbs. - Long Island Lutheran (Glen Head, New York)
• 4-Star SF Jaxon Richardson, 6-foot-6, 200 lbs. - Columbus High School (Miami, Florida)

September 16-19

• 4-Star SF Cole Cloer, 6-foot-7, 190 lbs. - IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida)
• 4-Star PF Darius Ratliff, 6-foot-11, 190 lbs. - Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, New York)
• 4-Star PF Adonis Ratliff, 6-foot-11, 190 lbs. - Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, New York)

October 18

• 4-Star SF Colben Landrew, 6-foot-6, 205 lbs. - Wheeler High School (Marietta, Georgia)

2026 Alabama Basketball Commits

1. 4-Star SF Chris Washington, Jr., 6-foot-9, 195 lbs. - Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Committed 09/08/2025)
2. 4-Star SF Tarris Bouie, 6-foot-6, 170 lbs. - Geneva, Ohio (Committed 09/10/2025)