Alabama Adds Size as Oats Targets Rebounding Improvement
Alabama enters the 2026-27 season with a taller roster after coach Nate Oats made size a priority following postseason rebounding struggles. The Crimson Tide went 3-0 in preseason exhibitions and is ranked No. 20 nationally.
Published November 3, Alabama’s season outlook centers on a roster overhaul aimed at addressing a recurring weakness. Coach Nate Oats said the team needed to get bigger after Michigan’s blowout Sweet 16 win over the Crimson Tide last season, and Alabama now has 12 players listed at 6-foot-6 or taller among its 15 players.
Alabama won all three preseason exhibitions, meeting Furman, Ole Miss and Auburn. Its revised lineup showed promise against Ole Miss, but Oats said after the Auburn game that rebounding remained unresolved. Alabama has ranked as the nation’s top-scoring team in each of the past three seasons, while reaching at least the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend in five of the last six years.
The Crimson Tide is No. 20 in the preseason AP poll and projected to finish fifth in the SEC. Senior guard Aden Holloway, last season’s second-leading scorer at 16.8 points per game, is serving a five-game suspension that includes the exhibitions and Alabama’s first two regular-season games. He was reinstated after completing a second-chance program tied to his plea agreement in a drug case.
Freshman guard Anderson Diaz, who averaged 17.2 points and seven assists in Overtime Elite last season, is also not expected to play in the opener because of an elbow injury. Alabama’s regular season will provide its first test of whether the taller roster can improve its work on the boards.