Alabama Injury Updates, Roster Movement, and a Look at the Tide’s Backfield in 2026
As Alabama basketball prepares for a road matchup against Ole Miss tonight in Oxford, the team continues to wrestle with a tough reality: staying healthy has been a season-long battle, and it doesn’t look like that’s changing anytime soon.
Keitenn Bristow Likely Done for the Season
Head coach Nate Oats confirmed that forward Keitenn Bristow will miss tonight’s game and hinted that Bristow could be shut down for the rest of the season, potentially redshirting. That decision, Oats said, will ultimately be made by Bristow’s camp and athletic trainer Clarke Holter.
Bristow has been sidelined much of the 2025-26 season due to lingering leg and ankle injuries. His last appearance came against Texas, and he was averaging 3.6 points and 4 rebounds per game before being shelved. He’s the kind of player who brings a blue-collar edge to the floor - not flashy, but dependable - which makes his absence even tougher for a team that’s already searching for consistency.
The redshirt option isn’t exclusive to Bristow. Alabama is also evaluating whether to redshirt freshman center Collins Onyejiaka and freshman guard Davion Hannah, both of whom have struggled to stay healthy or find consistent minutes.
A Seventh Season for Kedrick Bingley-Jones
On the football side, Alabama just got a boost to its defensive front. Mississippi State transfer Kedrick Bingley-Jones has officially been cleared by the NCAA to play a seventh season of college football. Yes, seven.
Bingley-Jones, a 6-foot-4, 320-pound defensive lineman from Concord, North Carolina, began his college career at North Carolina in 2020 and spent four seasons there before transferring to Mississippi State for the last two. Now, he’s headed to Tuscaloosa for one final run.
“Thank you God! Waiver got approved by the NCAA,” Bingley-Jones wrote on social media Tuesday. And with that, Alabama adds a seasoned veteran with SEC experience to its defensive line rotation - a group that’s seen plenty of turnover in recent seasons.
For those raising an eyebrow at the idea of a seventh year, consider the case of linebacker Solomon Tuliaupupu. He started his college journey at USC way back in 2018 and is now entering his second season at Montana - his eighth overall.
After multiple major injuries and redshirt seasons, Tuliaupupu finally saw the field in 2022 and again briefly in 2024 before transferring. His story serves as a reminder that every player’s path is different, and sometimes longevity is born out of resilience, not just eligibility loopholes.
Alabama’s Running Back Room: Depth with Questions
As spring ball looms, Alabama’s running back room is shaping up to be a fascinating storyline.
Daniel Hill returns as the team’s most productive back from last season, carrying the ball 75 times for 284 yards and six touchdowns. At 6-foot-1 and 244 pounds, Hill brings a physical presence, and he showed flashes of breakout potential. But with a new season comes new expectations - and Alabama will need more than flashes.
Kevin Riley and AK Dear also return after combining for nearly 400 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Riley’s 59 carries for 224 yards and Dear’s 140 yards on just 19 carries hint at upside, but like Hill, they’ll need to elevate their games to solidify their roles in 2026.
Then there’s the wildcard: Ezavier Crowell. The five-star back out of Jackson enters as one of the most hyped recruits in the country.
At 5-foot-11, 210 pounds, Crowell has the build and the résumé - he rushed for 2,600 yards and 35 touchdowns as a senior en route to winning Mr. Football in his home state.
If he adjusts quickly to the college game, Crowell could be a game-changer in this backfield.
Coaching Carousel: Tevin Madison Headed to Rice
Alabama is also seeing some staff movement. Tevin Madison, who’s served as a football analyst and assistant defensive backs coach under Kalen DeBoer, is expected to take on the cornerbacks coach role at Rice.
Madison played a key role in helping Alabama return to the College Football Playoff this past season - the program’s first appearance under DeBoer. Now, he’s set to join Mike Abell’s staff at Rice, continuing his coaching ascent with an on-field role.
Bowl Game Cuts Continue
On the national front, the college football postseason continues to shrink at the lower tiers. Following the cancellation of the L.A. Bowl and the Bahamas Bowl, the Detroit-based bowl game held at Ford Field is the latest to be axed.
That bowl had a 29-year run under several different names, most recently as the GameAbove Sports Bowl. It began as the Motor City Bowl in 1997, morphed into the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl in 2009, then became the Quick Lane Bowl in 2014 before its final rebrand. Its final game saw Northwestern cruise past Central Michigan, 34-7.
The shrinking bowl schedule is part of a broader shift in college football’s postseason landscape, as the expanded College Football Playoff continues to reshape priorities and revenue streams across the sport.
Briski Shines in Softball Return
One bright spot in Tuscaloosa: junior pitcher Jocelyn Briski made a strong return for Alabama softball. After dealing with a leg injury that put her status for opening weekend in doubt, Briski not only took the mound - she dominated.
In a 9-3 win over Villanova at the Buzz Classic, Briski threw four innings of hitless relief, striking out seven of the 13 batters she faced. She needed just 41 pitches to get it done, and it marked her first live action since the fall.
For a Crimson Tide softball team looking to build momentum early, Briski’s return couldn’t have come at a better time.
From basketball injuries to football roster changes and standout softball performances, it’s been a busy stretch in Tuscaloosa. And with spring sports heating up and football just around the corner, the Tide’s storylines are only getting started.