Which players will stay, leave Alabama basketball roster for next season? Our full breakdown

Assume nothing.

That’s the best approach to examining next season’s roster in the transfer portal era of college athletics with NIL and soon revenue sharing.

Gone are the days when it’s safe to think most of the roster with remaining eligibility will return for the next season. UConn coach Dan Hurley painted a clear picture recently.

“50% of my roster or more is at least considering going into the portal, if not already knows what school that they’re going to," Hurley told 60 Minutes in early March.

The turnover happens every offseason now on many rosters across the country. Maybe that will change down the road, but it’s the current reality of each offseason.

“We want to get as many of the guys back that fit how we want to play on our current roster, and I think we’re in a good spot with that,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said after losing to Duke in the Elite Eight. “You see multiple high major programs across the country getting an entirely new roster every year. That’s not how we want to do it.”

So, what does that mean for Alabama men’s basketball? Here’s a look at where the roster stands heading into 2025-26 with who could stay or go.

Alabama players who won’t return

This is the easy part. Maybe the best (only?) certainty about Alabama’s roster. We know the players who can’t come back for another season.

That includes guard Mark Sears, forward Grant Nelson, guard Chris Youngblood and center Clifford Omoruyi. That’s four starters whose eligibility expires after this season.

Alabama players who can return

Players who have remaining eligibility include:

• Labaron Philon
• Aden Holloway
• Mouhamed Dioubate
• Jarin Stevenson
• Aiden Sherrell
• Naas Cunningham
• Derrion Reid
• Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Houston Mallette should both have one year of eligibility remaining as Oats expects the two guards to apply for and get medical redshirts for the 2024-25 season.

Will these players stay?

Sherrell needs to be a top priority. It won’t be cheap to keep a 6-10 center who can shoot 3-pointers, but it will be worth it.

Sherrell has flashed in limited minutes this season, and he has improved over the course of the year. In a second season in Oats’ system, the former five-star McDonald’s All-American has the potential to be a dominant player in the SEC. Other teams are sure to try to pluck him away.

The good news is, Alabama seems to be in a good spot.

“Yeah that’s the plan for sure, to be back,” Sherrell said in the postgame locker room in Newark.

Holloway is another important player to keep. In the middle of SEC play, the former Auburn guard tallied six consecutive double-digit games off the bench. He also scored double digits in 10 of 11 SEC games from Vanderbilt through Tennessee. Shooting over 40% from beyond the arc, Holloway could not only be an important part of the backcourt next season but also a potential starter.

Does he plan to be back?

“Yep” Holloway said postgame. “I love Alabama”

Third, Alabama needs to keep Dioubate. The blue collar award should be named after him. He brings things other players can’t. He’s tough. And every team should have someone like him.

Will he stay for another season?

“That’s the goal,” Dioubate said. “But I haven’t thought about that much. I was just focused on this season.”

Also, a healthy Wrightsell is a valuable asset. He was one of the most efficient offensive players in the country a season ago as well as one of the better defenders on the roster. Wrightsell will likely have plenty of bidders for his services, but Alabama will be a much better team if he’s on it. He seems to be trending toward staying for his last season.

Reid would be a good player to keep, but he might look elsewhere after a freshman season that saw him play in only six SEC regular season games while he dealt with an injury. The former five-star McDonald’s All-American figures to have plenty pursuing him this offseason.

As for some other names: Stevenson could be back for his third season. He still hasn’t quite turned the corner on a consistent basis, though. If he’s back, Alabama’s task will be to find a way to get him to play to his sky-high potential and sustain it.

“We just need to keep pumping him full of confidence,” Oats said before the Elite Eight. “He’s a kid that he doesn’t even know how good he is. When you talk to him, he has no idea. I mean, I think he should be a long-time NBA player. We’ve just got to realize he’s young and pump him full of confidence and get him going because he could be an X-factor for us for sure.”

Also, Mallette would be a surprise not to return. He seemed emphatic he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Yes absolutely,” Mallette said about returning. “No questions about it.”

As for Cunningham, he redshirted his entire freshman season. That’s similar to Kris Parker a year ago. Parker then transferred to Villanova. It remains to be seen if Cunningham departs, too, after having to sit out the whole season.

Players who could declare early for NBA Draft

Philon sits at the top of this list. Chances aren’t great that he stays in college for another year. He’s a prime one-and-done candidate. Philon has a shot to be a first-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.

He was non-committal postgame, though.

“I haven’t thought about anything,” Philon said. “We’ll get to that later on.”

Could anyone else on the roster join him if/when he declares? Maybe. Maybe not. Perhaps Reid enters his name in the draft while still considering his college options. Stevenson did the same a year ago.

But at this juncture, Philon seems to be the only clearcut player trending toward entering the NBA Draft.

Players that Alabama will add

The Crimson Tide is set to add at minimum three players. Alabama signed three high school recruits in the 2025 recruiting class. That included forward London Jemison, guard Davion Hannah and forward Amari Allen.

All three are among the top 100 prospects for the class, rated as four-star prospects per the 247Sports Composite.

The Crimson Tide is already active the transfer portal once again, too. With both Omoruyi and Nelson gone, Alabama will need to add to its front court, among other roster spots. That’s the case whether Sherrell returns or not. Alabama stands to bolster its guard and wing spots.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.