On its path to winning 28 games and making the Elite 8 last season, Alabama Basketball boasted one of the best collective frontcourts in college basketball. However, almost all of them have left, with starters Cliff Omoruyi and Grant Nelson moving on, while Jarin Stevenson and Mouhamed Dioubate transferring out.
The only returning frontcourt rotation piece is Aiden Sherrell, who produced 3.4 ppg and 2.8 rpg in 8.8 mpg off the bench. The team did land two notable players from the transfer portal in former FSU forward Taylor Bol Bowen (8.0 ppg and 5.2 rpg) and Noah Williamson, a 7’0 center from Bucknell who was the Patriot League Player of the Year after averaging 17.6 ppg and 7.6 rpg.
Even with those three, that’s not a lot of frontcourt depth to work with, especially in an SEC that’s loaded with talented big men throughout the league. So, Alabama got a late find to fill out the roster next season.
NEWS: 4⭐️ Collins Onyejiaka, a 6-foot-10 center, has committed to Alabama and will reclassify to play for the Tide this upcoming season, source tells @on3recruits.
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) June 20, 2025
Ranked 90th overall in the 2026 class.https://t.co/Ej3PCsG6hv pic.twitter.com/O8Bd2DUQgL
Collins Onyejiaka is a 6’10 and 270-pound big man and a consensus four-star prospect originally in the 2026 class before moving up to be eligible for next year. He’s physically ready to play in the SEC already, and can offer them needed minutes at the five-spot and give them some level of interior defense and a change of pace from the more offensively-minded Williamson.
Other teams who were reportedly after Onyejiaka included Illinois and Indiana, so he was a high-major target that teams were looking for. And as we’ve seen with some of the transfer portal pickups, there weren’t too many elite frontcourt players in the states available to fill out the depth.
Whether Onyejiaka will be part of the rotation as a freshman or not, this is a solid roster addition for the Crimson Tide late in the offseason.