Alabama landed some guard help from the transfer portal Sunday. The Crimson Tide picked up a commitment from Miami (FL) guard Jalil Bethea, adding a third player from the portal to its 2025-26 roster.
Bethea picked Alabama over Kansas State, NC State and a return to Miami. Last season with the Hurricanes, he appeared in 31 games with 16 starts and averaged 7.1 points on splits of 36.8% from the field, 32.6% from 3 and 82% from the free throw line. He also grabbed 2.1 rebounds and dished out 1.2 assists per game.
Miami landed Bethea as a highly rated prospect in the Class of 2024. He was a five-star recruit, ranked as the No. 7 overall player and the No. 5 shooting guard. Though he didn’t have a high-volume scoring season, Bethea’s minutes increased as the last campaign continued. He also went through a coaching change midway through his first college season after Jim Larrañaga, who coached the Hurricanes for 13 seasons, retired on Dec. 26.
Bethea’s commitment comes one day after four members of last year’s Alabama team announced they would be returning, including a trio of guards. Bethea will join a backcourt that will include veterans Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Houston Mallette along with sophomore Aden Holloway. Freshman guard Labaron Philon has yet to announce his plans for next season.
Alabama has now landed three players in the transfer portal in Bethea, Bucknell center Noah Williamson and Florida State forward Taylor Bol Bowen. Two players from last year's Alabama team have entered the portal — sophomore forward Mouhamed Dioubate and freshman Naas Cunningham.
The addition of Bethea would leave Alabama with zero available scholarship spots under the current NCAA rules, which allows for 13 scholarship players. A proposal to expand rosters to 15 is in the works, though it's unlikely Alabama will use all 15 spots.
Here’s Alabama’s projected 2025-26 roster and eligibility tracker as of April 6.
1. Davion Hannah — 4 years
2. London Jemison — 4 years
3. Amari Allen — 4 years
4. Jalil Bethea — 3 years
5. Labaron Philon — 3 years
6. Aiden Sherrell — 3 years
7. Derrion Reid — 3 years
8. Aden Holloway — 2 years
9. Taylor Bol Bowen — 2 years
10. Jarin Stevenson — 2 years
11. Noah Williamson — 1 year
12. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. — 1 year
13. Houston Mallette — 1 year
