Alabama women’s basketball will see a mix of new and familiar faces this season, as the team returns eight players but has added six new players to the team.
Three new additions came from the transfer portal, with guards Diana Collins and Zaay Green and forward Christabel Ezumah joining the team.
Collins spent her freshman season at Ohio State after an accomplished high school career. She became the all-time scorer for Brookwood High School in Georgia with 2,174 points and was named to the Georgia All-State team after her senior season.
The 4-star recruit represented Team Sweden in the FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship in 2023 and impressed, leading the team with 16 points per game.
Collins played in 18 games with the Buckeyes, averaging just under 10 minutes per game. After the season, she opted to enter the transfer portal and committed to Alabama in April 2024.
Speaking at SEC media day, guard Sarah Ashlee Barker credited Collins with the ability to see the floor well and defend at a high level.
“Defensively I’ve just seen her come in and be really aggressive,” Barker said. “She’s a dog on that end.”
Green enters her seventh season at the collegiate level, having played two seasons at Tennessee, one at Texas A&M and the past three at Arkansas-Pine Bluff before committing to Alabama in April.
After racking up accolades during her high school career at Duncanville High School she became a McDonald’s All-American her senior year and earned All-State honors after her junior and senior seasons. Green also represented Team USA at international tournaments in 2016 and 2018.
The college journey for Green hasn’t been easy. She tore her ACL in 2019 and 2022, wiping away two seasons.
However, she returned stronger after her ACL tear, starting in 29 games in her final season at Arkansas-Pine Bluff. She recorded 16.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game and looks fully primed to make an impact at Alabama.
“Zaay’s an incredibly special talent,” head coach Kristy Curry said. “She’s as good of a perimeter player as there is in the country.”
Ezumah comes to the Crimson Tide after spending the past four years at Campbell University, where she ranks second all-time in program history with 134 blocks and second all-time in field goal percentage, shooting at a 58.7% rate.
Before her collegiate career, Ezumah played at Lanier High School in Georgia, where she helped earn a state championship in 2019. Her accolades include two-time All-State honors and a spot on All-Region three separate times.
In Ezumah’s final season at Campbell, she started all 31 games and averaged 12.4 points per game to go along with 8.2 rebounds per game. Ezumah was also proficient at blocking shots, averaging 1.8 per game.
“Christabel does the little things great,” Barker said. “She’s always trying to do her job and does it very well.”
Forward Aaliyah Nye credited all three transfer additions for coming in and making an impact defensively.
“I’ve seen a lot of defensive intensity, something we’re trying to put more into our game this season,” Nye said. “They bring a lot of toughness and tenacity.”
