The second month of 2026 is underway, and while the eyes of the athletics world turn to Milan, Italy, for the Olympics, the stars in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, have been on fire. Check out the winners of the week for Feb. 1-7.
Aden Holloway
Alabama men’s basketball guard Aden Holloway racked up 20 points on 5/11 shooting and 9/12 from the charity stripe in his team’s narrow victory over Texas A&M on Wednesday.
He also pulled a rabbit out of his hat with 22 seconds remaining, draining a layup as he drew a foul while falling to the ground.
Holloway added a cherry on top by beating Auburn, his former team, on Saturday afternoon. He contributed 15 points and dished out four assists.
Softball
The 30th season of Alabama softball got off to an electric start Thursday when the Crimson Tide blasted Villanova 17-0 on a seven-home-run performance in the Buzz Classic.
Pitchers Vic Moten and Braya Hodges tossed a combined no-hitter to secure a shutout on the afternoon. The performance was the 47th no-hitter in program history, with the last coming in 2024.
The team’s seven home runs tied a school record for most in a single game. The mark was last in a 2011 meeting with Western Michigan.
“What a great way to start the 30th season of Alabama softball,” head coach Preston Murphy said. “I was very happy with the start from Vic and the closing effort from Braya. Offensively, there were great at-bats all day long from the entire lineup.”
Women’s basketball
Head coach Kristy Curry and the Crimson Tide came away with a huge home win over No. 13 Ole Miss Thursday night, marking the squad’s third win over a ranked opponent on the season, a feat that hadn’t been accomplished by the program since 1999.
Alabama trailed by 1 point in the final 36 seconds when guard Diana Collins secured the game-sealing layup to put the Crimson Tide up 64-63.
The victory was the team’s 20th of the season and marked the fastest climb to that feat in program history.
“I thought we had a different level of toughness about us. We made some good plays with great execution down the stretch and were able to get some critical stops,” Curry said.
Azaraya Ra-Akbar
Freshman standout gymnast Azaraya Ra-Akbar shined for Alabama in its meet against Oklahoma Friday night. She registered career-high marks on vault (9.950) and floor (9.950) en route to a share of the vault event title.
She also scored a 9.900 on uneven bars to score 9.900 or better in three events for the second time this season. Both instances occurred on the road versus the No. 1 team in the nation (Florida, Oklahoma).
Women’s tennis
The Crimson Tide put together a Saturday sweep, defeating UAB and Alcorn State. The pair of victories secured the program’s first 6-0 start to duel season since 2021-22.
“We started the day very strong in our match against Alcorn State. The team did a good job of competing on each court and not letting any awkwardness linger during the match,” head coach Jonatan Berhane said. “Against UAB, we began doubles play a bit timidly, while they did a great job during doubles play. However, the girls bounced back in singles play and competed strongly. We will continue to build and improve as a team after each match we play.”
Samuel Ogazi
Reigning outdoor 400-meter national champion Samuel Ogazi put on a clinic Saturday at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic, breaking the facility record with a time of 44.85.
Ogazi’s time ranks No. 2 on this year’s world list, No. 13 all-time for the event and No. 2 in Alabama history.
