With the 2025-26 calendar year ending across the country, it’s time we look into our own backyard and praise the athletes who wore the crimson and white best this year.
From football to cross country, here are the top 10 athletes from this past season:
- Myles Upchurch, baseball
Starting our list is one of many standout freshmen, Myles Upchurch.
The 6-4 pitcher compiled an 8-3 record with a competitive 3.75 ERA in 2026.
With his great play came an uptick in national presence, earning NCBWA All-Freshman First Team honors and even a Perfect Game national Co-Freshman of the week award for his 11-strikeout evening in just six innings against North Florida.
Upchurch got his first postseason start in the Tuscaloosa Regional against Oklahoma State, where he mowed down nine Cowboys en route to a 9-7 win.
“The most impressive thing about him is the poise, the maturity, and the heartbeat in big spots,” head coach Rob Vaughn said. “I don’t think anybody on this team had any concern about the game being too fast for him today or him trying to do extra today. I think we all knew, all right, this is our dude.”
- Zabien Brown, football
In just two seasons at Alabama, cornerback Zabien Brown has already become a program legend.
Down 16-7 with a few seconds left in the first half, Tennessee looked to cash in from the one-yard line to tighten up the score in Bryant-Denny. Seconds later, the game was blown open: Zabien Brown intercepted the Volunteers’ quarterback, Joey Aguilar and took it 99 yards as time expired.
Not only was this a 14-point swing in a massive SEC game, but it shifted the momentum so far to the home team that it felt like Tennessee had little to no chance of coming back.
Brown wasn’t done yet.
Alabama trailed 17-10 late in the first half against Oklahoma in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Brown came up big once again, picking off Sooners quarterback John Mateer and taking it back 50 yards to tie the game.
The sophomore finished 2025 with 39 total tackles, five pass deflections, and two crucial interceptions.
- Brooke Wells, softball
Brooke Wells had one of the best seasons at the plate in Alabama Softball history, earning her First Team All-SEC and NFCA Second Team All-American honors.
She finished third all-time in single-season home runs with 24 and second all-time in slugging percentage at .844.
Wells and teammate Alexis Pupillo became the first Alabama duo to both hit 20-plus home runs in a single season, leading Alabama to the No. 1 overall seed at the Women’s College World Series and a semifinal berth.
- Jocelyn Briski, softball
The 2026 SEC and DI Softball Pitcher of the Year and NFCA First Team All-American Jocelyn Briski had the best season on the mound by a Crimson Tide player since the legendary Montana Fouts.
Briski finished with a 24-4 record, leading Alabama back to the Women’s College World Series as the No. 1 overall seed.
The junior finished with an outstanding 220 strikeouts to just 22 walks this season, with arguably her best performance coming in a complete game against Nebraska, where she allowed only one hit in Oklahoma City. At the time, Nebraska, led by former World Series MVP and Player of the Year Jordy Frohm, was the hottest offense in the country. Briski shut them down.
Head coach Patrick Murphy summed up Briski as “incredible” after her dominant outing against the Cornhuskers.
- Ty Simpson, football
There is a lot of responsibility when you take over as the starting quarterback for the University of Alabama. Ty Simpson excelled as a leader on and off the field.
Simpson brought the Crimson Tide back to the College Football Playoff in his lone season at the helm, tossing 28 touchdowns to just five interceptions in the process.
With little to no run game to help him, Simpson had to take over the big moments for Alabama to win. He ended Georgia’s nearly six-season home winning streak in their 24-21 win, made clutch fourth-down throws to put away Missouri and Auburn and tied the largest comeback in College Football Playoff history when he brought Alabama back from a 17-0 deficit to beat Oklahoma in Norman.
Simpson became loved by fans over his career for his patience to wait for his opportunity, a rare trait in today’s College Football landscape.
“When you choose Alabama, there is a responsibility and pride that comes with it,” Simpson said when he declared for the NFL Draft. “It’s something you feel deep down. It’s not a choice to stay in Alabama. You are Alabama, or you’re not.”
Simpson was drafted 13th overall by the Los Angeles Rams in April and will back up the reigning MVP of the league, Matt Stafford, in his rookie season.
- Azaraya Ra-Akbar, gymnastics
It didn’t take long for Azaraya Ra-Akbar to make an impact on one of the top teams in the nation.
Ra-Akbar posted four scores of 9.85 or higher in her collegiate debut against Clemson, including a 9.975 on uneven bars.
She would go on to dominate the rest of the season, consistently posting above a nine in every meet.
Ra-Akbar was named the 2026 SEC Freshman of the Year, capping off one of the best all-around seasons in Alabama Gymnastics lore.
- Doris Lemngole, women’s cross country and track and field
There was no shortage of awards for Doris Lemngole this academic year.
In December, she became the first runner in Alabama history to win The Bowerman award, the highest honor for cross country. She was also named the USTFCCCA National Women’s Athlete of the Year in 2025.
Lemngole took home national titles in the indoor 5,000-meter and outdoor 3,000-meter steeplechase.
The junior’s dominance didn’t stop at cross country as she put together a great season as a member of the Women’s track and field team. It appeared as Lemngole was going to take home another individual trophy; however, due to a rules infraction, she was stripped of her 5,000-meter national title on the track.
“Doris ran a great race in the 5,000 meters and though the outcome was not what she wanted, those are the rules,” head coach Dan Waters said. “Everything happens for a reason, and we’ll be better in the future because of what we experienced here this weekend.”
- Justin Lebron, baseball
Justin Lebron shined on the diamond during his junior season, leading Alabama to its first Men’s College World Series in 27 seasons in the process.
The Perfect Game Second Team All-American shortstop hit .277 this season with a team high 16 home runs. Lebron also accumulated 42 stolen bases.
“Ever since I’ve been here, I feel like he kind of is the program,” teammate Jason Torres said. “I don’t want to say that, but we just all kind of follow his lead. That guy’s special — in practice, in the games, good person, good teammate. I’ll miss playing with him.”
Lebron, a projected top 10-15 pick in the next MLB Draft, finished his Alabama career with a .313 batting average and 45 home runs.
- Labaron Philon Jr., men’s basketball
Labaron Philon put together one of the best all-around seasons from a point guard in Alabama men’s basketball history.
Philon averaged 22 points per game on over 50% shooting and nearly 40% from the three-point line, one of the most efficient seasons ever in Tuscaloosa. He became the first power conference player since 2000 to average at least 21 points and 4.5 assists per game while shooting over 50% from the field.
By the end of the postseason, Philon eclipsed 700 total points, the third most in a single season in Crimson Tide history. The star guard also dished out five assists per contest and shot nearly 80% from the charity stripe.
Arguably the best part of Philon’s season was his clutch gene, making seven game-tying or lead-taking shots in the final three minutes of the second half and overtime this season. Perhaps his most crucial make of all was a fadeaway jumper with seconds left in Knoxville to end a multi-season losing streak to rival Tennessee.
Philon outscored the Volunteers 15-12 by himself in the final 10 minutes of the game.
On Tuesday night, Philon’s dream of playing in the NBA became a reality as he was drafted 22nd overall by the Philadelphia 76ers.
- Samuel Ogazi, men’s track and field
The best athlete at the University of Alabama during the 2025-26 calendar year goes to sprinter Samuel Ogazi.
On June 10, Ogazi set an NCAA record of 43.38 seconds in the 400-meter dash to take home the National Championship for the second straight year. Not only was this an NCAA record, but it was the fourth fastest time recorded in the history of the 400.
“Samuel’s national title defense and collegiate record in the 400 meters were tremendous highlights for our program this week,” coach Dan Waters said.
Ogazi also took home the indoor championship in March with a finish of 44.57 seconds — the third fastest indoor time in NCAA history.
