Top 10 Alabama Teams for 2022-23 Academic Year: All Things CW

Was it a good year for the Crimson Tide? Considering all the off-field problems it's hard to say yes despite some impressive accomplishments.

Alabama Athletics

Alabama Crimson Tide athletics director Greg Byrne told the story during his spring appearance at the Regions Pro-Am, about the reaction to two lists he displayed during a recent coaches' meeting called to discuss some of the recent off-field issues. 

On paper, as a whole, Alabama had a pretty impressive academic year, with numerous teams making postseason runs and in the hunt for the national championship. When Byrne displayed that list a lot of people in the room were smiling. 

But then he showed the other, of headlines that suffocated and overshadowed a lot of the positive attention. Not surprisingly, the room fell completely silent. 

There's one other lingering aspect to the 2022-23 academic year that won't be forgotten: Despite arguably having the best individual player in Crimson Tide history in football, basketball and softball players, they combined to win one conference title during their final seasons. 

Nevertheless, here's our rankings of the top 10 Alabama teams for 2022-23: 

1. Soccer: The Crimson Tide had an outstanding 23-3-1 season, including 10-0 in conference play. It reached the championship game of SEC Tournament, and was first Crimson Tide team to reach the NCAA Women's College Cup, where it was one game away from playing for the national championship.
2. Men's Basketball: Finished with 31-6 overall record including a 16-2 mark. Won SEC regular-season title and SEC Tournament. Was top-seeded team in NCAA Tournament.
3. Football: Went 11-2, 6-2 in SEC play. Both losses came on the on final play, one in regulation at Tennessee, the other in overtime at LSU. It capped the season with a dominating 45-20 victory against Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl. Finished No. 5 in final rankings. 
4. Softball: Won two games in SEC Tournament to each semifinals. Won Tuscaloosa regional and came back from one-game deficit to win Super Regional against Northwestern and advance to Women's College World Series. Finished 45-22, 14-10 conference play.
5. Baseball: Despite enduring a late-season coaching change went 43-21, reached Super Regionals of NCAA Tournament as No. 16 seeded team. Beat two ranked opponents in SEC Tournament and won Tuscaloosa Regional. 
6. Men's Golf: Reached match-play portion of SEC Tournament. Won NCAA Norman Regional to advance to NCAA Championships. Finished 11th at finals.  
7. Track and field: The team just capped the season with the men 11th and the women 15th at the outdoor national championships, where Chris Robinson won the program's first 400-meter hurdle individual title. The men were ninth at the indoor championships and the women placed third in cross country. 
8. Gymnastics: Went 7-5, 6-6 conference, during Ashley Johnston's first season as head coach. Placed second at SEC Championships and reached the Regional Championship Finals. 
9. Women's Basketball: Finished 20-11, 9-7 in SEC. Lost only game in SEC Tournament. Played in NCAA Tournament as a No. 10 seed. 
10. Rowing: Placed third at the Big 12 Championships. The Crimson Tide took silver in the Second Varsity 4+ and First Varsity Eight+, and bronze in the Second Varsity 8+. 

Needs to be mentioned: Derek Maas was the recipient of the NCAA's Elite 90 award in swimming and diving . 

See Also:

Most Impactful Memory from the 2022-23 Athletic Calendar? Just A Minute

Top 10 Performances By an Alabama Athlete in 2022-23