Bama Central

Recruiting Corner: Going Beyond Borders

The Alabama brand extends beyond American borders when it comes to recruiting for two of the Crimson Tide's top programs.

Katie Windham

Ever since arriving at Alabama as head coach, Nick Saban has always made it a priority to lock in the best talent in the state of Alabama. However, he has also showed that he will go wherever he needs to around the country to get the best players for the Crimson Tide. 

Recently, Alabama football and basketball have been able to make a splash on the international recruiting scene. 

Nate Oats and Alabama basketball have almost created a pipeline of talent from the Great White North with two current players on the roster from Canada, Charles Bediako and Keon Ambrose-Hylton, and last year's first round NBA draft pick Joshua Primo. Forward Alex Tchikou also brings international representation to the Crimson Tide basketball team originally coming from Paris, France.

Alabama football currently has wide receiver John Metchie III from Canada and punter James Burnip from Australia.

The next potential Canadian star for the Crimson Tide is 2022 defensive lineman Isaiah Hastings. He currently lives and plays in Clearwater, Florida but is from Canada. Hastings picked up an offer from Alabama on Sunday and used a picture of fellow Canadian Metchie in his tweet. 

Hastings was in attendance at the Alabama Florida game in Gainesville on Saturday before picking up his offer. He told SI All American that he is no rush to speed up his recruiting process and a visit to Alabama is in the works. 

The Crimson Tide is just the most recent team to offer Hastings after he really gained traction on the recruiting trail over the summer. Some of the other teams in contention are Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss and Oregon among many others. 

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Katie Windham
KATIE WINDHAM

Katie Windham is the assistant editor for BamaCentral, primarily covering football, basketball gymnastics and softball. She is a two-time graduate of the University of Alabama and has covered a variety of Crimson Tide athletics since 2019 for outlets like The Tuscaloosa News, The Crimson White and the Associated Press before joining BamaCentral full time in 2021. Windham has covered College Football Playoff games, the Women's College World Series, NCAA March Madness, SEC Tournaments and championships in multiple sports. 

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