Recruiting Rundown: Welcome Class of 2023
The early signing period for every sport except football started on November 9th, and opening day was filled with young men and women putting their name on the dotted line.
In a lot of ways, signing day is a formality, as a good number of signees had verbally committed to the Tide long ago (like the core of the men's basketball signing class). It also is mainly news to the public, for even when media, fans and supporters learn of the new faces, coaches and support staff of their respective sports knew for months if an athlete was coming.
Still, it's a moment worth celebrating as it's the culmination of years of hard work and dedication as it is ultimately the final pledge in the transition from high school to college.
While every sport has its own incoming talent crop, the sport that benefitted the most from signing day is men's basketball and soccer.
For men's basketball, Nate Oats is now in year four of his tenure at Alabama and has already proven to be a successful recruiter with the additions of top-NBA prospect Brandon Miller and a glue guy manning the frontcourt in Noah Clowney. With the 2023 class, the Crimson Tide now had more versatility, shooting and length with stretch forward Sam Walters and slasher Mouhamed Dioubate. Alabama will also add more scoring punch with guard Davin Cosby and R.J. Johnson, the latter who is one of the best high school players in the state of Alabama.
"We value shooting, athleticism, versatility and we feel that we have checked all the boxes with this class," Oats said in a press release. "Combined at multiple positions this class will be able to step in right away and replace the players that we are losing and we are excited to welcome them to the University of Alabama. They are all high character kids that will mesh well with our current players so we are excited to watch them their senior year and get to campus.”
For Wes Hart and Alabama soccer, the historic run this season has catapulted the program into a destination for top recruits. Of course Alabama soccer isn't new to talent (insert Riley Mattingly Parker and Felicia Knox highlights), but a program that consistently gets top talent will always be a contender, and Hart has proven his ability to coach a winning program.
Regardless of the sport you favor, there is plenty of talent to look forward to as they make their way to Tuscaloosa.
