The Crimson Tide’s season opener against Queens on Monday will mark the inception of a new era for Alabama women’s basketball. Under first-year head coach Pauline Love, the program will face several changes in 2026.
Between a roster that was reconstructed through the transfer portal and an entirely new coaching staff, fans have been left with little certainty as to what they should expect of the 2026-27 team.
Perhaps the most significant of the program’s changes are the new faces on Alabama’s roster. With only four returners, Love had to rebuild the team through the transfer portal.
Sophomore point guard Ace Austin returns with the potential to make a breakout year for the Crimson Tide. Austin averaged 21 points, seven rebounds and 7.5 assists in Alabama’s two preseason games, and she has taken up the role of the team’s offensive hub.
“She’s been great,” Love said of Austin. “She’s a little nervous about the uncertainty of what the system is going to look like. I explained to her it will be the best basketball she’s ever played.”
She is joined as a returner by senior forward Naomi Jones, who is projected to be one of the Crimson Tide’s most important rebounders and finishers. Junior guard Leah Brooks and sophomore guard Tianna Chambers round out the returners to the team and look to be steady contributors off the bench for Alabama.
They are joined in the backcourt by Boston College transfer Amirah Anderson and Louisiana Tech transfer Paris Bradley, both of whom add ball-handling and scoring ability to Alabama’s roster. Bradley was named Conference USA Freshman of the Year two seasons ago, while Anderson contributed 18 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc in Alabama’s exhibition against UAH.
Long Island State transfer Mykelle Richards and Cincinnati transfer Kylie Torrence will be vital members of Alabama’s forward rotation. Torrence is a strong rebounder and defender who offers skilled passing ability in the frontcourt, while Richards is a versatile defender who led her team in steals last season.
TCU transfer forward Aaliyah Roberson medically redshirted last season, but she led the nation in effective field goal percentage the season before as a rotational piece for the Horned Frogs.
DePaul transfer guard Alayna West didn’t put up extraordinary offensive numbers with the Blue Demons, but she will be looked to for defensive production in the backcourt after averaging two steals per game in 2025.
The challenge for Love and her staff will be rapidly developing the chemistry of an overhauled roster. Alabama has the pieces in place to be among the better SEC teams on both sides of the ball, but how will Love operate her team?
The answer starts with the style of offense the Crimson Tide will run, which is similar to that used by Alabama men’s basketball head coach Nate Oats: fast-paced, three-point heavy and dependent on constant ball movement.
“I wanted to add some Princeton concepts in it,” Love said. “And I added a European motion offense with it. It’s just all about making the defense wrong.”
Princeton concepts are read-heavy concepts that rely on specific decision points each player makes at various points in the play.
European motion offenses, also referred to as motion continuity offenses, are more free-flowing, unscripted principles that use off-ball movement and a spaced-out court to constantly create openings on the three-point line or at the rim.
These offensive schemes are intellectually demanding for players, as they require detailed understandings of leverage relative to the other nine players on the court to make off-ball movements and screens that are effective at creating shots.
They also demand elite passing ability from everybody on the court. In accordance with Princeton concepts, big forwards are often the initiators of dribble-handoffs and ball screens at the top of the key, and they have to be just as capable of making entry passes to cutters as the point guards.
If the players are able to adapt to the demands of an advanced offense and their three-point shooting is up to the task of sinking a high volume of shots from behind the arc, the Crimson Tide could possess one of the fastest and highest-scoring offenses in the SEC.
Alabama has a wide range of possible outcomes in 2026. Bringing in a new coaching staff and roster will naturally create growing pains, and if that growth stage takes an especially long time, the Crimson Tide could struggle to keep up in a loaded SEC.
But rebuilds don’t always take multiple years in the era of NIL and the transfer portal. With coaches being able to construct their roster at will with their new teams, Love has the opportunity to see immediate results in her first year leading the program.
If Alabama’s offense continues to perform at the level it has in the preseason and it has enough elite athletes to be competitive defensively, the Crimson Tide could be right back in the top 25 and knocking on the door of a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
“I have the three pillars of our program as toughness, togetherness and trust,” Love said. “The one thing the group has is togetherness. No matter what it looks like, they stick together.”
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