Alabama plans for Latrell Wrightsell to return next season on medical redshirt
Alabama guard Latrell Wrightsell had his season cut short on November 30, tearing his Achilles in the Crimson Tide’s loss to Oregon in Las Vegas. Though this was his final season of eligibility, Alabama head coach Nate Oats revealed that the program is planning to get Wrightsell a medical redshirt, granting him another year to play.
“The rule in basketball is 30 percent, and you can’t play in the last half of the season. So he’s under the 30 percent total, and all the games that he did play were in the front half of the season,” Oats told Ryan Fowler on Tide 100.9 Friday afternoon. “We’re gonna file for it with the SEC, and I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t get it. I mean, he meets all the criteria. He’s gonna have to play a sixth year, and with COVID and all that they’ve been granting all that stuff.
“Our plan is for him to be back next year. It’ll be great because he’s an experienced college player that shoots it at a high clip, that knows our system, that’s a great kid that everyone in the program loves. He can be a leader for us next year.”
In eight games this season prior to his injury, Wrightsell was playing like the best shooter on the Alabama team. He averaged 11.5 points per game before his injury, shooting 42.2 percent from beyond the arc.
If Wrightsell is able to return for the 2025-26 season next year, it would be a massive boost for a Crimson Tide team slated to lose a lot of talent in the offseason. Starters Mark Sears, Grant Nelson, Cliff Omoruyi and Chris Youngblood are all on their final years of eligibility, while young talent like Labaron Philon and Derrion Reid could test the NBA Draft waters.
The 2025-26 season would be Wrightsell’s sixth season of college basketball if he’s able to return. He played three seasons at Cal State Fullerton and became a first team All-Big West player before transferring to Alabama for the 2023-24 season and playing a key role in the program’s first trip to the Final Four.
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Oats updates status of Houston Mallette’s injury
Oats also updated the status of injured guard Houston Mallette, who has been out since Jan. 8 dealing with ongoing knee issues that have plagued him since the offseason.
Mallette transferred in from Pepperdine for his final year of eligibility, but missed the entire offseason with knee issues. Alabama planned to redshirt Mallette for the entire season, but took him off the redshirt and played him in six games following Wrightsell’s injury.
Now, Alabama may pursue a medical redshirt for Mallette now that his knee issues have flared up again.
“It’s looking more and more like Houston’s gonna redshirt,” Oats said on Tide 100.9 Friday. “We’re gonna get a real evaluation here on this week off. He won’t be playing Saturday.”
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