This is the beginning of the SEC opponent preview series. Bat Cats Central intern Jonathon Bruner will break down each conference opponent on the Wildcats' schedule. First up is Alabama.
In under two months, Kentucky baseball will make its 2026 SEC debut at home against Alabama with a three-game set starting on March 13. As we all count down the days until that first pitch, let’s take a look at the Crimson Tide heading into the upcoming season.
Quick Hitters
Head Coach: Rob Vaughn (257-159 overall, 74-42 at Alabama)
Assistant Coaches: Jason Jackson (pitching coach, associate head coach), Mike Morrison (recruiting coordinator, assistant coach), Anthony Papio (hitting coach, assistant coach)
All-time series: Alabama leads the series 61-47
Most recent meeting: The two squads last met during the Bat Cats’ historic season in 2024. Kentucky swept Alabama in early April at Kentucky Proud Park. Pitching led the way in the first two games for the Wildcats as Trey Pooser allowed two runs over seven innings in a 6-2 victory in the series opener. Lefty Dominic Niman tossed a complete-game shutout in a 7-0 victory to secure the series for Kentucky in the second game. Senior first baseman Ryan Nicholson starred in the series finale as he finished 3-5 with two home runs in a 10-1 win.
Kentucky is 7-3 in its last 10 meetings with the Tide dating back to 2021.
2025 Review
The Crimson Tide had a strong regular season in 2025, finishing 40-15. That marked the first 40-win regular season for Alabama since 2002.
Vaughn and his team came out of the gates hot by reeling off a school record 16-straight wins to open the season. The team's first loss came in the series finale against Presbyterian on the final weekend before SEC play.
In conference play, Alabama started strong once again by sweeping Texas A&M on the road before losing its first series at home to Tennessee.
Overall, Alabama finished with 12 ranked wins in SEC play, including Tennessee, Oklahoma, LSU and Georgia, who were all in the top 10 at the time.
Once the regular season came to an end, Alabama went 1-1 in the SEC Tournament with a win over Missouri and a loss to Tennessee. In the NCAA Tournament, Alabama was the No. 2 seed in the Hattiesburg Regional and went 0-2 with losses to No. 3 seeded Miami and No. 1 seeded Southern Miss to end the 2025 season.
The pitfall for the Crimson Tide seemed to be a tale of two seasons as they played complete baseball for the first half of the season, but both the bats and the pitching staff cooled down on the back half of the season.
Players to know
SS Justin Lebron- Alabama has a bona fide superstar at shortstop who is expected to be a top-10 pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. Lebron was a First-Team Preseason All-American according to Perfect Game. Lebron finished his sophomore season with a .316 average along with 18 home runs, 72 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. That season resulted in a long list of accolades, including First Team All-American by ABCA/Rawlings, Third Team All-American by Perfect Game, Second Team All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive Team.
C Will Plattner- This is not quite as popular a player as Lebron, but Plattner was named team captain. He'll be a focal point of the Crimson Tide this season. Last year, Plattner split time behind the dish and appeared in 26 total games, along with 23 starts. Plattner finished with a .264 batting average with eight doubles and a homer. He will now have the full-time catching duties coming into his senior season with the Tide.
Outfielder Logen Devenport – The name might sound familiar to Kentucky fans because Devenport is a product of NKU and joined the Crimson Tide from the transfer portal. The outfielder will be attempting to fill the hole left by 2025 MLB Draft pick Richie Bonomolo Jr. Devenport is coming off a monster junior year, where he slashed .423/.533/ .786. Alabama hopes that production will transfer to SEC baseball.
LHP Zane Adams- Adams is a weekend starter who is back with the Tide for the 2026 season. In the 2025 season, Adams finished with a 7-4 record with a 5.54 ERA in 65 innings of work. He recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts against Presbyterian. With MLB Draft pick Riley Quick leading the team in strikeouts, Adams was only eight behind for the team lead with 62.
RHP Tyler Fay- While Adams was penciled in as a starter last season, Fay was not. He began the 2025 campaign in the bullpen before working his way into the rotation. Fay finished the year with eight starts and posted a 4.58 ERA in 37.1 innings of work as a starter. Overall, Fay made 20 appearances and tossed 55.2 total innings to a 4.58 ERA.
2026 Outlook
The Crimson Tide is looking to make it past regional weekend for the first time under Vaughn and have a superstar in Lebron to lead the way. This year will need to be less hot and cold than last year, and having some key pitching pieces back may solve that problem. However, this will likely be Lebron's last year in Tuscaloosa, so there's pressure to make the most of it.
Alabama has brought in some intriguing transfers and a lengthy freshman class, including pitchers like Myles Upchurch, who could make an immediate impact. Vaughn has won regular-season games at an increasing rate and has stacked up big-time wins against the elite of the conference each year as the skipper of Alabama. Still, he has not quite overcome the postseason lulls of the team, coming up short when the lights are brightest. That will certainly be the looming storyline for the Crimson Tide when tourney time arrives.
Based on its current roster, I'd anticipate that Alabama will finish similarly to last year, near the middle of the pack in the SEC, and be on the fringe of hosting a regional when May rolls around. We will get to see Alabama's SEC debut when it clashes with the Bat Cats for three games at KPP in March.
