Alabama basketball roster 2024-25: Will Mark Sears return, and who will Tide add?

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The season ended for Alabama basketball in the NCAA Tournament with a loss to UConn in the Final Four. It was a historic postseason with the first Final Four in program history, but the attention will quickly turn to 2024-25.

What will the Alabama basketball roster 2024-25 look like? Who will be back? Who will leave?

In the age of the transfer portal, change is inevitable. Now, it doesn't necessarily mean eight of the 13 scholarship players will exit like a season ago, but there will be departures. There has to be, actually. That much is certain just from a numbers standpoint with the 13-scholarship limit.

As coach Nate Oats prepares to construct his roster for his sixth season at Alabama, here's a look at who won't be back, whom Alabama will add, and who could be gone.

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Who won't be back for Alabama basketball

Let's start with a certainty. The Crimson Tide will have to replace at least one starter, because Aaron Estrada has exhausted his eligibility. The guard was a valuable one-year addition for Alabama after a playing career that took him from St. Peter's to Oregon to Hofstra and now Alabama.

Otherwise, the entire roster has eligibility remaining outside of Estrada.

Whom Alabama basketball will add

The Crimson Tide will bring in five-star forward Derrion Reid, five-star center Aiden Sherrell and four-star forward Naas Cunningham. That's three of 13 roster spots taken.

Then we know Alabama will add at least one transfer in Pepperdine guard Houston Mallette. He committed right before the NCAA Tournament and figures to be able to fill a role similar to Estrada.

Scholarship count: 4/13 scholarships taken.

Potential transfer portal additions for Alabama basketball

Much is still to play out with the portal, but you can be sure the Crimson Tide will add at least one more player, and likely more.

With no true rim protector this past season, Alabama's defense had limitations for much of the season. Figure the Crimson Tide will add one via the portal in this cycle.

Chances are good Alabama will add at least one other guard, too. And there could be more, but that will be dictated by who stays and goes from the current roster.

For now, let's operate as if Alabama will add a rim protector and at least one other transfer player. That's two more scholarships taken.

Scholarship count: 6/13

Who will be back for Alabama basketball in 2024-25?

In this exercise, the Crimson Tide has seven scholarships left and 11 players on the current roster who have remaining eligibility.

That means at least four have to move on, whether that's to the draft, to another team or to be done with college basketball. The group eligible to stay for another season: Mark Sears, Latrell Wrightsell Jr., Grant Nelson, Rylan Griffen, Jarin Stevenson, Sam Walters, Mo Dioubate, Nick Pringle, Mo Wague, Davin Cosby Jr. and Kris Parker.

If going by most minutes played for the top seven, it goes Sears, Griffen, Nelson, Wrightsell, Pringle, Stevenson and Walters. Of course, it's not that simple. But those athletes of the remaining 11 saw the most playing time in 2023-24.

The others in order of most minutes received are Wague, Dioubate and Cosby, while Parker redshirted.

If any players declare for the draft, that will open up spots. If any player decides to transfer, that will open up more. It surely won't be as crowded as 11 players wanting to stay to use seven open scholarships, but until notice otherwise, let's operate as if it's 11 vying for seven.

Scholarship count: 13/13

Will Mark Sears stay for another season?

Sears has a decision to make.

He's a senior but has eligibility remaining if he so chooses. He spent two seasons at Ohio and two seasons at Alabama. Sears had a solid first season with Alabama in 2022-23, but he became the motor of the team in 2023-24, earning consensus second-team All-America honors. Then he took his defensive game and leadership to the next level in the NCAA Tournament and brought the Crimson Tide to the Final Four.

His decision essentially comes down to this: Does he want to stay another season, try to boost his draft stock, and headline a roster that should have the potential to win the SEC and go deep in the NCAA Tournament again? Or is he ready to give the next level a shot now, feeling he won't gain much by one more season of college basketball?

He's probably at best a second-round pick right now if he declares and goes out for the NBA Draft. He could secure a two-way contract potentially, though. That would most likely be better than what he could receive in NIL by staying at Alabama one more season. But it's not a certainty that he would be drafted or secure a two-way contract.

Plus, a team drafting a guard in the second round or signing one to a two-way deal might want someone to guard better on a consistent basis throughout the season, though Sears' defense improved significantly in the NCAA Tournament. Another season in which he works on enhancing his defense to go with his strong offensive game could boost his draft stock.

However, if he thinks there's not much to gain by staying one more season in college basketball, declaring might make sense. To an extent, eventually a player is what he is, and coming back for another season won't change much. That could be the case with Sears, who already has four seasons of tape.

Or maybe not. Perhaps Sears wants to have one more year to play for Alabama, a place where he has gained legend status. Then with one more season, he can do his best to improve his draft stock as much as possible.

This will be the decision to track in the offseason to see what Sears ultimately decides.

What about Grant Nelson?

He tested the draft waters a year ago before he ended up deciding to transfer from North Dakota State to Alabama. A year later, Nelson might decide he's done with school and pursue a pro career. Or, he might see value in a second season in the Crimson Tide's system. With his attributes, that could very well turn him into a first-round pick. He's the exact type of big Alabama wants in its system, but he was inconsistent in his first season in Tuscaloosa. His games against UNC and UConn showcased his potential, but those games alone might not be enough to boost his draft stock in the same way a season with more performances like that could. His upcoming decision is another interesting one to track.

Here's what Nelson said about his upcoming decision after the loss to UConn in the Final Four:

"If I do come back to college, I'm hoping it's Alabama," Nelson told The Tuscaloosa News. "I'm definitely going to talk to my agent, talk to the coaches, see what's best for me. Hopefully I can enter the draft process and get drafted this year. But if all else fails, hopefully it's Alabama coming back."

Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball roster 2024-25: Will Mark Sears stay? Who will leave?