TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The biggest upset in the nation on Opening Day of the 2026 NCAA Baseball season happened in Sewell-Thomas Stadium, where an Alabama team that was the subject of national hype and discourse was stunned at home by Washington State.

The Cougars, picked to finish eighth in the nine-team Mountain West Conference, looked like the more poised team from the first pitch, scoring two runs in the top of the first and never looking back en route to an 8-4 victory.

“I didn’t think we played soft, I thought they just got bigger hits than we did,” Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn said. “I knew we were going to get a tough team, and they flat out beat us tonight.”

Alabama’s pitching, the subject of much preseason scrutiny, looked flat. Starter Tyler Fay gave up five earned runs in 3.2 innings of work, and relievers JT Blackwood and Austin Morris did not fare much better, each allowing an earned run in a combined 3.1 innings.

“He did some good things. I thought he really threw the ball well in some spots,” Vaughn said of Fay’s performance. “His real one mistake was the cutter that stayed out of the plate for a homer to right. At the end of the day, he executed at a really high level. He had some things not bounce his way, and we couldn’t get him the support offensively that he needed.”

The Cougars hit two home runs in the win, the aforementioned bomb off of Fay and a fifth-inning blast off of Blackwood. Washington State delivered in the game’s biggest moments while Alabama folded, stranding 11 runners on base in the loss.

“We threw a lot of jabs tonight and couldn’t throw a haymaker,” Vaughn said. “We just got beaten in the zone too much… Sometimes you wake up, and you lose. We did not do enough things right tonight.”

Despite a slow start, Alabama had a golden opportunity to get back in the game in the fifth inning. Trailing 7-1, Bryce Fowler, Justin Lebron and Johnny Lemm all walked to load the bases with one out. While Jason Torres would also walk to bring in one run, Luke Vaughn, Justin Osterhouse and Peyton Steele all struck out swinging to end a game-altering opportunity.

“That was the difference in this game,” Vaughn said. “We were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and two outs. We were 1-for-3 with a runner on third and less than two outs… they were better.”

Alabama is now in a vastly different position than last year, when the Crimson Tide started 16-0 and climbed into the national polls before losing a game.

“We won like 20 straight, we were ranked, and everything was awesome, but at the end of the day, we were two-and-out in the regional,” Vaughn said. “So at the end of the day, I’d rather learn some things. And I, by no means, ever want to lose on opening night. But we did. So now we have a choice. So, what’s our mentality going to be? What’s our preparation going to be? How are we going to attack it?

“That’s what I really want to see from this group. Their preparation has been so outstanding the past four weeks. Does this make them start to doubt? Does this make them start to question? Does this make them be like, ‘Oh my gosh am I good enough…’ Interested to see the response. I feel very strongly that I know what that response will look like. But I’m excited to get out on the field tomorrow and compete.”

Zane Adams takes the mound for the Crimson Tide tomorrow as Alabama looks to tie the series up. First pitch is currently set for 2 p.m., but we could see changes to the schedule, as anticipated rain on Sunday has created the possibility of a doubleheader on Saturday.

On Thursday, the Alabama Senate passed HJR51, a joint resolution establishing a Study Commission on Artificial Intelligence and Children’s Internet Safety.

The resolution, sponsored by State Rep. Robbins (R-Sylacauga) and a group of co-sponsors, creates a commission tasked with studying the effects of AI, social media, and internet access on children, investigating how other states are addressing the issue, and developing recommendations for future Alabama legislation.

The commission would include three Senators, three House members, a representative of the Attorney General’s office, and appointees from the Department of Mental Health, Voices for Alabama’s Children, the Alabama Cable and Broadband Association, and TechNet.

The commission must hold its first meeting by May 1 and deliver a report with findings and legislative recommendations to the Legislature by November 1, 2026, after which it would dissolve.

The resolution also directs the commission to coordinate with Alabama’s congressional delegation and the U.S. Department of Justice where practicable.

At the federal level, U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) has made children’s online safety a priority, introducing the Kids Off Social Media Act and the Stop the Scroll Act as part of a broader push to address the threats social media and AI pose to children.

Thursday was day 12th of the 2026 legislative session.

Sawyer Knowles is a capitol reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may email him at [email protected].

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers are in the hunt for a quarterback of the future.

After another year of a bridge quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, the Steeler shave another decision to make when it comes to the team’s passer.

One such option is Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, who has seen a big jump in attention since Dante Moore opted out of this year’s draft. Simpson has been a controversial prospect, with analysts either a big fan or extremely wary. Now, Sam Monson of The 33rd Team spoke on his Check The Mic podcast about why teams would be making a big mistake by selecting Simpson.

“Not only does he only have 15 starts under his belt, but the direction of travel is downwards,” Monson said. “Everything about him screams giant red flag. But if you’re QB2 in the draft, do you just have to take that guy high? I think I would be in the category of ‘I’m letting someone else make that mistake’ type of pick.”

How This Affects The Steelers

With team’s panicking at the position, the Steelers could be one of the teams that looks at Simpson earlier than Monson believes is responsible of them.

The Steelers have been linked to Simpson multiple times as it seems that the Steelers No. 21 selection could lend itself to both Simpson being available and the Steelers being a sufficient landing spot. He presents himself as the most realistic option if the Steelers opt to take a quarterback in the draft.

Noah Strackbein of On SI posted that the Steelers may be interested in Simpson at quarterback when he declared, but made it clear that he would be a project. In that case, they would likely have to keep Rodgers around as a mentor who can develop the young quarterback.

That sort of experiment was successful with Rodgers when it came to Jordan Love, but Love was certainly a better-looking prospect than Simpson when he came out of college and entered the NFL Draft space.

Drafting Simpson could also lend itself to a quarterback competition between himself and 2025 sixth-round selection Will Howard if Rodgers is not returning to the team.

The best option as it stands looks to be keeping Rodgers around, as the Steelers know what they are getting out of a player like him due to his previous tenure with the Steelers. The prior connection between Rodgers and new head coach Mike McCarthy certainly helps his case.

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