TROY, Ala.— Troy entered its midweek game against Alabama with its highest ranking in program history, sitting at No. 19 in D1 Baseball’s rankings and No. 14 in Baseball USA’s poll. The No. 23 Crimson Tide ensured that ranking will be significantly lower next week with a dominant 10-2 victory over the Trojans.
The Crimson Tide hit the ground running. After Bryce Fowler grounded out to start the game, Justin Lebron hit a bomb to deep left for his sixteenth home run of the season, moving the sophomore into a tie for third in the SEC. Alabama was just getting started. Kade Snell and Richie Bonomolo Jr. followed the dinger up with consecutive base hits before Will Hodo got hit by his seventeenth pitch of the season to load the bases with one out.
Troy head coach Skylar Meade came to the mound to speak with starter Jacob Roettgen. Any attempt to calm the senior’s nerves did not work, as Garrett Staton took two low pitches before ripping a line drive to left to bring in Snell and Bonomolo. Coleman Mizell grounded out for the second out of the inning, but Hodo was able to score from third. The inning finally ended on a Jason Torres groundout, but Alabama had set the tone with a four-run opening frame.
Roegotten had only given up three total earned runs over seven outings this season, with all three coming in a disastrous March 26 outing against Florida A&M, where he gave up three runs and six hits without recording a single out.
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After JT Blackwood put the Trojans down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first, Adam Falinski took the mound for Troy. The pitching change did not yield any new results. Will Plattner grounded out to start the inning before Fowler and Lebron were plunked consecutively. Snell, leading the SEC in batting average, uncorked a bomb over the 27-foot “Monster” in right field, and just like that, Alabama held a touchdown lead over the Trojans. Hodo also recorded a base hit, but no further damage was done in the second.
“That’s going to be a really high seed in the NCAA tournament,” Alabama head coach Rob Vaughn said. “It’s a good win. I thought we came out of the gates ready to go. That’s what was impressive. It’s good to see Lebron run that ball out of here. And then just Kade (Snell) had a whale of a night. I mean, Kade was unbelievable. So all in all, just relentless offense.”
Falinski came through in the top of the third, holding the Crimson Tide to one hit. Troy’s bats started to wake up in the bottom of the inning, notching two hits but stranding both runners as Blackwood got Blake Cavill swinging to get off the field.
Lebron knocked a one-out double to left in the fourth, but hurt himself diving into second. After lying face down for about fifteen seconds, he got up but was pulled for Jon Young Jr. Young made it home on another Kade Snell RBI that got right past Troy’s shift to put the game at 8-0.
Vaughn added that Lebron will be good for the weekend series against Georgia and that he was pulled as a precautionary measure. Lebron could have re-entered the game as he was pulled for concussion protocol, but with the game already out of hand, Vaughn opted to keep Young in.
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“That’s a good game for Jon to get out there,” Vaughn said. “You never know what’s going to happen in the postseason. You might need Jon ready, and those are invaluable reps on the road for him.”
Alabama’s bats finally cooled off as the Crimson Tide would go scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings. Meanwhile, the Trojans’ got their best opportunity yet during the fifth. With one out and Peyton Watts at first, leadoff batter Houston Markham hit into what should have been a routine double play right to Young at short. Young, a second baseman, was unable to field the ball cleanly, and both runners were safe. Cavill grounded out to first, but it advanced both runners yet again. With two runners in scoring position for the first time all game, Aeden Finateri, who replaced Blackwood at the start of the fourth, held strong, getting Jimmy Janicki to pop up to Staton to get out of the jam.
After stranding six batters through five innings, Troy finally got on the board in the sixth. Cleanup batter Sean Darnell fought through an eleven-pitch at bat and uncorked a bomb that almost cleared the Monster and turned into a standup double. Steven Meier brought him home two pitches later with a single down the middle.
Connor Lehman was brought into the game, but promptly walked his first two batters and was pulled immediately. With two outs and the bases loaded, Troy had its first legitimate shot to cut a serious dent into Alabama’s lead. But the pitching remained clutch, as Austin Morris got Markham to ground out, and, for the fourth consecutive inning, the Trojans stranded runners in scoring position.
Alabama got its eight-run lead back in the top of the seventh, as Staton recorded his third RBI, driving Bonomolo home on a deep shot to left field that was about five feet shy of a homer. The Crimson Tide would add one final run in the eighth as Snell drove in Young on a single once again.
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“We score seven in the first two, but then we kept kind of adding runs, which is a big piece of this thing,” Vaughn said. “We didn’t let them hang around.”
Troy would add another run of their own with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, driven in by Meier once again. Fittingly, Troy stranded two batters in that final frame, putting the total at 13 for the game. Alabama improved to 36-12 with the win while Troy dropped to 34-15 with the loss. Alabama finished its midweek slate perfect on the season. Troy broke its attendance record as fans flocked in to see the ranked in-state matchup.
“I think the state of baseball in our state is really strong, and that’s great for everybody around here. It’s a lot of fun.”
The Philadelphia 76ers selected Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. with the 22nd overall pick of the 2026 NBA draft Tuesday night.
Philon is the first pick of the Mike Gansey era after he replaced Daryl Morey as the team’s president of basketball operations.
Who is Labaron Philon Jr.?
Philon, 20, led the Crimson Tide in scoring last season, averaging 22.0 points on nearly 40% shooting on 3-pointers. He was the focal point of one of the nation’s most potent offenses, as Alabama led the country in points per game in the 2025-26 season. The Crimson Tide (No. 16) finished the season with a 25-10 record and went 13-5 against conference opponents.
Philon, who helped lead Alabama to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament, earned Third-Team All-American and First-Team All-SEC honors in his sophomore season.
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In 33 games last season for Alabama, Philon scored 725 total points, which is ranked third-most by a player in a single season in program history.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver shakes hands with Labaron Philon Jr. after he is drafted twenty-second overall by the Philadelphia 76ers during Round One of the 2026 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 23, 2026 in New York City.
Arturo Holmes / Getty Images
Philon was the 34th-ranked basketball recruit in the country entering his freshman season at Alabama, according to 247sports. The four-star guard initially committed to playing at Auburn, but decommitted. He then signed a letter of intent to play at Kansas, but didn’t play there, either. He then committed to the Crimson Tide in April 2024.
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Philon impressed as a freshman at Alabama and averaged 10.6 points in 37 games. He declared for the 2025 NBA draft but then withdrew and returned for his sophomore season, where he saw his scoring average jump more than 10 points.
Philon is a Mobile, Alabama, native and played at Baker High School in Mobile County, where he scored 2,334 points in three seasons. He was named the Class 7A Player of the Year twice.
As a junior, he averaged 35 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists and was named Alabama Mr. Basketball, which is given to the best high school boys’ basketball player in the state. Philon transferred to Link Academy, a boarding school in Missouri, for his senior year of high school.
Philon now joins a backcourt headlined by Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe heading into the 2026-27 season. Quentin Grimes could return to Philadelphia next season and add even more depth, but he’s an unrestricted free agent.
The pick the Sixers used to pick Philon was acquired in the deal that sent Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the trade deadline.
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Labaron Philon Jr. scouting report
CBS Sports had Philon ranked as the 14th-best prospect in the 2026 NBA draft.
Here are his strengths and weaknesses, according to CBS Sports:
Strengths
On-ball creator who made an extreme leap as a sophomore, ranking in the 99th percentile in isolations (was 24th percentile as a freshman) and 94th as a pick-and-roll handler (was 32nd percentile as a freshman). Combines smooth attack with sudden change of speed and direction, dexterity, and finishing craft in the lane.
Shot-maker who can make tough shots off both the catch (36% on contested catch-and-shoot 3-pointers), dribble (38% from deep), and has extreme gravity when he’s spacing the floor (46% on unguarded catch-and-shoot 3-pointers).
Shown pliability to thrive in different roles over the years and is a similarly versatile creator, because he’s a scoring threat at multiple levels and also an accurate, and somewhat creative, passer with both hands off the dribble.
Weaknesses
Inconsistent defensive approach. Showed more engagement and potential as a freshman, but couldn’t maintain that as a sophomore when taking on a bigger offensive role.
Lacks overwhelming physicality or highest level explosiveness, and didn’t add any notable muscle mass between his freshman and sophomore seasons (175 pounds at 2025 combine and 176 at 2026 combine).
Unclear how well his creation scales to the NBA level when he will have less usage and volume coupled by more physicality in opposing defenders.
Alabama football hosted a hometown kid for an official visit last weekend when it got Jeremiah Beverley on campus for an official visit.
Beverley attends Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and ESPN currently has him rated as a four-star recruit. He is considering Alabama, Cincinnati, Wake Forest and others.
The Crimson Tide offered Beverley earlier this month and got him on campus for an official visit last weekend. The Alabama target told Touchdown Alabama he used the visit to learn what the Tide has planned for him if he commits.
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“I’m truly happy that I went on that official visit,” Beverley said. “Blessed for that. All I was talking about was the next step, what I got to do? So, just knowing what they have planned for me, knowing what they have set for me.”
At 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, Beverley makes plays for Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa as a defensive end. Alabama has plans to use him similarly at the next level.
“They’re going to have me at wolf mostly,” Beverley said. “I know coach (Kane) Wommack and coach (Christian) Robinson, I think they see me at other positions, but I know it is guaranteed they’re going to see me at Wolf and me working my way up on special teams, and they expect that out of me.”
Beverley is expected to announce a commitment decision on Friday.
Watch Jeremiah Beverley’s Highlights Below:
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Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.
Alabama football is hiring Noah Fisher to be its assistant tight ends coach, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
Fisher spent two seasons as a graduate assistant working with the offensive line and tight ends at Louisville before joining the Tide’s staff. He played three years on the offensive line at South Alabama and spent one season with Tulane. The Jaguars started Fisher along its offensive line when he was a player for multiple games.
The Crimson Tide appear to want to use their tight ends in multiple ways in the future including as extra blockers along the line of scrimmage. Fisher looks as if he can assist the Tide with this mission.
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Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.
