Alabama
Best Floor Rotation in Nation Propels No. 3 Alabama to Dominant Win Over Oregon State
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— No team in the country has put together a better floor rotation than Alabama did during Friday night’s win over Oregon State inside Coleman Coliseum.
Behind a season high (and nationa’s best) 49.675 on the floor exercise, No. 3 Alabama beat No. 22 Oregon State 197.450-195.825.
Five of the Crimson Tide’s six floor routines scored a 9.925 or higher capped by back-to-backs 9.95s from Jamison Sears and Gabby Gladieux in the final two routines of the night. It marked the third straight week that at least one judge gave Gladieux a 10 on floor.
“I think we still have a lot of potential,” Gladieux said after the meet. “There’s still a lot of areas for us to grow, but I think what makes Jamison and I’s job so easy is the trust we have in the first half ot he lineup. They set us up perfectly tonight. There was really no pressure on our end. We just went in, had fun and did our job.”
In her routine of the season, senior Rachel Rybicki scored a 9.925 in the third spot after Chloe LaCoursiere and Azaraya Ra-Akbar started the rotation with the same score. Alabama’s depth on floor gives the Tide the potential to consistently be one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation on the apparatus.
Alabama continued its strong work on the uneven bars with its second-highest bars score of the season with a 49.475. Junior Chloe LaCoursiere came into the meet as the top-rated bars worker in the country and recorded her fourth straight score of the season higher than a 9.925 on the event with a 9.95 Friday night against Oregon State.
The vault and balance beam routines are both ones Alabama will want to leave in the past. There weren’t any major mistakes, but the rotations resulted in the Crimson Tide’s two lowest rotation scores of the season through four meets with a 49.125 on vault and 49.175 on the balance beam. Alabama did not stick any landings on vault, but head coach Ashley Johnston was still pleased with what her team learned on the event.
“I’m actually really excited about on through four on that lineup,” Johnston said of the vault rotation. “I thought Jasmine, Jordyn, Jamison and Gabby all had their best vaults tonight and just continuing to find what it is that helps them settle in to landings is going to be everything. I think because they all did, really a great job, I think Kylee and Aza, they like, really tried to go for the stick. And they over-tried on the stick, but they did big vaults.”
LaCoursiere’s beam routine lead to extended conversations between the judges and between the Alabama coaches and the judges. One of the judges gave LaCoursiere’s routine a starting value of 9.8 while the other gave it a 10.0 starting value. Her final score ended up being a 9.725 on the event, and head coach Ashley Johnston spent the entire transition period between the third and fourth rotation conferring with the head judge.
Johnston said it was the longest inquiry of her career. LaCoursiere’s connection series was questioned by one of the judges. The Alabama coaches originally did a routine inquiry with a video, which they lost. Then, they did a video review at the end of the competition and ultimately won the inquiry process to get LaCoursiere the proper start value.
“It was a long-fought battle,” Johnston said. “Very thankful for Ross Thompson who is ultra prepared for all situations, and he had his book of every single rule that has ever existed, so we were armed and ready to bring all the information forward to ultimately make the right decision.”
Despite not having its best meet on vault and beam, the meet was never in doubt for the Crimson Tide. Alabama held a sizable lead over Oregon State after each rotation and continued to build on the lead. The Beavers only scored above a 49 on one event: balance beam.
Alabama has now started the season with four straight scores in the 197 range and will likely stay in the top-five nationally after this meet.
Up next for the Crimson Tide is a road meet against the defending national champion and the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners next Friday.
“Depth is really going to be the determiner of how far we go, and so having the seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th person who is pushing everybody in the lineup, continuing to find their edge, is going to be a really important focus point for us right now,” Johnston said. “I think we did a good job of that tonight, but that’s absolutely a priority as we go into this next month because we’ve got a gauntlet of a season coming up.”
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Alabama
Kevin Turner Prattville YMCA Golf Tournament welcomes Auburn, Alabama players as guest hosts
PRATTVILLE, Ala. (WSFA) – One of the most anticipated golf tournaments of the year happens Monday — the 29th annual Kevin Turner Prattville YMCA Golf Tournament.
This year’s guest hosts are both placekickers — former Alabama kicker Michael Proctor and current Auburn kicker Alex McPherson.
Proctor, a Pelham High graduate, came to the Crimson Tide in 1992, a year after Turner was drafted by the Patriots. But he still remembers the Prattville native’s infectious personality that resonated with teammates. “I had heard about the tournament through the years,” Proctor said. “It’s a big deal. Kevin is a big deal. When he was playing here, and even after his unfortunate passing, he’s well remembered and respected. Anything I can do to help anything in his name, I would be willing to do. I met him when I was there. He came back, obviously knowing people on the team that he had played with. Anything I can do for his name … I’m sure anybody at Alabama or anybody that knew him would be willing to do anything for him because he would do the same for you.”
McPherson, a Fort Payne High graduate, came to Auburn in 2022, weathered an inflammatory bowel disease that sidelined him in 2024, and is now preparing for his fifth year as the Tigers’ kicker. And even though he never knew Turner personally, he’s looking forward to the tournament.
“I’m honored,” McPherson said. “I heard what the tournament was about, Kevin and his story. I heard that one of the former Alabama kickers was going to be in the tournament and that they would love to have a kicker from Auburn. They thought that I would be a great fit.”
Proctor was recruited as one of the nation’s top prep kickers and went through a high school and collegiate career where he made 184 of 185 extra points. He kicked a then-record 60-yard field goal at Pelham and nine of his 26 field goals were longer than 50 yards. He finished a four-year career as the Crimson Tide’s second leading scorer with 326 points, earning All-American honors in 1993 and 1994 after winning a national championship in 1992 and returning as the Southeastern Conference’s top kicker a year later.
McPherson was recruited as one of the nation’s top kickers and kicked a record 61-yard field goal in high school before joining the Tigers. Like Proctor, his breakout year came as a sophomore (in 2023) where he made 13 of 13 field goal attempts and 40 of 40 extra point attempts in becoming a Lou Groza Award semifinalist.
Turner went through a five-year battle with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), which was triggered by CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), a disease that hits home with many collegiate players from that era who witnessed it first with Turner and more recently with former Tide running back Kerry Goode.
The tournament helps fund the “Coach A Child Scholarship Fund Campaign” which provides financial aid to make YMCA services available to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.
The Prattville YMCA has provided financial aid to more than 3,300 people, many of them children, at a cost of more than $400,000. This year, the goal is to raise $285,000 for the Coach A Child Fund Campaign.
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Alabama
Alabama softball No. 1 overall seed in NCAA Tournament: Who does Tide play?
Alabama softball is the cream of the crop heading into the 2026 NCAA softball tournament, cemented as the No. 1 overall seed for the first time in 16 years.
The Crimson Tide’s ranking means it will host a regional and, if it advances, a super regional. The regional field will consist of USC Upstate (36-21), Belmont (40-11) and SE Louisiana (46-14).
The Tuscaloosa Regional is double-elimination. Action will run through May 15-17 on SEC Network.
It marks the 27th straight NCAA Tournament appearance for Alabama and the 21st-straight season it is hosting a regional at Rhoads Stadium, not including the canceled 2020 season. The Crimson Tide has advanced to the Women’s College World Series 15 times and is looking to do so for the first time in two years.
Alabama has one national championship, which came in 2012.
Alabama is coming off a championship game loss in the SEC Tournament. Seven unanswered runs led to a 7-1 fall to Texas, securing the Longhorns their first SEC Softball Tournament title during their second year in the conference on Saturday, May 9.
Friday, May 15
- Game 1: Alabama vs. USC Upstate, noon CT
- Game 2: Belmont vs. SE Louisiana, 2:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, May 16
- Game 3: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, TBD
- Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, TBD
- Game 5: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser, TBD
Sunday, May 17
- Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, TBD
- Game 7: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser (if necessary), TBD
Amelia Hurley covers high school and college sports for The Tuscaloosa News and USA TODAY Network. You can find her on X at ameliahurley_ or reach her at ahurley@usatodayco.com.
Alabama
Alabama mom sentenced to life for hiring hitman to kill her child’s father over custody dispute
An Alabama woman was sentenced to life in prison Friday after authorities said she hired a hitman to kill her child’s father in a custody dispute.
Jaclyn Skuce, 43, of Madison, was convicted of capital murder after hiring a man to kill the child’s father in order to prevent him from gaining custody or further visitation, the Morgan County District Attorney’s Office said.
The Hartselle Police Department was dispatched on July 24, 2020, to a residence for a welfare check after Anthony Larry Sheppard failed to appear in court for a scheduled custody hearing.
His attorney had asked officers to check on him, investigators said.
Upon arrival, police discovered Sheppard’s storm door shattered and the main door ajar.
Officers later found Sheppard dead with multiple gunshot wounds.
Investigators determined that Skuce hired Logan Delp to kill Sheppard in order to prevent him from gaining custody or further visitation with his child.
Prosecutors said Skuce used social media to hire the hitman, who lived in Hartselle, according to the Hartselle Enquirer. She allegedly offered to pay $30,000.
“There are never any winners in a case like this,” Chief Assistant District Attorney Garrick Vickery said following the verdict.
“This jury was incredibly thorough and took their time to make sure they made the right decision, both for Mr. Sheppard and for the defendant.”
Vickery added, “We are glad that they convicted her for the choice she made to take Mr. Sheppard away from his family.”
Skuce was found guilty of three counts of capital murder: murder for hire, murder of a witness, and murder committed by shooting into an occupied dwelling.
Four other defendants have been charged with capital murder in connection with Sheppard’s death.
Delp was convicted of capital murder in October 2025, the DA’s office said. Another defendant has pleaded guilty, and two others are awaiting trial.
Skuce will be imprisoned without the possibility of parole in the Alabama Department of Corrections.
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