Alabama
Hartselle hires South Alabama assistant as baseball coach
The Hartselle City Schools Board of Education approved the hiring of University of South Alabama pitching coach Brad Phillips as the new head baseball coach at a special meeting Tuesday night.
Phillips takes the job to replace the late William Booth, who died on May 15 – the day before his team started the Class 6A state championship finals series. The Tigers finished runner-up to Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa for the title, falling 2-1 in the three-game series.
Hartselle athletic director and assistant baseball coach Jake Miles led the team, along with assistants John Hall, Keith Wright and Jacob Cole, in Booth’s absence this season. Booth, who compiled a 1,217-520 record in 36 years and led the team to nine state championships, was able to attend only two games as Hartselle finished the regular season ranked No. 1 and compiled a 33-11 record.
“We are excited to announce coach Phillips as the next head baseball coach at Hartselle High School, and we are excited about the future of our baseball program under his leadership,” Miles said in a news release. “It became pretty evident as our search began that the best fit for our future and school was coach Phillips.
“Coach William Booth built this program here at Hartselle and his legacy will live on for many years to come. Coach Booth instilled a tradition of hard work along with high expectations for our players, both on the field and in the classroom, and we feel coach Phillips can continue moving us in that same direction.
“The thing that makes Brad the perfect fit for us is not that he simply understands baseball, but after talking with him and others about him as a person, he understands the tradition of Hartselle baseball and the importance of growing our kids and our culture in the right way.”
Hartselle principal Brad Cooper echoed Miles on the importance of carrying on Hartselle’s strong tradition.
“I am excited about the future of Hartselle baseball under the direction of Brad Phillips,” he said in the release. “Coach Phillips is a great leader of men, and will continue to build on the unmatched tradition of our baseball program here in Hartselle. The standard for Hartselle baseball was certainly set high by coach Booth. I believe that coach Phillips understands that standard and will work tirelessly to ensure young men leave our baseball program as not only great baseball players, but also as great young men.”
Phillips is a native of Hazel Green who played college baseball at Gadsden State Community College and the University of Montevallo. He earned his degree in 2004 at Troy University, where he served as a volunteer assistant coach in 2003-04.
He coached Charles Henderson High School to the state playoffs four straight seasons, including a Class 5A state championship appearance in 2008. Phillips then coached at Niceville (Fla.) High, where he led the Eagles to two straight playoff appearances.
Phillips has coached at USA for six years and was also pitching coach at Troy University for nine seasons.
In 2019 at South Alabama, Phillips coached the Jaguars’ staff to a Sun Belt-best in fewest earned runs allowed (264) and USA was second in the league in saves (17), fewest runs allowed (304), fewest hits allowed (485).
Phillips joined the Troy University staff in 2010 and his 2013 Trojans pitchers ranked fifth nationally in strikeouts per nine innings with 8.6 and posted a staff earned run average of 3.82 – second-best in the Sun Belt. In 2016, Troy was third in the conference with a 3.79 ERA, earning him the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year award.
In 2018, Troy led the Sun Belt in ERA (3.90), runs allowed (280), earned runs allowed (241) and innings pitched. The Trojans were second in the league in strikeouts (524), saves (15), opposing batting average (.248) and wins (42).
Hartselle’s 2024 roster featured 10 seniors, three juniors, six sophomores and three freshmen. The Tigers started seven seniors in the final game of the state championship series.
Phillips is married to the former Peyton Marsh of Madison. The couple has one daughter, Piper Belle, and one son, Scout.
Alabama
How to watch Tennessee Volunteers: Live stream info, TV channel, game time | Feb. 28
Labaron Philon’s No. 18 Alabama Crimson Tide (21-7, 11-4 SEC) hit the road to match up with Ja’Kobi Gillespie and the No. 22 Tennessee Volunteers (20-8, 10-5 SEC) at Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday, Feb. 28. The game starts at 6 p.m. ET.
We have more details below, including how to watch this matchup on ESPN.
Prepare for this matchup with everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s college hoops action.
Tennessee vs. Alabama: How to watch on TV or live stream
- Game day: Saturday, February 28, 2026
- Game time: 6 p.m. ET
- Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
- Arena: Thompson-Boling Arena
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live stream: Fubo – Watch NOW (Regional restrictions may apply)
Check out: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
Watch college basketball on Fubo!
Tennessee vs. Alabama stats and trends
- Tennessee ranks 78th in the nation with 80.5 points per game so far this year. At the other end, it ranks 62nd with 69.1 points allowed per contest.
- The Volunteers are thriving when it comes to rebounding, as they rank third-best in college basketball in boards (39.9 per game) and second-best in rebounds allowed (25.9 per contest).
- So far this season, Tennessee ranks 30th in college basketball in assists, averaging 17.1 per game.
- With 11.8 turnovers per game, the Volunteers are 257th in the country. They force 10.7 turnovers per contest, which ranks 224th in college basketball.
- This season, Tennessee is making 6.9 threes per game (271st-ranked in college basketball) and is shooting 34.7% (139th-ranked) from three-point land.
- With a 30.2% three-point percentage allowed this season, the Volunteers are 22nd-best in the country. They rank 182nd in college basketball by giving up 7.8 three-pointers per contest.
- Tennessee has taken 67.3% two-pointers and 32.7% three-pointers this year. Of the team’s buckets, 75.8% are two-pointers and 24.2% are three-pointers.
Tennessee vs. Alabama Odds and Spread
- Spread Favorite: Volunteers (-4.5)
- Moneyline: Tennessee (-222), Alabama (+179)
- Total: 164.5 points
NCAA Basketball odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Saturday at 4:11 a.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
Watch college basketball on Fubo!
Follow the latest college sports coverage at College Sports Wire.
Alabama
Alabama ‘Fully Aware’ of Losing Streak to Tennessee Ahead of Road Rematch
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Losing to a rival almost always hurts more than falling to another opponent during the regular season. Years of hatred, unforgettable moments and tradition boiled up into one game, and the delivery is nowhere to be found for one team.
No. 17 Alabama has won seven straight games and is eyeing an eighth on Saturday on the road against No. 22 Tennessee. This is the second time that Crimson Tide will face the Volunteers, as Alabama lost in Tuscaloosa in January.
The loss a month ago to head coach Rick Barnes and company brought UA’s losing streak against Tennessee to five games. It’s the first time that the Tide has dropped this many games to the Vols since 1968-72 — a streak that came two years before Alabama head coach Nate Oats was born (Oct. 13, 1974). It’s why Oats is not treating Tennessee as a faceless opponent or like any other team the Tide has faced.
“Every year we’ve been here they’ve caused us issues,” Oats said during Friday’s press conference. “Our players, are fully aware that we’ve lost five in a row. They’re fully aware of what happened out there last year. I’ve taken ownership for my share of what happened up there last year.
“We’re fully aware that they beat us at home. We haven’t lost very many home games in conference, period, really since we’ve been here, and they handed us one this year.”
After falling to Florida on Feb. 1, Alabama moved down to the ninth spot in the conference standings, and the college basketball world started to question whether or not the Crimson Tide would be a threat in the postseason.
But a switch flipped after that loss, and the current winning streak has Alabama tied for the No. 2 spot in the SEC standings. Everything seems to be trending in the Tide’s direction, as there are only three games remaining on the schedule.
Oats is in his sixth year as Alabama’s head coach. Following the retirement of former Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl during the offseason, Oats became the second-longest tenured coach for one team in the conference. The coach in front of him: Tennessee’s Rick Barnes, who has held his position since the 2015-16 season.
Both Alabama and Tennessee have finished conference play in the top-4 of the standings since the 2022-23 season. The Crimson Tide was the regular-season and SEC Tournament champions in both the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons, while the Vols won the 2022 SEC Tournament and were the conference’s regular-season champions in 2023-24.
“So our guys know, but at the same time, we’ve got a lot of respect for how they play and what they do. We’ve got to come in with a healthy amount of respect for them, but we got to try to win this game.
“There’s a lot riding on this game. What happens in Arkansas-Florida, you’re either going to be all alone in second place if we could get a win, or you’re going to be one game out first. If you take a loss, now you’re in danger of losing a top-4 seed. They’ll be tied with us if we take a loss.”
“So there’s a lot riding on the SEC standings in this game here. They know that. They know what our struggles against Tennessee have Been as well.”
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Alabama
Selmont seeks incorporation to become independent Alabama city
SELMONT, Ala. (WSFA) – An unincorporated community in Dallas County is seeking to establish itself as an independent city, hoping to gain control over local government services and community priorities that have long been managed at the county level.
Selmont, located across the Edmund Pettus Bridge from Selma, is home to approximately 2,700 registered voters and carries a significant place in civil rights history.
The community was the site of a pivotal moment during the Bloody Sunday march in 1965, when roughly 600 civil rights marchers were tear-gassed by Alabama state troopers, including 13-year-old Mae Richmond.
“People ask us ‘Were we afraid?’ No. We were not afraid. We were not afraid, first of all, even as a 13-year-old child, we knew that we were doing what God was permitting us to do,” Richmond, a 60-plus year resident of Selmont, said of the historic event.
As an unincorporated community, Selmont lacks its own municipal government. Residents must contact the Dallas County Commissioner for public works services. It’s a situation that community leaders say limits responsiveness to local needs.
Erice Williams, a community activist leading the incorporation effort, said the change would fundamentally alter how the community operates.
“It would give us decision power and allow us to get funding that we can allocate to our own community that we can make our own priorities be clear and resolved at the same time,” Williams said.
Williams also highlighted the strain on current county services. “Connel Towns (county commissioner) is the only person we have to call, and the resources and time that he would have to serve our community is very limited,” he said.
Operation Selmont, the group spearheading the incorporation effort, is currently gathering signatures on a petition to present to the local probate judge. The organization needs approximately 500 signatures to move forward with the incorporation process and has already collected 40 percent of its goal.
The next meeting for Operation Selmont is scheduled for March 6 at 6 p.m.
For longtime residents like Richmond, incorporation represents an opportunity to ensure Selmont’s future and maintain its identity for generations to come.
“That we will be able to teach and train our children to give them the strength that our foreparents had that they will be able to stand up for justice and for equality,” Richmond said of her hopes for the community’s future.
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