Alabama football brought back significant portions of its defense and chunks of its offense from a season ago. But it still managed to land plenty of newcomers.

The group of transfer portal additions and signees via recruiting make up a class of newcomers that ESPN ranked No. 15 among all college football teams this offseason.

Oregon earned the No. 1 spot. No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Auburn, No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Texas Tech rounded out the top five. Other SEC teams ahead of Alabama include No. 8 Ole Miss, No. 10 Missouri, No. 11 South Carolina and No. 14 Georgia.

The Crimson Tide’s transfer portal class included Miami receiver Isaiah Horton, Colorado linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green, Texas A&M offensive lineman Kam Dewberry, Florida defensive lineman Kelby Collins, Utah cornerback Cam Calhoun, Louisiana running back Dre Washington, Troy tight end Brody Dalton and West Virginia tight end Jack Sammarco.

Horton, Hill-Green, Dewberry and Collins all figure to have a shot at significant snaps this fall.

The freshmen class included quarterback Keelon Russell, offensive lineman Michael Carroll, cornerback Dijon Lee, defensive back Ivan Taylor, offensive tackle Jackson Lloyd, wide receiver Derek Meadows, edge rusher Justin Hill, running back Akylin Dear, linebacker Duke Johnson, tight end Marshall Pritchett, offensive lineman Mal Waldrep, offensive lineman Micah DeBose, linebacker Luke Metz, linebacker Abduall Sanders Jr., receiver Lotzeir Brooks, defensive lineman Steve Bolo Mboumoua, defensive lineman Fatutoa Henry, punter Alex Asparuhov, cornerback Chuck McDonald, tight end Kalen Edwards and defensive lineman London Simmons.

Lee, Brooks, Taylor and several others have already stood out early during their time with Alabama.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for Follow him on X and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.

Jackson State softball has claimed its second consecutive SWAC.

The Tigers (29-23) beat Florida A&M 3-1 on May 11 at the Gulfport Sportsplex to win their third overall conference title and book a trip to the 2025 NCAA Tournament. They will face No. 15 overall seed and regional host Alabama at 5 p.m. CT on May 16 in Tuscaloosa.

FAMU (28-19) beat JSU on May 10 to push the SWAC finals to a second game.

“The (SWAC) East is just a dogfight, period, man, and we just try to find a way through the season,” JSU coach Kevin Montgomery said on the SWAC broadcast after the game. “Everybody gave us their best shot every game, every game, they gave us the best shot, and we just wanted to maintain.”

JSU trailed 1-0 after the first inning, but took the lead following a two-run second inning and added another run in the third. Junior infielder Ariana Murillo had two RBIs, and pitcher Brooklyn Morris went seven innings, allowing five hits and one earned run.

“I think the experience from last year’s turmoil and everything else we went through last year, it just helped us stay together more and more this year,” Montgomery said. “So we just happy to be here, man. We wanted to get this back-to-back.”

Who will Jackson State play in 2025 NCAA softball tournament?

The Tigers are the No. 4 seed in the regional and will play Alabama (37-21) on May 16 (5 p.m. CT, ESPN+) at Rhoads Stadium. They also have No. 2 Virginia Tech (41-11) and No. 3 Belmont (40-14) in the region. Alabama has reached the Women’s College World Series the past two seasons.

The regional is double-elimination, and only one of the four teams will advance to the super regional. The elimination game will be the final game on May 17. The championship game will be played on May 18. The team that comes out of the loser’s bracket must win twice.

Last season, JSU was eliminated after losing to LSU and Cal in the Baton Rouge regional.

Michael Chavez covers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.