The Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team had four players recognized as All-SEC performers by the conference office on Monday afternoon. Kade Snell, Carson Ozmer, Riley Quick, and Justin LeBron were the award winners. Snell and Ozmer were 1st team All-SEC selections, while Quick and LeBron were named to the second team. LeBron was also named to the all defensive team for the second year in a row. The last outfielder Alabama outfielder to be named to the 1st team was all time hit leader Taylor Dugas in 2012. Quick is the first Alabama starting pitcher to be named All-SEC since Austin Hyatt made the 1st team in 2009. The duo of Snell and Ozmer are the first two Alabama players to be on the 1st team since Dugas and shortstop Josh Rutledge in 2010.

Kade Snell- 1st team All-SEC outfielder. Snell led the team with a .374 batting average, good for second in the conference. The 5th year senior from Wicksburg, AL also led the team in hits with 74, and in on base percentage with a .471 mark. Snell added 13 doubles, 10 home runs, 50 RBI, 119 total bases with a .601 slugging percentage, while drawing 35 walks, scoring 45 runs, and only striking out 16 times in 198 at bats. Snell served as the team captain this season.

Carson Ozmer-1st team All-SEC relief pitcher. The graduate student from Lantana, Texas transferred to Alabama prior to the 2025 season after graduating from Penn. Ozmer set an Alabama school record with saves in a season with 16 in his only year in Tuscaloosa. Ozmer led the team with 27 appearances and pitched 36.1 inning with a 4-1 record and a 2.97 ERA. The sidewinder struck out 47 batters and walked 10.

Riley Quick-2nd team All-SEC starting pitcher. The redshirt sophomore from Trussville, AL pitched in only one game in 2024 before tearing his UCL in his third inning of the year. After Tommy John surgery, Quick recovered in record time and was able to pitch in the opening series of the year. The big (6’6” 250 pound) fireballer started 13 games in the regular season and forged a record of 8-2 with a 3.54 ERA over 56 innings. Quick struck out 64 and allowed only three home runs. Major League scouts have Quick high on their list for this summers draft- expect Quick to be a mid 1st round pick.

Justin LeBron- 2nd team All-SEC shortstop, 1st team All Defensive team. Hailing from Miramar, FL, LeBron was a first team All-SEC selection last year as well as being named to the All Defensive team. LeBron became the first player in program history be selected twice on the All Defensive team. The sophomore was second on the team in batting average at .313, led the team in runs with 58, doubles with 17, home runs with 18, RBI with 69, total bases with 141, slugging percentage at .650, and stolen bases with 16 in 17 attempts. The 69 runs batted in led the SEC. LeBron was second to Snell in hits with 68, and also had 31 walks, nine hit by pitches, and four sacrifice fly’s, while manning the shortstop position at an elite level.

The Tide will open SEC Tournament play tomorrow (Tuesday) morning at 9:30 a.m. CT against the Missouri Tigers. Bama looks to add to their resume and earn a top 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The top 16 will all host regionals.

Roll Tide

Bama Baseball Fever, Catch it!

Jesse Fosnaugh began his tenure as the director of the Gulf Shores International Airport on Dec. 30.

Since then, he’s administered the forthcoming opening of a new commercial air service from a new two-gate airport in Gulf Shores. It’s the first time Gulf Shores will have commercial air service in the city’s history. It’s also the first time Allegiant Air will provide service from an airport in Alabama.

Fosnaugh provides the details of the new airport, the inaugural flight and what people can expect:

Is everything ready for the opening on Wednesday? Is the construction officially completed, or will there be last-minute punch-list items that are needed to be completed? Everything will be ready for our first flight on May 21, 2025, on Allegiant. The first flight departs around 5:15 p.m. to Knoxville. The terminal is completed and tenants are currently outfitting their work areas, furniture is getting installed, and final placement of signs and other wayfinding is underway.

How many total employees are lined up to greet passengers on Wednesday? How many new TSA agents in Gulf Shores? How many new general employees and those in the new tower who will be handling commercial flights? While I cannot divulge specific TSA or FAA staffing numbers, between ticket agents, law enforcement, fire department, baggage handlers, TSA, rental car and airport operations staff, we expect nearly 50 employees to greet the flight on May 21.

How many people will Allegiant employ at the airport? Allegiant will be represented by a third-party business contractor, Trego-Dugan, to perform aircraft ground handling and ticketing functions. They expect around 20 people to be part of the operation here in Gulf Shores.

What other public resources will be present at the airport – i.e., will there be Gulf Shores police and fire rescue with a full-time presence? The airport will have multiple agencies involved in the day-to-day operations. Aircraft Rescue Firefighting and Airport Law Enforcement responsibilities will be fulfilled by Gulf Shores Fire Department and Gulf Shores Police Department. The Public Works Department of the city of Gulf Shores also provides all landscaping and groundskeeping for the airport. It takes a village.

Back in late December, some of the beach rentals said they had concerns about transportation options from the airport to the beach condos and rentals. Do those concerns still exist? If not, how have they been resolved when it comes to getting visitors from the airport to the beach rentals (non-hotels)? There will be a plethora of ground transportation options available once you arrive into the terminal. We have arrangements with multiple shuttle and ground transportation providers including Surfside Shuttle, Robin’s Rides, and Beach Express Taxi. We also have arrangements with Uber (and) Lyft to service the airport. Rental Cars will also be available with Enterprise and Alamo. Our visitors and residents alike are going to have a seamless experience getting in and out of the airport.

An overwhelming number of vacationers to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach visit the area via automobile. What is the goal for the new airport when it comes to bringing visitors to the area – (is there a percentage or a number that is being targeted in a particular time frame?) We fully expect to have 60,000 passengers in 2025. About 80% of these passengers will be visitors and 20% will be residents flying out. Our goal is to be the premiere gateway to Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and Foley. Our airport team will be an extension of the hospitality that our visitors and residents have come to expect. Using our airport will be easier than ever. A true world-class experience.

What time is the flight on May 21 to McGhee Tyson Airport? The flight arrives at 1:14 p.m. and departs at 5:15 p.m.

Is it a full flight? If so, how many passengers? We do not have confirmed numbers but the flight looks well-booked in both directions when we look to buy tickets online it looks to be about 65 people booked as of today for the first flight from Knoxville on 5/21.

What time should passengers show up for this inaugural flight? 3 hours prior

Any inaugural events planned at the airport on the 21st? We will have an invite-only ribbon cutting ceremony from 12:30-2:30 p.m.

Will there be any inaugural swag given out at the airport – first flight keychains, or baggage tags or anything interesting like that? We’ll have a variety of exclusive swag for the inaugural event for our guests and passengers.

Alabama softball has a chance to advance to the NCAA Tournament’s super regional round on Sunday. The Crimson Tide is set to face Virginia Tech in the Tuscaloosa regional, needing just one win to move on.

The Tide and Hokies faced off once already, on Saturday, when Alabama won 4-3 in the early game. VT then faced Belmont later in the day, winning 11-1 in six innings to keep its own season alive.

If Alabama wins the first game, the Crimson Tide advances, likely to the Norman super regional. However, if Virginia Tech wins, UA will get another crack at the Hokies later on Sunday.

The first game of Sunday’s action is scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m. CT at Rhoads Stadium. The matchup will be aired on ESPN+.

Follow along here for live updates once the game begins.

1st inning

— Without a single pitch thrown, the game is already in a lightning delay.

Pregame

— Catelyn Riley will pitch for Alabama. Emma Lemley will start in the circle for Virginia Tech.

— Alabama batting order: Audrey Vandagriff, Lauren Johnson, Kali Heivilin, Marlie Giles, Salen Hawkins, Brooke Ellestad, Mari Hubbard, Abby Duchscherer, Larissa Preuitt.

— VT batting order: Cori McMillan, Jordan Lynch, Zoe Yaeger, Kylie Aldridge, Bre Peck, Emily LeGette, Trinity Martin, Annika Rohs, Rachel Castine.

— Alabama will bat first as the designated road team, despite playing in its home stadium.