COLUMN: 5 Things We're Excited About As Tide Baseball Enters SEC Play

*This is an opinion column*

TUSCALOOSA, AL — It was a non-conference stretch for the record books as the Crimson Tide (17-1, 0-0 SEC) made history and also tied the longest win streak in program history.

Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.

No. 17 Alabama's loss to Presbyterian Sunday sadly ended the streak at 16, marking the program's best-ever start to a season but not before the team captured the imagination of the Tide fanbase along the way.

With the Crimson Tide gearing up to begin Southeastern Conference play this Friday on the road at Texas A&M, I put down some of my thoughts and takeaways from the non-conference schedule to hopefully let you see the world through the same Crimson-colored glasses.

Hot Lineup

The best place to start is probably the most obvious — run production by the Crimson Tide.

Indeed, Alabama boasts 38 home runs and has scored an eye-popping 197 runs, along with the team hitting .349 at this point in the young season.

Shortstop Justin Lebron, who is leading the country in runs batted in and has 11 home runs in just 18 games, is arguably the most electric player in college baseball and a frontrunner for the Golden Spikes award.

Still, Lebron's insanely hot start can easily distract from the rest of the lineup's productivity.

For example, let's examine third baseman Jason Torres.

The best clutch hitter on the team, in my humble opinion, especially when runners are on base, Torres once again stepped up in Tuesday's midweek game at Regions Field against UAB by hitting a towering go-ahead homer to the deepest part of a big league ballpark in the top of the ninth.

The homer was the Miami transfer's seventh of the season, putting him second only to Lebron for the team lead in home runs. But what the stat line doesn't show is Torres' patient approach at the plate, coupled with his solid glove and arm at third base.

Lebron and Torres aren't the only ones swinging a hot bat, though.

Going into SEC play, center fielder Richie Bonomolo Jr., right fielder Bryce Fowler and first baseman Will Hodo are each hitting over .400 after the non-conference slate — totals that will likely stay consistent as the warmer weather heats up the bats.

Hodo especially has been exciting to watch after seeming to slump in the opening series of the season when he went 3-for-11 against Bradley.

Hodo's average led the team going into Tuesday's matchup with UAB and still tops all Tide hitters at .406 going into SEC play. Indeed, it's not every day you see that kind of production from a power-hitting first baseman.

Left fielder Kade Snell, the captain of the team, is also heating up at the plate and is tied with Lebron for the team lead in hits with 27. To further underscore the offensive production by this Crimson Tide squad, it should be pointed out here that six of Alabama's regular nine starters have more than 20 hits thus far on the season.

Tide fans can also expect additional production to come with the eventual return of infielder Garrett Staton — a transfer from Samford who hit .429 in seven at bats this season before taking a fastball off the hand and suffering an injury that required surgery.

Staton has played a lot of college baseball, spending four years at Samford, where he hit a career .292, with 39 doubles, one triple and 32 home runs.

Starting Pitching

A current debate that will likely pick up steam once SEC play begins will be the Crimson Tide's weekend starters, particularly their order.

Zane Adams was the bonafide ace of the staff coming into the season and has shown steady improvement with each outing as the Tide's Friday night starter. He currently leads the team with 18.1 innings pitched and 22 strikeouts but his 3.44 earned run average (ERA) is likely higher than he would like at this point.

Adams' ERA is also second only to Alabama's hard-throwing Saturday starter, Riley Quick.

Quick, a native of Trussville who had season-ending elbow surgery following his start against Manhattan last season, very much looks the part of a big league pitcher — standing 6'6" with a fastball that regularly clocks in the range of 97-98 mph.

Quick's start to the 2025 season has been a hot one, with the fireballer posting a 1.74 ERA after 15.1 innings of work, on his way to a 4-0 record. Thus far, he has held opposing hitters to a pedestrian .200 average and logged 14 strikeouts, which puts him tied for third-most among Crimson Tide pitchers.

This is where the debate over the Friday night slot comes in and it's a great problem to have, especially with Adams and Quick both looking better each time out. The opening SEC series with Texas A&M should be a good indicator of where both hurlers are at in their development.

Bobby Alcock — the Tide's current Sunday starter — and midweek guy JT Blackwood have also both contributed quality outings in Alabama's hot start and will be arms to keep an eye on this year.

Blackwood, a native of Cullman, is currently second on the team for innings pitched, with 16, on his way to a 2-0 record and 3.94 ERA — just slightly higher than the team average of 3.45.

Reserve Arms

Since we're already on the topic of pitchers and defense, the bullpen has provided plenty of ups and downs for the Tide faithful in the early goings of the season.

Tyler Fay, a sophomore from Doniphan, Nebraska, seems to have stepped into the role of the first guy out of the pen, tossing 11 innings and not surrendering an earned run thus far in the 2025 campaign.

Fay, who has held opposing hitters to a .209 average, has shown marked improvement from his somewhat limited role last season when he went 1-2 with one save and a 7.94 ERA over 34 innings.

Senior Braylon Myers, a former Oak Grove High School standout, has also been a prime time performer for the Tide bullpen with a 1.69 ERA over 10.2 innings of relief.

What's more, Tuscaloosa native Tate Robertson — a former Northridge High and Shelton State Community College standout — has shown consistent improvement in his relief outings, holding opposing hitters to a .188 average over his 8.2 innings of work.

But perhaps my favorite part of the bullpen is The Wizard — Tide closer Carson Ozmer.

Maybe it's his tenacity. Maybe it's the unconventional delivery. Or maybe it's the fact that you can just about set your watch by Ozmer slamming the door on opposing hitters.

Indeed, the graduate transfer from Penn has notched five saves in seven appearances, striking out 14 in just 7.2 innings to leave opposing batters with a .111 average. Despite his limited innings, Ozmer is tied with Quick for third on the team in strikeouts.

If the Tide can get Ozmer on the mound with the game on the line, you can just about bet he will snag the save and keep Alabama in the win column.

Outfield For The Ages

In the Tide's last two games, I witnessed two of the best outfield plays I've ever seen at any level.

Despite Sunday's streak-ending loss to Presbyterian, outfielder Bryce Fowler — who I recently heard compared to New York Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo — crashed into the right field wall to rob the Blue Hose of a home run.

This was followed by an amazing diving catch by left fielder and team captain Kade Snell to save the game against UAB on Tuesday.

Center fielder Richie Bonomolo Jr., who is absolutely slugging from the No. 9 spot, is also the perfect compliment to the range shown by Fowler and Snell, particularly with his speed and arm strength.

As we discussed last week on The Weekly Joe Podcast, Bonomolo's speed in the gaps, along with the keen anticipation of the other two outfielders, makes this one of the most talented defensive units in recent years for Alabama.

Snell, who leads Tide outfielders with two assists, brings experience and leadership to the outfield group, while Fowler could put on a major league uniform today and look the part of a big league outfielder.

As a group, they've combined for 55 putouts and only one error in 18 games.

Once SEC play gets going, don't be surprised to see this outfield group really make the difference in big moments.

Unsung Heroes

Even during the fall practice slate for Alabama, I knew Brennen Norton would be my favorite Tide player to watch this season. But with so much offensive talent in the Tide lineup, he could be easy for less engaged fans to overlook.

Indeed, "The Cuban Missile Crisis" — as dubbed by Alabama baseball Sports Information Director Nick Cicere — hit the farthest home run I've ever seen at Sewell-Thomas Stadium during the home run derby competition to wrap up the fall.

Norton, a graduate transfer from Jacksonville State who has played a ton of college baseball, blasted a shot over the left field wall that hit the top of a Crimson Ride shuttle bus as it drove by.

The moment got the whole team excited and, by all accounts, Norton has been the clubhouse spark plug ever since, especially following Garrett Staton's injury that saw Norton become the Tide's starting second baseman.

He's an incredibly fun player to watch and reminds me of a Dustin Pedroia-type player — not the biggest guy but a tenacious dirtbag of a player who hits the ball incredibly hard. He's also aggressive at the plate and seems to always make hard contact.

Stepping into the every day role, Norton is third on the team in home runs, with five, and hitting .300 over his 15 starts. He's also been solid in the field, too, committing only one error and being a part of 10 double plays with Lebron.

Our other unsung heroes can be found behind the plate in Tide catchers Brady Neal and Will Plattner.

Neal, a transfer from LSU, has caught the lion's share of innings for the Tide across his 11 starts and brings a wealth of experience to the position. He's struggled a bit at the plate thus far this season, hitting only .194 with just six hits but the defensive security he brings will no doubt make up for any underperformance at the dish.

Conversely, Will Plattner — "Platt The Bat," as I've started to refer to him — has made the most of every opportunity he's had at the plate, including logging a three-hit night in Alabama's 6-3 win over the UAB Blazers.

Across Plattner's seven starts, the junior from Springfield, Illinois, is hitting .321 with nine hits and six RBIs after seeing no playing time for the Tide last season.

Neal's defensive strength combined with Plattner's offensive production should have Tide fans feeling good about Rob Vaughn's options behind the plate.

So what are you waiting for? Get out to The Joe this season to catch one of the most exciting Crimson Tide baseball teams you'll ever see.

Ryan Phillips is an award-winning journalist, editor and opinion columnist. He is also the founder and field editor of Tuscaloosa Patch. The opinions expressed in this column are in no way a reflection of our parent company or sponsors. Email news tips to ryan.phillips@patch.com.