Former Miami guard Jalil Bethea announces commitment to Alabama

Former Miami guard and McDonald’s All-American Jalil Bethea has officially committed to Alabama, per On3 Sports. Outside of the Hurricanes, the Crimson Tide were the only school that Bethea was interested in coming out of high school. Now, it seems like Nate Oats and Alabama have a foundational piece for next season.

Bethea, a 6-foot-5 guard from Philadelphia, entered the transfer portal following his freshman season at Miami, where he averaged 7.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. He started 16 games and showed flashes of what made him one of the nation’s top prospects coming out of high school.

A former five-star recruit, Bethea was ranked the No. 7 overall player and No. 3 shooting guard in his class. He committed to Miami over Kansas, Villanova, and Alabama the first time around. The top four schools in his second round of recruitment were Miami, Alabama, Kansas State and NC State.

Bethea chose Alabama over a potential return to Miami. The Hurricanes lost the entire 2024-25 team to either the transfer portal or running out of eligibility. New head coach Jai Lucas reportedly made a push to keep Bethea but it appears like the general program turnover was too much for Bethea. Going into his freshman season, Bethea was a projected 2025 NBA lottery pick. Now, he will attempt to rebuild the draft stock he once had, starting with the Crimson Tide in his sophomore campaign.

Bethea is expected to arrive to Alabama's campus later this summer and will have three years of eligibility remaining. Lucas and Miami will have to keep things moving in the transfer portal. In his introductory press conference, Lucas stated that Miami needs 13 new players. So far, Lucas has acquired three total transfers: Malik Reneau, Tre Donaldson and Ernest Udeh.