Fresh off a heartbreaking semifinal exit, the Crimson Tide returns to Rhoads Stadium with All-American talent and a fierce Iron Bowl finale to ignite their championship pursuit.
Alabama softball’s road back to Oklahoma City officially begins this fall.
The Crimson Tide announced its 2026 fall schedule this week, giving Alabama fans their first opportunity to see a team that will enter the 2027 season with plenty of familiar faces, several intriguing newcomers and unfinished business following another deep postseason run.
Alabama will play on five dates throughout October and November, with four of those dates taking place at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa. The fall slate concludes with perhaps the most intriguing matchup of all: Auburn coming to Rhoads Stadium on Friday, Nov. 13.
Fall softball may not count in the record books, but for a program coming off a trip to the Women’s College World Series semifinals, these games will provide Alabama an important opportunity to begin building the next version of a team that came painfully close to playing for a national championship.
Alabama finished the 2026 season with a 56-9 record, its most victories since 2019 and its best winning percentage since the program’s 2012 national championship season. The Crimson Tide also hit 102 home runs, posted 26 shutouts and put together one of the most complete seasons in recent program history.
And Alabama did not simply make it to Oklahoma City. The Tide looked like a legitimate national championship contender once it got there.
Alabama opened the Women’s College World Series with a 6-3 victory over UCLA before defeating Nebraska 5-1, putting the Crimson Tide in an outstanding position to advance to the championship series.
Then came Texas Tech.
Alabama’s season ended in one of the most difficult ways possible, with the Crimson Tide losing twice in the semifinal round. Texas Tech won the first game 5-4 before taking the second 1-0, ending Alabama’s season just short of the WCWS championship series.
There was heartbreak in Oklahoma City, certainly, but there should also be plenty of optimism surrounding what Alabama accomplished and what the program brings back. That is what makes this fall schedule so interesting.
Alabama returns 13 players from last season’s WCWS semifinal team, including NFCA All-Americans Jocelyn Briski and Brooke Wells. The Tide also returns D1 Softball Freshmen All-Americans Vic Moten and Kaitlyn Pallozzi, along with Jena Young, who earned a spot on the Women’s College World Series All-Tournament Team.
That is a significant amount of proven talent returning to Tuscaloosa.
These are not players who simply experienced postseason softball from the dugout. Several members of Alabama’s returning core have now played on the biggest stage in the sport. They know what Oklahoma City feels like. They know what it takes to get there, and perhaps even more importantly, they know the feeling of getting incredibly close and watching the season end before reaching the championship series.
That experience cannot be replicated during practice.
Now, Alabama gets several opportunities this fall to begin blending that experienced group with a collection of newcomers who could become important pieces during the 2027 season.
The Tide added three transfers in catcher Karlee Ford from Iowa State, outfielder Noelani Livingston from Florida Southwestern and left-handed pitcher Kailey Plumlee from Tennessee. Alabama also welcomes freshmen Ava Briski, Ava Bush, Liv Keiter, Torynn Slaughter and Paige Stanfield.
Fall ball is where some of those players can begin finding their roles.
Alabama opens its fall schedule Sunday, Oct. 11 against Northeast Alabama Community College at 1:30 p.m. CT at Rhoads Stadium. The Tide returns home Saturday, Oct. 17 for action involving Jones College and West Alabama beginning at 1:30 p.m.
The following afternoon, Alabama will face the University of Mobile at 1 p.m.
Alabama’s lone road trip of the fall comes Oct. 25, when the Crimson Tide heads to Fulton, Mississippi, to face Itawamba Community College and Southern Miss beginning at 2 p.m.
Then comes Auburn.
Alabama will close its fall schedule under the lights at Rhoads Stadium on Friday, Nov. 13, with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. CT against the Tigers. The current Alabama schedule lists all five fall dates before the 2027 regular-season slate begins.
Even in the fall, Alabama-Auburn carries a little different energy.
For Patrick Murphy and his coaching staff, however, the most valuable part of these games will likely be the opportunity to experiment.
Fall softball allows coaches to move players around, test different defensive combinations, evaluate the pitching staff and give younger players meaningful innings without the pressure that arrives once the regular season begins. And with a roster that combines established WCWS talent with transfers and freshmen, there will be plenty for Alabama to evaluate.
The expectations surrounding this program are not going anywhere.
Alabama softball has reached the point where making the NCAA Tournament is not the ultimate goal. Hosting postseason games is not the ultimate goal. Even reaching Oklahoma City carries a different standard because this program has already proven it belongs among college softball’s elite.
The next step is getting all the way back to the championship series and giving itself an opportunity to win another national championship. Last season proved Alabama was close.
A 56-9 record, more than 100 home runs, 26 shutouts and a run to the WCWS semifinals showed just how complete the Crimson Tide could be. But the final two games also showed how incredibly small the margin becomes once a team reaches Oklahoma City.
One run can change everything. Alabama lost its final two games by a combined two runs. That fact will undoubtedly linger throughout the offseason, but it can also become motivation.
The Tide does not have to wonder whether it is capable of reaching Oklahoma City. Many of the players on this roster have already done it. Now the question becomes what Alabama can learn from that experience and how much better it can become before returning to meaningful softball in the spring.
That process begins in October.
Fans will get their first look at returning stars, new transfers, freshmen and potentially new lineup combinations across four fall dates in Tuscaloosa. Fall ball tickets will be sold at the gate on game day, with general admission seating available.
No trophy will be handed out this fall. There will be no SEC standings to watch and no postseason implications attached to these games.
But that does not mean they are meaningless.
For Alabama, this fall is the beginning of something bigger.
The Crimson Tide left Oklahoma City in June knowing exactly how close it came. Two more victories would have put Alabama into the national championship series. Instead, the season ended with consecutive losses to Texas Tech and a long offseason to think about what could have been.
Now a new journey begins.
There are returning All-Americans. There are talented newcomers. There is WCWS experience throughout the roster, and there should be no shortage of motivation inside Rhoads Stadium.
Alabama made it back among college softball’s final four in 2026.
This fall represents the first step toward finding out whether the 2027 Crimson Tide can finish what last year’s team started.
Roll Tide.
