Update: 3/17/26 at 12:16 p.m. — University of Alabama guard Aden Holloway is no longer on campus following his arrest on Monday, March 16 on charges of first-degree possession of marijuana and failure to affix a tax stamp, the university announced in a statement.
“The University is aware of the allegations and is working to gather more information,” the statement read. “The student has been removed from campus pending further investigation by the UA Office of Student Conduct.”
Head coach Nate Oats expanded on Monday night in an appearance on his radio show.
“We got standards in our program and we’ve got ways we’ve held our guys accountable. And we try to keep everything in-house, obviously some of the situations you can’t, and this is one of those,” he said. “We found out about what was going on this morning, I found out this morning. I guess it all went down this morning. And we had to suspend him pending the investigation.”
Oats, 51, added, “We’re certainly disappointed in his behavior. But that being said, we still love him, he’s still our guy. We’re helping him get the help that he needs and we’re going to continue to help him whatever way we can. But as far as our team goes, I thought we had a great practice, we’re preparing to play without him this weekend.”
Original story below
The Alabama Crimson Tide are days away from facing Hofstra University in the first round of the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, but their second-leading scorer just landed in some hot water.
Aden Holloway, a former McDonald’s All-American, was arrested on Monday, March 16, after agents conducted a search of a Tuscaloosa residence, uncovering a shocking amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
“Agents with the West Alabama Narcotics Task Force conducted a search of a residence in the 400 block of 30th Avenue East this morning,” Tuscaloosa police announced in a statement Monday. “The agents recovered more than a pound of marijuana, paraphernalia and cash. Aden Holloway, 21, was charged with first-degree possession of marijuana and failure to affix a tax stamp. He was transported to the Tuscaloosa County Jail Monday morning. Bond was set at $5,000.”
Both charges that Holloway faces are felonies. A Tuscaloosa police spokesperson also told 247Sports that the junior was involved in a traffic stop last week.
Holloway is no longer listed as an inmate in the Tuscaloosa County Jail, indicating he may have been released.
The star guard averaged 16.8 points per game during the 2025-26 season, making nearly 44 percent of his three-point attempts. This is his second season with the Crimson Tide after transferring from rival Auburn University, where he played as a freshman. It is also his first season as a starter.
The university has not yet commented on his arrest and availability in the NCAA Tournament. If he is unable to play, Alabama will have to rely on superstar point guard Labaron Philon to shoulder an even bigger load.
Head coach Nate Oats told CBS Sports before news broke of Holloway’s arrest that he had already spoken to his team about the danger that Hofstra presents as a first-round opponent. He also praised the Pride, seeded 13th in the midwest region.
“Hofstra’s good. I can’t say I love the draw,” he told reporters on Sunday, March 15. “It’s not easy to do what we’ve done. Having said that, I didn’t plan on being a four seed this year. Our players didn’t plan on it.”
He added, “I don’t want the players thinking about anything but Hofstra until Friday night and then if we do what we’re supposed to against Hofstra, the staff’s got two separate guys working on [possible second round opponents] Texas Tech and Akron right now, and they’re both really good.”
The Crimson Tide are scheduled to face Hofstra on Friday, March 20 in Tampa, Florida. Alabama opened as a 13.5-point favorite.
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