Alabama Misses Out on Pair of Elite Commitments

While Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide staff have been successful on the 2026 recruiting trail, landing two 4-Star commitments thus far, Alabama received a bit of disappointing news this week as it missed out on two elite prospects in the class.

On Wednesday, October 22, twin brothers Darius and Adonis Ratliff, who are both rated as 4-Star prospects, committed to USC over the Crimson Tide while appearing on a YouTube livestream for CBS Sports. The pair chose the Trojans over not only Alabama, but Texas and Arkansas as well.

Darius, a 7-footer, weighing in at 195 lbs., is listed as a center while Adonis, another 7-footer, is listed at power forward. They are the sons of former NBA All-Star Theo Ratliff who is originally from Demopolis, Alabama, but both currently suit up for Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York.

As a junior for the highly ranked Empire State team, Darius averaged nearly a double-double in points and rebounds with just over nine a piece. He also added impressive block totals, averaging 2.6 per game.

His brother, Adonis, put up a comparable stat line of his own as a junior with 12.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game.