A judge granted Alabama Crimson Tide basketball star Aden Holloway’s request to travel out of state ahead of his team’s Sweet 16 contest against the Michigan Wolverines.
Update: Alabama guard Aden Holloway has been *granted* his motion to travel out of state by a Tuscaloosa district court judge, per court docs. Alabama plays Michigan tonight in the Sweet 16.
— Nick Kelly (@_NickKelly) March 27, 2026
Holloway missed the Crimson Tide’s first two games of the NCAA tournament after being arrested on a felony drug charge.
College Basketball Star Arrested Days Before Team Plays In NCAA Tournament
Holloway is the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 16.8 points per game.
Despite the judge granting his motion to travel out of state, Holloway will not play in Friday night’s game.
“Nothing has changed with regard to Aden’s status with the team,” the school said in a statement.
Aden Holloway will not be with his team Friday when Alabama faces Michigan in the Sweet 16 in Chicago, even after an Alabama judge granted his request to travel Friday, per a statement from the school. https://t.co/w31ZqCFjQG
— ESPN (@espn) March 27, 2026
ESPN shared further:
Holloway is currently banned from all school-related activities. But Friday’s ruling seemed to open the door for him to accompany the squad for the first time since his felony arrest on a drug charge earlier this month. Judge Joanne M. Jannik allowed Holloway to travel even though “the Office of the District Attorney for Tuscaloosa indicated that [they] were opposed to this request to travel.” He is set to leave Friday and return Tuesday, per court documents obtained by ESPN.
Holloway, the team’s No. 2 scorer, has missed the NCAA tournament following his felony drug arrest earlier this month. After authorities found 2.1 pounds of marijuana in Holloway’s apartment when they executed a search warrant, Holloway was arrested and charged with a Class C felony drug possession charge, “not for personal use,” and a failure to affix a tax stamp charge. Both felonies carry a maximum sentence up to 10 years in jail and a $15,000 fine.
Holloway has been banned from campus as a result of his arrest. Jason Neff, his attorney, told ESPN last week that he hoped to arrange a hearing this week to reverse the campus ban. Neff did not respond to ESPN’s request for comment about the latest development.
According to court documents, Holloway has denied “each and every material allegation, and demands strict proof thereof.”
Authorities accused Holloway of having “drug transactions” on his phone when they searched his apartment.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 14.
The Crimson Tide did not appear to be impacted by Holloway’s absence in their first two victories against Hofstra and Texas Tech, scoring 90 points in each contest.
However, Friday night’s matchup with #1 seed Michigan will be a much tougher challenge.
AL.com has more:
On the NCAA’s availability report released Thursday night, Holloway was listed as “out” for Friday’s game. That could cause problems should Alabama attempt to play the guard, as the organization’s rules for availability reporting require schools to avoid surprises with regards to high profile players.
Holloway would also need to be cleared by Alabama’s office of student conduct, which removed him from campus following his arrest. That might have already happened, as the office does not make its rulings public.
Holloway was arrested March 16 on charges of first degree possession of marijuana and failure to affix a tax stamp, both felonies in the state of Alabama. He has not played since the arrest, though Crimson Tide head coach did not rule out the possibility when asked whether Holloway could take the court if he was allowed.
“You know what, I’m not sure where that’s all going to go,” Oats said before the first round of the tournament. “We’ll kind of address things as they come up. But for right now, the team is just preparing to play with who’s at practice, and he’s obviously not there. We’ll prepare to play without him and address that matter if it comes up.”
Alabama and Michigan are scheduled to tip off at 6:35 p.m. CT on Friday. The game will be aired on TBS.
