Murphy, Briski Named to USA Today's All-SEC Team

After a 47-6 overall record and a 19-5 record in SEC play, Alabama softball secured the No. 2 seed in this week's SEC tournament, set to be played in Lexington, Kentucky. The Crimson Tide will play the winner of 7-seed Arkansas and 10-seed Mississippi State, who defeated Kentucky 4-3 earlier on Tuesday. The Crimson Tide's long-standing head coach, Patrick Murphy, and its ace pitcher, Jocelyn Briski, earned recognition before the SEC tournament from USA Today, with Murphy being named Coach of the Year, and Briski being named the SEC Pitcher of the Year.

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USA Today released its All-SEC softball awards on Tuesday, and the Crimson Tide's 28-year head coach was the USA Today coach of the year. It's the seventh time Murphy has won the award, earning the recognition in 2006, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2019 to go along with his 2026 honor. Murphy owns a 1364-404 record, including a 508-207 record in the SEC. He became the first coach in conference history to achieve 500 SEC wins, achieving the feat with a 4-0 win over in-state rival Auburn on April 11. Alabama was picked to finish ninth in the SEC in preseason polls, and ended the season second, 0.5 games behind Oklahoma, which was the regular-season champion.

Alabama's junior pitcher, Jocelyn Briski, was a unanimous selection for the USA Today All-SEC team. She was named SEC Pitcher of the Week three times and is a finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year. In 2026, she's made 28 appearances with a 20-2 record, striking out 167, and has a 1.46 ERA. She has five top 10 wins this season against Florida State, Arkansas (x2), Texas, and Tennessee.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.