As Alabama prepares to fly west for the NCAA Tournament this week, the Tide has gone to the West Coast to sign one of the nation’s top available players in the transfer portal as it continues to build its roster for the following season. On Tuesday, sources told Bama247 that Pepperdine guard Houston Mallette has committed to play for Alabama. He is the No. 6 overall player on 247Sports’ transfer portal.
The 6-foot-5 scorer will provide length and shooting to the Tide’s backcourt next season. Mallette has made 37.5% of his 3-pointers during three seasons at Pepperdine, including a career-high 41.5% this season. This season, he averaged 2.1 3-pointers per game, placing him sixth in the West Coast Conference.
Mallette has made at least one 3-pointer in 82 of his 94 career games, shooting 40% or higher in 43 of them. This season, he averaged a career-high 14.7 points while playing 31.5 minutes per game.
Mallette, a Santa Monica, California native and former three-star high school recruit, committed to Penn State in 2020. After transferring to Pepperdine, he was named to the WCC all-freshman team in 2021-22 and earned honourable mention All-WCC honours this season.
He has a year of collegiate eligibility remaining.
“Fit and opportunity is the most important thing for me,” Mallette told 247Sports’ College Basketball Show on Monday. “I want to go somewhere where I can have an impact on the squad and play a key role. So, whatever that is. Mostly in the category of leadership. I want to be able to lead and go somewhere where I can have a great time while still having the possibility to play at the next level.”
Sources close to Mallette’s recruitment informed Bama247 that Alabama’s staff, lead by coach Nate Oats, “went the extra mile” to recruit Mallette through the transfer portal, even as they prepared for the SEC and NCAA tournaments. In five seasons at Alabama, Oats has built a reputation for developing NBA players with his fast-paced, shooter-friendly system.
“I think I fit in many systems,” Mallette told 247 Sports last week. “I play defence, I’m a team player, I like to move up and down in transition, and I’m fairly effective. I am a dynamic guard who can pass, shoot, and lead a team. I’m looking for a location that will allow me to use my full potential, and I believe there are several colleges where I would fit nicely.”
Mallette went via the NCAA transfer portal on March 6, two days after Pepperdine sacked coach Lorenzo Romar. Mallette entered the gateway as a result of this decision, which was revealed prior to the start of the WCC Tournament.
“It hurts a lot that the school let him go,” he said to 247Sports last week. “I’m very thrilled about what comes next in my basketball career, but losing coach Romar was painful. I wish the school had handled things better in terms of allowing him to leave before the conference tournament, and I simply wanted to enter the portal to say I had his support.”
Mallette did not disclose which institutions were recruiting him, but he did say on Monday that a “ton of schools” had contacted him. Some coaches were startled to find that he wasn’t represented by a NIL agent.
“I just pretty much talk to schools myself,” Mallette said. “I’m still a fan of the college game — like, you’ve got to have a relationship with the coach.”
Mallette chose Alabama, which has led the SEC with 52 total wins over the last two seasons.
“I want to go to a winning program,” he explained last week. “We didn’t win much here, but we certainly could have won next year. I also want to play in front of a crowd. There aren’t many fans at Pepperdine, so I’m eager about the opportunity. Aside from that, most significantly, I want to build a strong relationship with my coach so that I can step in and lead. So I’m searching for a position where I can lead and play a significant role on a winning squad.”
Alabama will lose at least one of its starting guards this offseason in Aaron Estrada, who will finish his sixth and final year of eligibility in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, which the Tide will begin Friday as a No. 4 seed against 13th-seeded Charleston. Mark Sears, a first-team All-SEC and second-team All-American guard, could return to the NBA Draft after testing the waters last offseason. Sears and fellow backcourt starter Latrell Wrightsell Jr. each have one season of college eligibility left.
Mallette is Alabama’s first transfer portal signing for the 2024 offseason. Last offseason, the Tide added four transfers, including Estrada and Wrightsell, and ranked fifth nationwide.
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