College basketball rankings: Mark Sears' return to Alabama bumps Tide to No. 2 in Top 25 And 1

Alabama got a big boost when Sears withdrew from the NBA Draft

By Gary Parrish May 30, 2024 at 1:01 am ET• 1 min read

Alabama made the Final Four for the first time in school history this past season. Now that Mark Sears has officially withdrawn from the 2024 NBA Draft and announced a return to the program, the Crimson Tide could do it again in 2025.

That's the big news from Wednesday.

Sears announced on social media — just hours before the deadline to withdraw from the 2024 NBA Draft — that he'll use his fifth year of eligibility following a fourth season in which he averaged 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 33.6 minutes per game. After leading Alabama to the 2024 Final Four, the 6-foot-1 point guard was named a CBS Sports Second Team All-American. That makes him the fourth CBS Sports All-American to announce a return to college basketball in advance of next season. The others are RJ Davis (North Carolina), Hunter Dickinson (Kansas) and Caleb Love (Arizona).

In the previous 26 versions of the 2024-25 CBS Sports preseason Top 25 And 1 college basketball rankings, Sears has not been projected to return. So his announcement is a big boost — one that has the Crimson Tide up to No. 2 in Version 27 of the Top 25 And 1.

Kansas remains No. 1.

Wednesday was both a good day and a bad day for Arizona. The good is that Love officially announced his return to the program, which was always the expected outcome here. The bad is that five-star prospect Joson Sanon flipped his commitment from Arizona to Arizona State. The latter development is why Tommy Lloyd's Wildcats are down to No. 16 in the Top 25 And 1.