Alabama starting guard Aden Holloway, who was arrested earlier this month and is facing a felony drug charge, was permitted to travel after an Alabama judge granted his request ahead of the team’s Sweet 16 matchup against Michigan in Chicago.
The request was granted even though “the Office of the District Attorney for Tuscaloosa indicated that [they] were opposed to this request to travel,” ESPN writes, adding that he was set to leave Friday and return on Tuesday.
However, according to the school, he will not be with the team on Friday as he is banned from all school-related activities.
“Nothing has changed with regard to Aden’s status with the team,” the school said in a statement.
Aden Holloway Was Arrested Four Days Before The March Madness Tournament Began
Aden Holloway of the Alabama Crimson Tide
Holloway was arrested on March 16 after authorities discovered 2.1 pounds of marijuana in his apartment, which was found after they executed a search warrant.
He is being charged with a Class C felony drug possession charge, “not for personal use,” and a failure to affix a tax stamp charge. Both charges carry a sentence of up to 10 years as well as a $15,000 fine.
“In a court filing last week, authorities accused Holloway of having ‘drug transactions’ on his phone when they searched his apartment,” ESPN detailed. “Holloway responded with a motion in which he denied ‘each and every material allegation, and demands strict proof thereof.’ He is also seeking a trial, per documents obtained by ESPN.”
As a result of the arrest and charges, Holloway was banned from campus, with his attorney, Jason Neff, recently speaking with ESPN and expressing how he “hoped to arrange a hearing this week to reverse the campus ban.”
The hearing is set for April 14.
Alabama Head Coach Nate Oats Spoke Out About The Situation On March 16
GettyAden Holloway of the Alabama Crimson Tide
During an appearance on the Hey Coach” radio show on Monday, March 16, 2026, Alabama head coach Nate Oats addressed Holloway’s arrest.
“Look, we’ve got standards in our program. We’ve got ways we’ve held our guys accountable. We try to keep everything in-house. Obviously some of the situations you can’t. This is one of those. Situation is a little different when we found out what was going on this morning — I found out this morning,” Oats said (transcribed by Mike Rodak on X).
“I guess it all went down this morning,” he continued. “We had to suspend him pending the investigation by the UA office of student conduct. We’re disappointed in his behavior. With that said, we still love him. He’s still our guy. We’re going to get him the help that he needs. … We’re preparing to play without him this weekend.”
Oats also opened up about the team’s reaction to the news.
“I thought our guys, while at the same time Aden is one of our guys and everybody wants to wrap their arms around him and love him, everybody makes some mistakes in life — but they also understand that we’ve got to move on,” he explained. “I thought we did a good job of that this morning, kind of addressing the situation — what we currently knew at the time,”
Aden Holloway Won’t Join Alabama For Sweet 16 Despite Being Cleared To Travel