A former Alabama basketball player has found his next destination in the transfer portal. Naas Cunningham, who redshirted his true freshman season in Tuscaloosa last year, is heading to UNLV,
247Sports first reported the news. Cunningham later changed his Instagram bio to reflect the commitment.
Cunningham entered the portal following the conclusion of the 2024-25 campaign, which ended with a Crimson Tide loss to Duke in the Elite Eight. Cunningham follows the path of Kris Parker, who spent the 2023-24 season at Alabama as a true freshman, before he transferred to Villanova.
During the season, Alabama head coach Nate Oats discussed Cunningham’s development during his redshirt year.
“When he’s at his peak, it looks like he should be an NBA player,” Oats said in February. “Can we get that every time or a lot more consistent than what it is? It’s hard for me to say right now just because he’s been out with illness and injuries so much. So right now we’re just trying to get him to continue to gain weight because he kind of lost a lot of what he gained when he got sick. So, kind of where that’s at.
“Great kid though, love him. Best teammate. Teammates love him. Coaches love him. Just gotta get him stronger, more consistent. His upside’s gotta show up more consistently.”
Cunningham was a top-50 recruit ahead of last season. He joins a UNLV squad that finished last season 18-15, and fell 70-58 in its final game, the Mountain West tournament quarterfinals, against Utah State.
Alabama has so far lost three players besides Cunningham to the transfer portal following the conclusion of the season. Mo Dioubate (committed to Kentucky), Jarin Stevenson (North Carolina) and Derrion Reid have also left the Crimson Tide.
