Alabama men’s basketball entered the season with 12 scholarship players. On Friday, head coach Nate Oats confirmed the 13th and final one had been awarded.

“You’ve got an open one and we wanted to make sure that nobody filled it at the break kind of like Davin (Cosby Jr.) did last year,” Oats said. “We looked at Max (Scharnowski). We would have (given) it to Max, but Max is on a really good academic scholarship, so Kai needed it a little bit more than Max.

“Super happy for him. He’s a great kid, works really hard. He deserves it as does Max. … Any time we have a scholarship available and we’ve got a great walk-on doing what he’s supposed to do, we’re going to reward him for it.”

Last year, the Tide welcomed Cosby, a four-star guard during its run to the Sweet 16. Cosby was ineligible to play but could participate in team practices. UA has three signees in the class of 2024, highlighted by five-star forward Derrion Reid.

Spears, a guard, was in his second year as a walk-on player. He’s appeared in seven games this season, totaling 13 minutes for the No. 24 Crimson Tide (15-6, 7-1 SEC). Oats said he brought Spears and Scharnowski into his office on Thursday to relay the news, which led to hugs and tears of joy.

Spears recorded a field goal against Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 12. Spears played his high school ball at Bishop (Pennsylvania) Canevin. Spears’ father, Chris, is Marshall’s athletic director.

BamaCentral was the first to report Sears’ scholarship. UA’s remaining walk-ons are Scharnowski and forward Ward Harrell.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].