Aaliyah Chavez
Aaliyah Chavez (born November 20, 2006) is an American college basketball player for the Oklahoma Sooners of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). She attended Monterey High School and was a five-star recruit and the number one player in the 2025 class.
| No. 2 – Oklahoma Sooners | |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| League | SEC |
| Personal information | |
| Born | November 20, 2006 |
| Listed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Monterey High School (Lubbock, Texas) |
| College | Oklahoma (2025–present) |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Aaliyah Chavez (born November 20, 2006) is an American college basketball player for the Oklahoma Sooners of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). She attended Monterey High School and was a five-star recruit and the number one player in the 2025 class.
High school career
[edit]Chavez attended Monterey High School. During her junior year she averaged 37.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.5 steals per game. Following the season she was named Texas Gatorade Player of the Year.[1]
During her senior year she averaged 34.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 3.7 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. She led the Plainsmen to the 5A Division II state championship for the first time since 1981. Following the season she was named Texas Gatorade Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, Gatorade National Player of the Year, Naismith Prep Player of the Year, and MaxPreps National Basketball Player of the Year.[2][3][4] She finished her high school career with 4,796 career points, 1,279 rebounds, 771 assists and 476 steals in 150 games. Her 4,796 points ranks her 14th on the all-time national scoring list.[5] She holds school records for most points in a game (57), most assists in a season (240), three-pointers in a game (13), three-pointers in a season (194) and career three-pointers (639).[6]
In January 2025, she was named a 2025 McDonald's All-American and selected to represent the United States at the 2025 Nike Hoop Summit.[7][8]
Recruiting
[edit]Chavez is considered a five-star recruit and the number one player in the 2025 class, according to ESPN. On March 25, 2025, she announced on SportsCenter she would be committing to play college basketball at Oklahoma, over offers from, LSU, South Carolina, Texas, Texas Tech and UCLA.[9][10]
College career
[edit]During her freshman season, Chavez was named SEC Freshman of the Week eight times, tying Rhyne Howard for the most freshman weekly awards in SEC history.[11] On November 12, 2025, against Kansas City, she scored a then career-high 29 points, while shooting 7-of-10 from three-point range.[12] On November 30, 2025, against Florida State, she scored a career-high tying 29 points, to help Oklahoma win the Coconut Hoops Great Egret Division championship.[13] On December 3, 2025, during the ACC–SEC Challenge against NC State, she scored a career-high 33 points.[14] Her 33 points were the third most all-time in a single game by an Oklahoma freshman. She was subsequently named the Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week and SEC Freshman of the Week.[15]
She led all SEC freshmen in scoring with 18.4 points, and averaged 4.2 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. She leads the nation in free throw percentage at 93.4%, and has made an SEC record 53 consecutive free throws. Following the season she was named a second-team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman team selection. She was the only freshman in the league to be named All-SEC.[16][17]
References
[edit]- ^ "Monterey High School Student-Athlete Named Gatorade Texas Girls Basketball Player of the Year" (PDF). Gatorade. March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
- ^ Garcia, Stephen (March 19, 2025). "Monterey's Aaliyah Chavez adds 2nd national girls basketball player of the year award". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
- ^ Garcia, Stephen (March 14, 2025). "Aaliyah Chavez named Naismith Player of the Year, finalist for Gatorade National POY". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
- ^ Williams, Aaron (April 8, 2025). "Aaliyah Chavez named MaxPreps National Player of the Year". MaxPreps. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ^ Jones, Maya A. (March 24, 2025). "Aaliyah Chavez's unlikely route to top girls basketball prospect". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 24, 2025.
- ^ Payton, Levi (March 4, 2025). "Ranking: Top 30 games of No. 1 five-star recruit Aaliyah Chavez's varsity high school basketball career". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
- ^ Soliz, Brandon (January 27, 2025). "Monterey's Aaliyah Chavez named to McDonald's All-American roster". KCBD. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
- ^ Payton, Levi (January 18, 2025). "Texas 5-star Aaliyah Chavez highlights elite USA Women's Nike Hoop Summit basketball roster". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
- ^ Payton, Levi (March 19, 2025). "Aaliyah Chavez wins Gatorade National Player of the Year: Nation's No. 1 women's basketball recruit takes top honor". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
- ^ Garcia, Stephen (March 11, 2025). "These factors will decide where Monterey's Aaliyah Chavez signs to play college basketball". Times Record News. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
- ^ "Chavez Ties SEC Record With Eighth Freshman Weekly Honor". soonersports.com. March 2, 2026. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
- ^ Willert, Tim (November 12, 2025). "Aaliyah Chavez hits 7 3s, scores 29 as No. 6 Oklahoma women beat Kansas City 89-61". ktvb.com. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
- ^ "Chavez Guides No. 9 Oklahoma to Coconut Hoops Title". soonersports.com. November 30, 2025. Retrieved November 30, 2025.
- ^ Brunt, Cliff (December 3, 2025). "Freshman star Aaliyah Chavez's 33 points lead Oklahoma to overtime win over North Carolina State". Greenwich Time. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
- ^ "Freshman Star Chavez Earns National, SEC Weekly Awards". soonersports.com. December 9, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
- ^ "Beers and Chavez Earn All-SEC Honors". soonersports.com. March 3, 2026. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
- ^ "Aaliyah Chavez misses out on SEC Freshman of the Year as she, Raegan Beers earn All-Conference selections". The Norman Transcript. March 3, 2026. Retrieved March 3, 2026.