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NORMAN — A line of children formed to meet Aaliyah Chavez soon after the final buzzer echoed throughout Lloyd Noble Center.
Chavez, ranked by 247Sports as the top women's college basketball recruit in the 2025 class, was in attendance for OU's 81-58 win over Florida Gulf Coast in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon.
Sooners fans clamored for photos and autographs from the five-star guard, who was attending her first-ever OU women's basketball game.
“They have a great community here," Chavez said. "I wanted to just make sure I got to come and watch a live game because obviously OU is one of my top choices. I needed to see the fan base myself and but it was a really great experience today."
Chavez, along with her family, made the five-hour, 340-mile trip from her hometown of Lubbock, Texas, where she currently attends Monterey High School.
She was recently named Texas Girls Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year after averaging 34.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.7 steals per game as a senior. The 5-foot-9 guard led Monterey to a 37-5 record en route to winning a Class 5A D2 state championship earlier this month.
More: Oklahoma women's basketball pulls past FGCU to set up clash with Iowa in March Madness
OU turned up the charm to impress Chavez.
High-profile figures such as school president Joe Harroz, athletic director Joe Castiglione and athletes from various sports all made sure to approach Chavez with words of encouragement and support.
"Me and Coach Jennie (Baranczyk) definitely have a good relationship," Chavez said. "I also know some of the players because I played against them, so it was a great experience just meeting them and just the connection that we kind of had."
Chavez is set to announce her collegiate decision on Tuesday.
She has received nearly 30 offers from top programs, with OU and Texas emerging as the clear frontrunners in her recruitment.
As she looked on from section 107, Chavez was highly impressed by OU's 23-point win over FGCU on Saturday afternoon.
"They play very fast — and I like that — because I'm a fast player," Chavez said. "So that's great for me. They shoot a lot of shots and I like to shoot. So just talking to go to Coach Jennie, it's definitely something that we were looking forward to."
More: Liz Scott provides OU basketball turning point in run to women's NCAA Tournament
Jordan Davis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jordan? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @jdavis34_. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Jordan’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Aaliyah Chavez praises OU women's basketball on recruiting visit
Continue reading...
Chavez, ranked by 247Sports as the top women's college basketball recruit in the 2025 class, was in attendance for OU's 81-58 win over Florida Gulf Coast in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon.
Sooners fans clamored for photos and autographs from the five-star guard, who was attending her first-ever OU women's basketball game.
“They have a great community here," Chavez said. "I wanted to just make sure I got to come and watch a live game because obviously OU is one of my top choices. I needed to see the fan base myself and but it was a really great experience today."
Chavez, along with her family, made the five-hour, 340-mile trip from her hometown of Lubbock, Texas, where she currently attends Monterey High School.
She was recently named Texas Girls Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year after averaging 34.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.7 steals per game as a senior. The 5-foot-9 guard led Monterey to a 37-5 record en route to winning a Class 5A D2 state championship earlier this month.
More: Oklahoma women's basketball pulls past FGCU to set up clash with Iowa in March Madness
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OU turned up the charm to impress Chavez.
High-profile figures such as school president Joe Harroz, athletic director Joe Castiglione and athletes from various sports all made sure to approach Chavez with words of encouragement and support.
"Me and Coach Jennie (Baranczyk) definitely have a good relationship," Chavez said. "I also know some of the players because I played against them, so it was a great experience just meeting them and just the connection that we kind of had."
Chavez is set to announce her collegiate decision on Tuesday.
She has received nearly 30 offers from top programs, with OU and Texas emerging as the clear frontrunners in her recruitment.
As she looked on from section 107, Chavez was highly impressed by OU's 23-point win over FGCU on Saturday afternoon.
"They play very fast — and I like that — because I'm a fast player," Chavez said. "So that's great for me. They shoot a lot of shots and I like to shoot. So just talking to go to Coach Jennie, it's definitely something that we were looking forward to."
More: Liz Scott provides OU basketball turning point in run to women's NCAA Tournament
Jordan Davis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Jordan? He can be reached at [email protected] or on X/Twitter at @jdavis34_. Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Jordan’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Aaliyah Chavez praises OU women's basketball on recruiting visit
Continue reading...
