BREAKING: Florida transfer Aliyah Matharu commits to Baylor

Florida transfer Aliyah Matharu has committed to the Baylor Bears, she told On3. Matharu told On3 that she’s been eyeing the Bears since she chose to transfer from Texas in 2022.

“If I’m being honest, I wanted to go to Baylor after I had left Texas, but I don’t think I was ready for the heat that would have came with that,” Matharu told On3. “So I went a different direction. But I’ve watched Coach Nicki [Collen] since she’s been at Baylor and I really like their style of play in the guards that they have and even the post players. At every position, they have really, really, talented players and really good people.”

Matharu, a 5-foot-7 guard from Washington, DC and the Gators’ leading scorer, averaged 19 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 steals last season after sitting out the 2022-23 campaign. She scored in double figures in 29 of 30 games, including a 35-point performance in the SEC Tournament against Vanderbilt.

Matharu had originally considered entering the portal last spring, but instead tried to stick it out at Florida. She entered the transfer portal a few weeks ago partially in order to expand her skillset as a point guard, but she’s ready to buy in when she gets to Baylor and do whatever it takes for her team to succeed.

“The timing was kind of bad, because it happened right before the season was about to start…” Matharu told On3. “I’m coming in at such a late time that I’ll have to be really focused and committed to helping the team. That’s all I really want to do. It’s just building that relationship with [Nicki Collen], as far as coming in and watching film and getting to know her as a coach and learning how she likes her point guards to do things.”

Matharu is excited to get started with the Bears. She’ll finish out the academic semester at Florida and told On3 that she’ll be eligible to play for Baylor during the second semester.

“I just want to help in any way I can,” Matharu told On3. “I know I’m 5-foot-7, but if they need somebody to rebound, if they need somebody to play defense — any way I can be of help to the team. I’m really just trying to be a sponge and learn as much as I can before I can hopefully put my name out there and enter the draft… It’ll only be for a short period of time, which is unfortunate, but I’m sure that with the team that she already has, we can accomplish anything.”

This will mark the fourth program of her career as Matharu spent the first two seasons of her college career at Mississippi State and then played for the Texas Longhorns for the 2021-22 campaign before joining the Gators and playing for the 2023-24 season. 

Matharu ranked 2nd in the SEC in scoring last season and reached double figures in scoring for 29 of her 30 games played. She led Florida in both points and steals during her senior season with the Gators. Baylor ranks No. 12 on On3’s preseason Top 25 and the addition of Matharu will raise their stock.