Nation's top women's basketball recruit Aaliyah Chavez commits to Oklahoma Sooners

Lubbock (Texas) Monterey five-star point guard Aaliyah Chavez has committed to Oklahoma, marking one of the biggest recruiting wins in the history of the Sooners’ program.

The 5-foot-9 guard is the consensus No. 1 overall women’s basketball recruit in the 2025 class and recently was named both the Gatorade and Naismith High School Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Chavez capped off her record-breaking high school career earlier this month, leading Monterey to its first-ever state title. She finished her career with 4,796 points, which ranks among the top-25 nationally in the history of high school girls basketball.

As a senior, she averaged 34.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.7 steals per game, leading Monterey to a 37-5 record. Texas, Texas Tech, UCLA and South Carolina were among her other finalists, but the Sooners and coach Jennie Barancyzk ultimately won out.

Chavez visited the Longhorns earlier this month for one of their final regular season games, but OU got her on campus in Norman for their first-round NCAA Tournament win over the weekend. At the game, university president Joe Harroz, athletics director Joe Castiglione, Raegan Beers’ dad, several OU football players and hundreds of fans all stopped to talk with Chavez and take pictures.

The atmosphere in Norman, as well as the relationship she built with the Sooners’ coaching staff over multiple years, looks to have finally paid off.  

“OU is definitely a great experience,” Chavez told SoonerScoop. “They play great basketball, play fast — that’s how I play. And I just have a great relationship with all of the coaches. She’s a great coach. I have a great relationship with her and just the way they play matches the way I play.”