Hoops: Sooners land 2025 top overall recruit Aaliyah Chavez

It's been a really good couple of days for Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk

On Monday, the Sooners beat Iowa and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in over a decade. Nearly 24 hours later, the Sooners landed the top overall recruit in the 2025 class.

Aaliyah Chavez announced her commitment to the Sooners during her commitment ceremony on Tuesday afternoon. Chavez — widely ranked as the best player in the upcoming class — picked the Sooners over Texas, Texas Tech, LSU and others. Chavez holds offers from more than a dozen Power 4 schools.

Breaking: Aaliyah Chavez, the No. 1 senior in @espnW 100, has announced her commitment to Oklahoma. pic.twitter.com/FD7SdX2cqB
— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) March 25, 2025

"They have great coaches, coaches that I've been talking to since I was in eighth grade," Chavez said after her announcement. "Just a great playing style. They match how I want to play. I want to play fast. That's why I chose it."

Chavez is ranked as the No. 1 recruit by espnW. It's a huge win for the Sooners, who pick up one of the more highly-touted recruits in program history. And it certainly wasn't easy.

The 5-foot-9 point guard from Lubbock, Texas burst onto the scene in 2021 while she was still in middle school. That's when she picked up an offer from Oklahoma alongside a myriad of other Power 4 schools, including Ohio State, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kansas State, Alabama and many others.

That hype only grew as she began her career at Monterey High School. She was named as a finalist for the the Gatorade Player of the Year in 2024 after an incredibly prolific junior season, when she boasted per-game averages of 37.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.5 steals.

She built on that this past season as she officially won the Gatorade Player of the Year award while leading Monterey High School to a state championship.

The Sooners' involvement in Chavez' recruitment heated up over the last several days as they were named as one of her six final schools. Chavez also attended the Sooners' 81-58 win over Florida Gulf Coast in the Round of 64 last Saturday. Chavez met with several people during her visit to the Lloyd Noble Center, including OU athletic director Joe Castiglione and university president Joe Harroz Jr..

"I think our connection just matched, and the vibe was a little different in Oklahoma with the players and the coaches," Chavez said of her visit.

Chavez will be joining an Oklahoma team that is set to have several important returning players next season, including Reagan Beers, Sahara Williams and Payton Verhulst.

Now, the Sooners can head into Saturday's Sweet 16 clash against UCONN with the No. 1 overall 2025 prospect in tow.

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Hoops: Sooners land 2025 top overall recruit Aaliyah Chavez

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