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Oklahoma's Aaliyah Chavez Named ESPN National Freshman of the Year

The Sooners' first-year star earned All-SEC from the league but wasn't voted as the SEC's top freshman. The four-letter network saw her body of work a little differently.
John Hoover|
Oklahoma guard Aaliyah Chavez
Oklahoma guard Aaliyah Chavez | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

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Turns out the SEC coaches just got it wrong.

Oklahoma guard Aaliyah Chavez wasn't named the league's Freshman of the Year last week, but this week was named national Freshman of the Year by ESPN. The network announced the award on Wednesday afternoon.

An All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Freshman selection, Chavez leads the No. 10-ranked Sooners in scoring at 18.4 points per game, the highest mark among qualified freshmen in the nation this year. She also averages 4.2 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per contest for Jennie Baranczyk's OU squad (24-7, 11-5 SEC).

"Aaliyah is a winner," Baranczyk said last week. "Every single thing that she’s ever done, she’s won. ... So this might be something that stings, but she’s a winner, and that’s what I’m going to count on."

Chavez joins UConn's Paige Bueckers as the only freshmen since 2009 to average at least 18.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game while committing 3.0 turnovers or less.

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The Lubbock, TX, product entered college as the No. 1 player in the class of 2025 and a consensus national prep player of the year, then exceeded the hype.

This season she has appeared on watch lists for national player of the year, national freshman of the year and national point guard of the year, while tying an SEC record with eight Freshman of the Week honors.

Chavez has recorded 12 games with 20 or more points, the third-most among true freshmen nationally, and her six 20-point performances against ranked opponents lead all first-year players. Against teams ranked in the AP or WBCA polls, Chavez averaged 19.1 points, 3.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds while helping the Sooners secure six ranked wins in 2025-26.

In Oklahoma's 12-point win over then-No. 2 South Carolina on Jan. 22, Chavez set a school record with 15 points in overtime and finished with 26 points, eight assists and four rebounds.

Chavez is chasing several OU freshman records and is on pace to break the NCAA freshman record for free-throw percentage. Entering the NCAA Tournament, she is shooting 93.9 percent at the line and carries an active streak of 62 consecutive made free throws, both an SEC and Oklahoma record.

She is one of just five Sooner freshmen to score 500 points in their debut season and is on pace to finish among the program's top three freshmen all-time in points, assists, 3-pointers made and steals.

The Sooners await their NCAA Tournament seeding, which will be announced during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPN. According to ESPN's Bracketology, Oklahoma is projected to host first- and second-round games at Lloyd Noble Center as a top-16 team.

OU Media Relations contributed to this report.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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