Why Oklahoma and Aaliyah Chavez are 'Lucky' to Have Each Other in the NCAA Tournament

NORMAN — March is made for players like Aaliyah Chavez.

Last year, Chavez was in Norman as the Sooners hosted the first two rounds of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, a weekend that eventually saw OU play its way back to the Sweet 16.

As Chavez takes the floor in the Big Dance for the first time on Friday night, she recalled how special that trip to the Lloyd Noble Center was.

“That’s a huge part of why I made the decision to come here. It was so amazing,” she said on Thursday. “You see the culture, the people who showed up for Oklahoma women’s basketball. … It was just an amazing experience.”

Oklahoma Sooners, Aaliyah Chave — Aaliyah Chavez celebrates after making a basket against South Carolina. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Since then, Chavez rolled through the SEC with her team, earning her way onto the All-SEC Second Team, the All-SEC Freshman Team and she was named ESPN’s Freshman of the Year.

The journey wasn’t always smooth, but OU believes its about to get the best of Chavez in the NCAA Tournament.

“She's been such a joy to coach,” Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “You talk about somebody that wants to be really good, that wants to do great things on both sides of the ball. She's willing to fall down. She's willing to learn.”

Chavez paces the Sooners in scoring, averaging 18.4 points per game, while pulling down 3.8 boards and dishing out 4.2 assists per contest.

She played some of her best basketball in OU’s win over South Carolina, who Oklahoma could potentially see in the Sweet 16, as well as during the stretch of the season that saw the Sooners notch consecutive ranked victories against Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

Battling through the SEC is a challenge for any guard, much less a freshman, but Baranczyk knows her star is only better for it.

“There have been times that she's missed game-winning shots. There's times that she's made game-winning shots,” Baranczyk said. “So for her to get that kind of experience as a freshman leading into the NCAA Tournament, I don't know if you get that much experience.

“… I love her everyday process. She comes with a smile on her face. She wants to work. She resets. She doesn't really hold onto things too long. She just cares a lot.”

Chavez herself admits there were still key lessons she needed to learn firsthand throughout the regular season.

“The pace,” she said. “It’s definitely different from going to high school to AAU ball to here. It’s a lot faster. It’s a lot more physical. Just knowing when to slow down and when we need to speed up, that’s probably (been) my biggest adjustment.”

To get back to the Sweet 16, Oklahoma will have to bounce back one more time in 2026.

The Sooners’ stay at the SEC Tournament was cut short when they got handled by LSU 112-78 in the quarterfinals.

Since then, OU had a week to flush the result and get fully confident ahead of its First Round matchup with 13-seeded Idaho.

Chavez said spirits are high entering Friday night, and that she’s just ready to get back out on the floor with her team.

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“I’m very excited,” she said. ‘Throughout this whole year I’ve been growing with my teammates each and every day in practice and in games, even in our off time, so it’s going to be very special to have this moment with them.”

Come 9 p.m. on Friday, Baranczyk’s team will be thrust back into the heat of competition where every game could be their last.

But until then, she’s enjoying the process of guiding Chavez through the final stages of her freshman season.

“(She’s) been really, really fun to coach, and I just — the sky is the limit for her and her potential, but it's because of what she sees in the people around her,” Baranczyk said. “I knew that coming in, but you don't know it until you're with somebody every day and you live with them for a year.

“So to know now what I do get to know, I'm really lucky to coach her. This program is really lucky to have her, and she's really lucky to have this program too.”