High School

No. 1 recruit Aaliyah Chavez makes surprise visit, excites crowd days before revealing college pick

Did Gatorade National Player of the Year just tip her hand on college commitment?

Levi Payton

Monterey's Aaliyah Chavez holds the Class 5A Division II state championship girls basketball trophy on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at The Alamodome in San Antonio. Monterey defeated Liberty Hill 64-35.
Monterey's Aaliyah Chavez holds the Class 5A Division II state championship girls basketball trophy on Saturday, March 1, 2025, at The Alamodome in San Antonio. Monterey defeated Liberty Hill 64-35. / Angela Piazza/USA Today Network via Caller-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sooner than later, we won't have to ask whether Aaliyah Chavez will be a Sooner.

On Tuesday, March 25, she will tell the word herself when she announces her college destination. Until then, her family remains steadfast that only they will truly know the answer.

While that may be true, it hasn't stopped the country from buzzing anytime the young phenom makes a move. And on Saturday, just days before she's to make that announcement, she, intentionally or not, made a move that stoked the chatter.

To the excitement of a large crowd at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Chavez, the nation's No. 1 women's basketball recruit for 2025, showed up to watch Oklahoma's women dismantle Florida Gulf Coast 81-58 in a first-round game of the Women's NCAA Tournament.

Sooners fans had reasons to be thrilled about Chavez's attendance. They're one of the four finalists she'll choose from on Tuesday, along with rival Texas, Texas Tech and South Carolina.

And much like anywhere she goes these days, she had plenty of fanfare. A steady stream of children, adults, and even members of the OU football team reportedly asked to snap a photo or grab an autograph from the 2025 Gatorade National Player of the Year and Naismith Girls Basketball National Player of the Year.

With only hours left until her commitment, admirers clad in crimson and creme made sure to pitch their own offers to the potential part-time resident. The dream of hearing "Aaliyah Chavez and the Oklahoma Sooners" someday is a preferred alternative to the nightmare that "Aaliyah Chavez and the Texas Longhorns" would present.

Even former OU softball national champion Lauren (Chamberlain) Gipson helped spread the message.

And there's plenty of reasons to believe she would choose the Sooners. They seemingly fit the criteria she laid out during her recruiting. It's a great program with a great coach who is locked into a multi-year deal. The Sooners win. They'll seemingly embrace her game and, perhaps most importantly, outside of her hometown Texas Tech, Norman is the closest to home.

A topic of heavy discussion online surrounds her NIL valuation. These days, it always is with players of Chavez's ability.

But we should assume NIL isn't an issue for any of the remaining finalists. Multiple outlets have now reported Chavez's deal could reach seven figures, with various reports ranging from $1-1.5 million. Anyone still involved this late in the game would be aware of what the real numbers look like.

With women's college basketball's popularity at an all-time high, a player of Chavez's ilk is likely to provide a return on that investment on and off the court. Playing in Texas 5A, she dominated from the moment she first stepped onto the court at Lubbock Monterey High School as a freshman. She scored at least 1,001 points in every season of her high school career, including 1,451 during her senior season, good for 10th all-time nationally in single-season scoring.

Aaliyah Chavez
Lubbock Monterey guard Aaliyah Chavez (2) shoots a 3-pointer in the third quarter of the Texas UIL 5A Division II state championship at The Alamodome in San Antonio, March 1, 2025. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

She scored 1,320 points as a junior; now good for 17th all-time nationally in single-season scoring.

She's also top 20 all-time in career scoring despite also holding career assists records at Monterey. She's a fine defender, smooth with the basketball, a viral sensation, and handles pressure on and off the floor like a pro.

There's likely going to be an adjustment period as she gets used to the flow of the college game, Chavez seems ready for the challenge. Will it be in Norman though?

Pretty soon, we'll find out.

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Levi Payton
LEVI PAYTON

Levi’s sports journalism career began in 2005. A Missouri native, he’s won multiple Press Association awards for feature writing and has served as a writer and editor covering high school sports as well as working beats in professional baseball, NCAA football, basketball, baseball and soccer. If you have a good story, he’d love to tell it.

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