Basketball
Oklahoma’s week just got that much sweeter.
One day after returning to the second weekend off the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013, Jennie Baranczyk beat Texas, South Carolina and Texas Tech for the nation’s top recruit.
Aaliyah Chavez, a 5-foot-9 guard from Lubbock, TX, became the Sooners’ highest-ever rated commitment on Tuesday.
“I’m not just joining a program, I’m joining a family. And I’m ready to give my all to make this my home and bring a national championship to Norman,” Chavez said.
Chavez pointed to Oklahoma’s coaching staff as one of the reasons she’s elected to don the crimson and cream
“Just a great playing style,” Chavez told ESPN’s SportsCenter. “They match how I want to play. I want to play fast, and that’s why I chose it.”
When asked about what connected with her when visiting Norman, she pointed to the OU locker room.
“Definitely just the players,” Chavez said. “I think our connection just matched and the vibe was a little different at Oklahoma with the players and the coaches.”
Courtney Paris signed as a member of the 2004 class, and she was rated the No. 2-overall player in the country by All-Star Girls Report.
Chavez made her decision after a weekend of intense courting from Oklahoma.
The coveted recruit was in attendance for OU’s NCAA Tournament First Round contest against Florida Gulf Coast, where she was visited by Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione, university president Joe Harroz Jr., center Raegan Beers’ father and other dignitaries in a final push for her commitment.
The Sooners lose seniors Skylar Vann, Lexy Keys, Liz Scott, Nevaeh Tot and Aubrey Joens, but a strong core of the team remains.
Chavez will get to play alongside returning starters Payton Verhulst, Raegan Beers, Sahara Williams and Reyna Scott, and crucial bench guard Zya Vann will enter her sophomore season in Norman.
The Sooners also will add a pair of fellow freshmen alongside Chavez in Oklahoma product Keziah Lofton and Colorado Springs, CO, forward Brooklyn Stewart.
Chavez is yet another massive recruiting win for Baranczyk.
OU fended off plenty of portal interest for Verhulst and Beers, both of which have been key in getting Oklahoma basketball back to the Sweet Sixteen.
Landing Chavez is a statement that Baranczyk can try and elevate the program into the upper echelon of the sport.
Chavez was named the Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year, following in the footsteps of South Carolina’s Joyce Edwards (2024), USC’s JuJu Watkins (2023), UCLA’s Kiki Rice (2022), UConn’s Paige Bueckers (2020), and many others.
Last season, she averaged 34.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 3.7 steals and 1.2 blocks per game for Monterey High School.
She led the plainsmen to a 37-5 record and the 5A Division II state championship in Texas.
The Sooners had to battle Texas and Texas Tech on the NIL front as well as attracting the nation’s top player to leave her home state to suit up for Baranczyk.
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