Aaliyah Chavez is headed to Norman.
The Monterey star, rated as the No. 1 recruit in women’s basketball for the 2025 class, chose Oklahoma as her college destination at a ceremony Tuesday at the school auditorium.
As the announcement broadcasted live on ESPN, Chavez finished a prepared speech with, “I’m ready to give my all to make this my home and bring a national championship to the city of Norman.”
The 5-foot-11 point guard Chavez selected OU over LSU, South Carolina, Texas, UCLA and Texas Tech.
The Sooners are 27-7 entering a Sweet 16 matchup against UConn later this week.
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“All schools that I chose (as finalists), they were great choices,” Chavez said. “The coaches, I’ve had great relationships with all the coaches. … (OU) felt like a family to me.”
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Chavez said she felt a strong connection with “all” the OU players who hosted her. That included freshman Zya Vann, whom Chavez said she’s known “for a long time.”
“The people that I was with on the visit, we connected for sure,” Chavez said. “The vibe was definitely different. I definitely think that’s what made me pick the choice.”
The announcement comes on the heels of multiple national honors. Chavez earned national player of the year awards from Gatorade and Naismith. She was also selected as a McDonald’s All-American. Chavez is the first player from Lubbock to garner any of those awards.
Chavez led Monterey to the Class 5A Division II state championship earlier this month and was named the game’s MVP. It was the Plainsmen’s first girls basketball state title since 1981.
Chavez played under heightened attention for four years as the nation’s top recruit. She became Monterey’s all-time leading scorer as a sophomore and finished her career with 4,796 points — an average of 32.0 per game. She also averaged 8.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 3.2 steals and 0.9 blocks over her career.
As the crowd began to disperse following Tuesday’s ceremony, Chavez yelled from the center of the stage. She wanted to make sure everyone stopped to sing happy birthday to her dad, Sonny, the first basketball trainer in her life.
“Me and my dad are very close,” Chavez said. “It definitely was on purpose (to commit on his birthday). Not gonna lie, I don’t give my dad a lot of presents on his birthday. We made the decision that today would be the day I give him the greatest present of all time — I committed on his birthday.”
