Aaliyah Chavez stands out amongst former No. 1 women's recruits

High School on SI, SBLive takes a look at how the Nation's No. 1 recruit compares to top players from the last decade

Lubbock Monterey's Aaliyah Chavez - the consensus No. 1 girls high school basketball recruit for the Class of 2025 - has evolved her game while remaining wildly consistent on the floor. / Chase Seabolt/For the Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Elite athletes seem to have some similar traits. Of course, natural ability is a must. But so is intense drive, hard work and a relentless attitude are also key.

Aaliyah Chavez checks all those boxes.

Ranked by ESPN as the No. 1 high school girls basketball recruit in the Class of 2025, the top uncommitted senior has her Lubbock Monterey Lady Plainsmen (29-5) gunning for a Texas state championship in her last hurrah before heading off to college.

One of the smoothest handlers of the basketball you will find in 2025, Chavez can feel confident stacking her high school career against just about anyone who has ever walked the planet.

In 142 career varsity games, Chavez averages a staggering 32.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.2 steals. With two regular-season games remaining in her high school career Chavez sits at 4,553 points entering Friday’s showdown against Lubbock-Cooper – a team she had 37 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists against in a 70-49 win on Dec. 31.

Coming off a 30-point performance in a loss to Amarillo on Jan. 28, Chavez  35.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.7 steals per game as a senior.

With six finalists – UCLA, South Carolina, Texas, Texas Tech, LSU and Oklahoma - and the women’s basketball community waiting to hear where she’ll be headed next season, High School on SI and SBLive decided to look back at nine previous No. 1 overall recruits – as ranked by ESPN’s HoopGurlz Rankings – to see where Chavez’s numbers stack up amongst some of the best girls high school basketball players over the last decade.

It goes without saying that, like Chavez, every player on this list was rated a 5-star with a 98 grade by ESPN at the time they were No. 1 overall. A McDonald’s All-American and favorite for the Gatorade Player of the Year and Naismith Girls Player of the Year awards,

Nation’s No. 1 girls high school basketball recruit Aaliyah Chavez scores 124 points in Caprock Texas Classic

Decision by No. 1 recruit Aaliyah Chavez has finalists searching for answers

Big game by top recruit Aaliyah Chavez would move her higher up NFHS list

Chavez would be in good company if she were to secure those awards, as most of the players on this list have also earned those honors.

---

Aaliyah Chavez career stats

Year	GRADE	GAMES	Def. Rebounds	Off. Rebounds	Total Rebounds	Blocks	Turnovers	Fouls
2021-22	Fr.	39	5.5	2.2	7.7	0.7	3.2	2.1
2022-23	Soph.	34	5.4	1.9	7.2	0.7	2.8	2.3
2023-24	Jr.	35	7.7	2.4	10.1	0.9	2.2	1.8
2024-25	Sr.	34	6.9	2.4	9.3	1.0	2.2	1.9

---

2024

Sarah Strong, 6-2, F, Grace Christian Sanford (N.C.) High School

Current team: UCONN

Across 85 games spanning three varsity seasons, Strong averaged 23 points, 16 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 3.3 steals and 2.3 blocks per game. As a senior she averaged 21 points, 16.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.8 steals, 1.8 blocks and 3.4 turnovers.

As a freshman with the Huskies this season, Strong’s averaging 17.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.2 blocks. She’s helped lead UCONN to a 20-2 start this season.

2023

Judea “JuJu” Watkins, 6-0, G, Sierra Canyon (Calif.) High School

Current team: USC

A two-time California Gatorade Player of the Year, California Ms. Basketball and Naismith Prep Player of the Year, Watkins as a senior at Sierra Canyon, Watkins averaged 27.3 points, 13.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists as a senior at Sierra Canyon. As a junior she averaged 25 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists.  

Watkins spent the first two seasons of her high school career at Windward (Calif.) High School where she averaged 27 points and 12 rebounds as a sophomore and 21 points and nine rebounds as a freshman.

In two seasons at USC, Watkins is averaging 26.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.7 blocks. This season she’s averaging 24.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists. The Trojans, ranked No. 4, and are 18-1 this season.

2022

Lauren Betts, 6-7, C, Grandview (Colo.) High School

Current team: UCLA

After a standout high school career at Grandview that saw her average 16.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 3.6 blocks over 95 career games, Betts went to Stanford for her freshman season before transferring to UCLA as a sophomore.

At Stanford she saw limited action off the bench in 33 games and averaged 5.9 points and 3.5 rebounds. At UCLA, she’s emerged as one of the best centers in women’s college basketball. This season she’s averaging 21 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists while leading the No. 1 Bruins to a 20-0 start.

2021

Azzi Fudd, 5-11, G, St. John’s College High (Washington, D.C.)

Current team: UCONN

Fudd has been on the college radar for quite some time. She received her first scholarship offer from Maryland when she was still in sixth grade. She became the first high school sophomore to win Gatorade National Girls Player of the Year when she averaged 26.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

That summer she tore her ACL and MCL at the FIBA U18 3x3 World Cup, requiring two surgeries. She returned to the floor for her junior season in Jan. 2020 and averaged 19.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and two assists before COVID cut the season short. She averaged 25.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists during a shortened senior season.

At UCONN the three-time gold medalist averages 12.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game over 58 games (41 starts). She only played two games as a junior due to an injury and has played 16 games (12 starts) this year.

2020

Paige Bueckers, 5-11, PG, Hopkins (Minn.) High School

Current team: UCONN

The rare player to see varsity minutes as an eighth grader, Bueckers won three Minnesota Gatorade Girls Player of the Year awards at Hopkins, where she averaged 21.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.4 blocks before the season was cut short due to COVID.

She’s averaged 19 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists this season while helping guide the No. 6 Huskies to a 20-2 record.  For her career she’s averaging 19.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals.

2019

Haley Jones, 6-1, W, Archbishop Mitty (Calif.) High School

Current team: Atlanta Dream

In 116 career games at Archbishop Mitty, Jones averaged 18.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 2.1 blocks per game. She averaged 26.1 points, 12.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 3.7 steals and 2.8 blocks as a senior in 2018-2019, earning her Naismith Player of the Year honors as well as being named McDonald’s All-American.

She then went to Stanford where she averaged 13 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 118 career games (111 starts) and won a national championship in 2021.

She was a first-round pick (sixth overall) by the Dream in 2023, where she’s averaged 3.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists across 80 games (30 starts).

2018

Christyn Williams, 5-11, G, Central Arkansas Christian High School

Current team: WNBA free agent

A highly decorated senior coming out of Little Rock’s Central Arkansas Christian, Williams led the Lady Mustangs to a 117-24 record during her varsity career. She averaged 26.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists during her final prep season – picking up McDonald’s All-American, Naismith National Player of the Year, Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year, Gatorade National Player of the Year and WBCA National Player of the Year honors in 2018.

She went on to start 131 of the 132 games she played in at UCONN, averaging 14 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists during her career – earning First Team All-Big East honors in 2021 and 2022.

Williams was drafted by the WNBA’s Washington Mystics in the second round (14th overall) in the 2022 WNBA Draft, but an unfortunate knee injury during practice meant she never saw the floor for the Mystics. She was signed to a two-day contract by the Phoenix Mercury in Sept. 2023, but was later waived by the team and hasn’t appeared in a WNBA game.

2017

Megan Walker, 6-1, W, Monacan (Va.) High School

Current team: WNBA free agent

Another decorated high school star, Walker averaged 21.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.8 steals across 95 games during her high school career. Her senior season was her most productive, as she averaged 25.9 points 7.6 rebounds and 3.2 steals in 26 games in 2016-17. Walker went on to earn Gatorade National Player of the Year honors and was a McDonald’s All-American that season.

At UCONN she averaged 12.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists over 100 career games. She averaged a career-high 19.7 points, 2.9 assists and 1.5 steals during the 2019-2020 season – earning her AAC Player of the Year and First-team All-American honors.

She was selected in the first round (ninth overall) of the 2020 WNBA Draft by the New York Liberty and played in 18 games off the bench that season, averaging 3.3 points. She was then traded to the Phoenix Mercury and spent the 2021 season with them before seeing action in 12 games with the Atlanta Dream in 2022. She more recently has been playing overseas.

2016

Lauren Cox, 6-4, F, Flower Mound (Texas) High School

Current team: Virtus Bologna (Italy)

In 90 varsity games at Flower Mound, Cox averaged 21 points, 14.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 4.5 blocks per game. During her senior campaign Cox averaged 21.8 points, 12.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 3.4 blocks.

She went to Baylor where she won an NCAA championship in 2019 and was named Big 12 Player of the Year in 2020. In 131 college games (95 starts) Cox averaged 12 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.3 blocks.

Cox was drafted in the first round (third overall) by the Indiana Fever in the 2020 WNBA Draft and spent parts of two seasons with the Fever (2020-2021) and Los Angeles Sparx (2021), averaging 2.9 points and 3.0 rebounds during her time in the league.

2015

Katie Lou Samuelson, 6-3, W, Mater Dei (Calif.) High School

Current team: Indiana Fever

The five-year WNBA vet turned heads at Mater Dei High School, where she averaged 29.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.2 steals per game, earning Gatorade National Player of the Year and McDonald’s All-American honors.

She went on to star at UCONN from 2015-2019 where she averaged 16.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists across 140 games (125 starts). She earned All-American honors and was named the AAC All-Freshman Team in 2016.

A first-round pick (fourth overall) by Chicago Sky in the 2019 WNBA Draft, Samuelson has averaged 5.9 points and 2.5 rebounds over 138 WNBA games (72 starts).