High School

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

Teams competing for top 2025 basketball star nervous about player's impending decision

Levi Payton

Monterey's Aaliyah Chavez passes the ball against Frenship in a Caprock Classic big-school girls championship basketball game Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, at the Tiger Pit in Wolfforth.
Monterey's Aaliyah Chavez passes the ball against Frenship in a Caprock Classic big-school girls championship basketball game Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024, at the Tiger Pit in Wolfforth. / Stephen Garcia/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The longer the nation’s No. 1 girls high school basketball recruit remains undecided about where she’ll play collegiately, the more anticipation grows as to which program she’ll choose. With that anticipation comes expectation that can lead to pressure.

But judging the play of that top player, Lubbock Monterey’s Aaliyah Chavez, you wouldn’t notice.

That’s because the 5-foot-11 Lady Plainsmen senior point guard keeps shrugging the pressure and shredding defenses. On the heels of a big weekend at the Caprock Classic, Chavez kept that momentum rolling this week.

On Tuesday, Chavez scored 37 points for No. 2 Monterey in a 70-49 victory over Lubbock Cooper in a district game at Lubbock Cooper High School. Monterey improved to 23-4 with the victory.

It was yet another memorable performance in a historic career for the reigning Texas Girls’ Gatorade Basketball Player of the Year – who scored 53 points in the first game of the Caprock Classic and finished with 124 points in the tourney.

Other Texas high school sports news:

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

Vote: Who should be Texas high school Athlete of the Week? (12/30/2024)

Vandegrift teammates Brendan Fournier, Adam Scott sweep Texas Football Players of the Week honors (12/22/2024)

Tuesday’s performance now gives her 4,303 career points – including 958 this season. She is averaging 35.5 points per game and entered Tuesday’s game with 102 steals, 236 rebounds and 90 assists this season.  

While she remains uncommitted, she has narrowed her choices down to five finalists. Four of those teams are in the top 10 of the AP NCAA women's Top 25 rankings.

Each of the five finalists face similar Catch-22 situations now. While they continue their pursuit of the star, those already eliminated have gotten the proverbial head start fighting over the next best crop of players.

That's another reason why securing the commitment of a player like Chavez could be so crucial to a program.

Here's a look at Chavez's finalists:

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UCLA

The No. 1 team in the country, the Bruins are 13-0 under The Michael Price Family UCLA Women's Head Basketball Coach Cori Close entering a matchup against No. 24 Michigan on Jan. 1.

The Bruins are led by a trio of juniors in center Lauren Betts (who is averaging 19.9 points per game), and guards Kiki Rice (13.0) and Gabriela Jaquez (10.6), respectively.

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OKLAHOMA

Led by coach Jennie Baranczyk, the No. 9 Sooners are 12-1 to start the season - their only loss to No. 13 Duke. They are set to take on No. 5 Texas on Jan. 2.

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TEXAS

Speaking of the No. 5 Longhorns, Chavez is likely to have a close eye on Thursday's game as two of her finalists go head-to-head on ESPN2. Vic Shaefer's team is 13-1, having won six in a row after losing to No. 10 Notre Dame.

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TEXAS TECH

The only unranked team on her list, the hometown Lady Raiders are counting on the star to keep her zip code and help propel the Lady Raiders into the upper-escheleon of women's college basketball.

Off to a 12-2 start this season under Krista Gerlich, the Lady Raiders travel to Arizona State Jan. 1 before playing a brutal stretch of games against ranked opponents in Kansas State (No. 12), West Virginia (18) and TCU (11).

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SOUTH CAROLINA

As the hours tick by anxiety builds for the five coaches on this list. They know a player of Chavez's caliber can change the trajectory of a program for years to come.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley is no stranger to this feeling. That's why she's had Chavez high atop her wish list this recruiting season. The No. 2 Gamecocks, 12-1 and winners of their last seven, have missed out on some of the other top 2025 recruits this offseason. Landing Chavez would help balance that.

Dawn Staley
Dec 29, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley disputes a call against the Wofford Terriers in the first half at Colonial Life Arena on Dec. 29, 2024. Staley and the No. 2 Gamecocks are in the hunt for No. 1 2025 recruit Aaliyah Chavez. / Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

While there's no indication where she's headed at this point, we can be certain Chavez will keep us entertained on this historic run while we wait. She's recorded six career 50-point games - including a career-high 57 last season.

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Levi Payton
LEVI PAYTON

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