NORMAN — There were a lot of preconceived notions about Aaliyah Chavez before she arrived on OU’s campus.
Over the past few years, you’d be hard pressed to scroll through a high school basketball account on social media and not come across a highlight of her swishing a half-court shot or crossing up an opposing player.
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A consensus five-star and largely the No. 1 overall prospect nationally, she won just about every individual accolade during her high school career and averaged nearly 35 points per game as a senior.
To some, her dominance or flashy skills come across as cocky or showy.
“People see me a lot on the court, and for me on the court, I’m focused on my four other players that are on my team, my coaching and whoever’s on the bench,” Chavez said Wednesday during the Sooners‘ media day. “That’s what I’m focused on. A lot of people say I’m rude, I’m cocky and all this. But they don’t know me outside of the basketball court.
“I want people to say that I’m a nice person. I care about everybody on this team.”
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More: How OU women’s basketball landed Aaliyah Chavez, the top player in 2025 recruiting class
Chavez, who’s expected to contribute right away as the Sooners’ point guard, enters this season with sky-high expectations. She’s already inked a shoe deal with Nike and is joining a team mostly made up of last season’s core that made a Sweet 16 run in the NCAA Tournament.
Chavez made waves in August when she declared OU was heading to the Elite Eight in her first season. Less than two weeks away from making her collegiate debut as a true freshman with the Sooners, she has blown her new teammates away with that confidence, along with her work ethic and level of care.
“There’s a lot of people that have a lot of opinions on Aaliyah Chavez, and they’re not always super positive opinions,” OU coach Jennie Baranczyk said. “But, she’s won over her team because she’s an incredible person and she loves to play the game and she works really hard.”
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Chavez committed to Baranczyk and the Sooners on March 25, picking OU over some of the top programs in the country, including Texas, South Carolina and UCLA. Following a whirlwind recruitment, Chavez ultimately settled on Baranczyk and the Sooners due to their style of play.
What ultimately sealed the deal was visiting for OU’s NCAA Tournament win over Florida Gulf Coast and experiencing the atmosphere. For Chavez, she’s relieved to be through with being hit up by coaches nonstop and is excited about getting back to playing basketball.
“I definitely was glad that it was over,” Chavez said. “It’s crazy to say that I’m actually done, and I still, to this day, can’t believe I’m in college and I picked a great college.”
While she has fit right in with preseason All-SEC first-team selection Raegan Beers, 2025 All-SEC honoree Payton Verhulst and junior standout Sahara Williams, it took a little while.
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During the Sooners’ first couple of practices, Verhulst and Williams noticed Chavez was too passive. The true freshman was trying to ease her way into an already established group and learn their tendencies.
More: USA TODAY Sports Network preseason women’s basketball All-SEC, awards for 2025-26
Oklahoma Sooners guard Aaliyah Chavez (2) answers questions during a media day for the Sooners on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, Okla., Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.
“We didn’t ask you to come in and pass the ball,” they told Chavez. “We want you to shoot the ball more.”
Beers, Verhulst and Williams have helped guide Chavez through the ups and downs of being a true freshman. Having noticed all of the media attention she went through during her high school career, the trio wanted Chavez to know they were there for her as a person.
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“It’s awesome now that Oklahoma gets a little bit of that spotlight that Aaliyah’s brought, but we’re really here for each other as people,” Verhulst said. “That’s what makes our team so unique this year, we have a lot of love for each other.”
Since that moment in practice, Chavez has played with her signature confidence. Baranczyk’s offense is predicated on playing fast and OU’s fifth-year head coach trusts her true freshman with the ball.
It’s safe to say the Sooners want Chavez to be herself.
“I’ve seen her in games where they’re up 100 and she’ll hit a half-court shot at the end of the third quarter and she’ll slide like she just won the national championship,” Baranczyk said. “That’s the kind of joy I’m talking about. She just loves the game.”
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Colton Sulley covers the Oklahoma Sooners for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Colton? He can be reached at csulley@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @colton_sulley. Support Colton’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How Aaliyah Chavez won over OU women’s basketball during preseason
