The Longhorns are in contention for the No. 1 player in the women’s basketball 2025 class.
After securing five-star guard Aaliyah Crump in July, head coach Vic Schaefer and Texas aren’t stopping there. Aaliyah Chavez is the highest-ranked recruit in the 2025 class and has Texas in her top six schools. Hailing from Monterey High School in Lubbock, UT is one of two in-state universities that Chavez has her sights on, with hometown Texas Tech being the challenger.
On Sept. 28, Chavez was seen on the sidelines of the Longhorn football SEC home-opener against Mississippi State for her official visit. The next day, she posted a short video to her Instagram of her repping burnt orange and meeting UT President Jay Hartzell.
Texas seemed to pull out all the stops during Chavez’s visit, and for good reason. Last season she averaged 37.8 points per game, 10.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists. Beyond the statistics, Chavez joined an elite group of women this past spring when Gatorade announced her as its Texas Girls Basketball Player of the Year, alongside legends Juju Watkins, Candace Parker and Paige Bueckers.
On paper, Chavez’s game speaks for itself, but off the court people have plenty of things to say. Amarillo sports insider Lance Lahnert has covered the area for more than 40 years and says he has never seen a prospect like Chavez.
“Aaliyah Chavez is one-of-one,” Lahnert said. “By that I mean her impact on a basketball court and off has pretty much never before been seen in the 806 by a high school player … I’ve never seen a Kim Mulkey show up in Plainview, Texas, for a blowout bi-district game like last year just to see Chavez.”
Chavez’s recruitment is an interesting spectacle as well due to NIL and the rise of popularity in women’s basketball. Lahnert says any school that invests in her will have a big payout.
“Wherever Chavez decides to take her skills — and I hear the NIL number is north of a $1 million buckos — that team immediately gets much better because of her
basketball IQ and skills,” Lahnert said.
While this is a hefty price to pay, Longhorn fans are eager for her commitment. Texas Exes’ social ambassador Jack Maddox, also known as “Bevo Hat Guy,” has shown support for Chavez in her comment section. Maddox believes Chavez will be a massive hit for the Longhorns.
“She’s a generational talent,” Maddox said. “I think it would impact fan attendance by bringing more people over. There will definitely be a Caitlin Clark effect once she proves herself at games.”
Chavez has yet to officially visit the other front-runner in her recruitment, Texas Tech; however, On3.com estimates that Tech currently leads in her recruitment, favorited at 32.5%, with Texas trailing at 28.4%.
