Top-ranked 2025 recruit Aaliyah Chavez puts Arizona women’s basketball in her top 10

Arizona women’s basketball may still be waiting for its first commit for 2024, but head coach Adia Barnes is having some success with the class of 2025 already. Top-ranked recruit Aaliyah Chavez, a 5-foot-9 point guard from Monterey High School in Lubbock, Tex. has Arizona in her top 10.

By the time Chavez arrives in college, the conference landscape will be dramatically different. The Wildcats will have to battle hometown team and future Big 12 foe Texas Tech along with Big Ten teams Ohio State, UCLA, and USC, and SEC teams LSU, Tennessee, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas for the five-star recruit’s services.

Chavez became the leading scorer for the Monterey High program halfway through her sophomore year when she dropped 45 points on Lubbock-Cooper High School last January. She surpassed Texas legend and current Washington State head coach Kamie Ethridge in doing so. The record had been in place since 1982 when Ethridge completed her high school career with 1,729 points.

In her two seasons with Monterey, Chavez has averaged 27.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.7 steals per game. In her sophomore season, her scoring and steals per game went up while she accounted for fewer assists and rebounds per game.

She plays club ball for CyFair Elite of the EYBL along with 2024 recruit Vivian Iwuchukwu, who took an official visit to Arizona in September.