Blake Munroe
The recruitment of Lubbock Monterey standout Aaliyah Chavez continues to roll on with multiple schools anxiously awaiting a final decision from the nation's No. 1 overall player for 2025.
Chavez is down to four schools: Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and South Carolina. She cut LSU from that list before January and just recently decided against UCLA as well.
I'm told that South Carolina is an intriguing option, but the distance factor will play against them and they're the least likely of the four options as of now.
When it comes to Texas Tech, they continue to try and sell the "hometown hero" aspect to Chavez, but both sources believed if she was going to be a Red Raider, this would already be a done deal. It's also worth mentioning, as @Gerry Hamilton has pointed out, that they're an Adidas school, while the others are Nike. Gerry can elaborate on why that matters, but it definitely plays a role in this recruitment.
That leaves Oklahoma and Texas, which seem to be the consensus top two from everyone I've spoke with.
OU is recruiting Chavez hard and she has a solid relationship with the coaching staff there. Sooners head coach Jennie Baranczyk is heavily involved in this recruitment.
Texas has made Chavez well aware that she's a priority. They've also sold her on her role in this offense and Vic Schaefer's success. Chavez has also thoroughly enjoyed her time in Austin on visits.
Two sources I spoke with this week agree that the Longhorns are in the driver's seat and continue to be the team to beat.
As for a timeline, that's anyone's guess. Chavez plays things close to the vest and none of these schools have been given a commitment date or even a timeline at this point.