Oklahoma’s Aaliyah Chavez immediately showed why she was the No. 1 recruit in the 2025 class

Oklahoma freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez probably didn’t need to introduce herself, but she did anyway.

Chavez tallied 16 points, six rebounds, five assists, a block and a team-high three steals in the No. 6 Sooners’ 84-67 win against Belmont on Monday night at Lloyd Noble Center for her college debut. She also tied for a team-high 37 minutes while rarely coming off the court.

Aaliyah Chavez shines in college debut

A mediocre debut wouldn’t have watered down the extremely high expectations for Chavez as a consensus five-star recruit making the jump, but she still just went ahead and immediately showed why she’s created so much hype already.

Chavez just signed with the Sooners as the No. 1 recruit from the 2025 class and a McDonald’s All-American. She was the winner of the 2025 Gatorade, Naismith, MaxPreps and Sports Illustrated National Player of the Year awards. After she committed to the Sooners over Texas, OU great Trae Young even proclaimed that Chavez would become the next face of women’s basketball with legends like Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers.

That was all talk, though, and Chavez hasn’t earned anything as a college athlete yet. However, in just one game, she showed she definitely will and she’s not overhyped.

In OU’s season opener, Chavez almost immediately dished an assist to Payton Verhulst, who drained a 3-pointer. Chavez then missed her first two shots, then finally hit an impressive pull-up jumper for her first college points. The rest was then history.

Chavez made a 3 just before the first-half buzzer sounded. After Belmont stormed back in the second half to take a lead and threaten an upset, it was Chavez who put the Sooners ahead 55-54 with another jumper for a lead they never lost again.

The Sooners returned four starters from last season’s team that made the Sweet 16, and it was Chavez who filled that lone open slot. And with Chavez now in the starting lineup, even as a freshman, it’s clear the Sooners took two steps forward heading into the 2025-26 season.