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South Carolina is one of six finalists for Aaliyah Chavez, the top overall prospect in the class of 2025.
Chavez announced her top six on social media on Tuesday. The finalists are South Carolina, LSU, Texas, UCLA, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech. She eliminated Southern Cal, Arizona, Ohio State, and Tennessee from the top ten she announced last October.
Chavez is a 5-11 point guard from Lubbock, Texas, and she seems to be giving serious thought to staying home and trying to lead the Red Raiders back to glory.
She is the reigning Gatorade Texas Player of the Year, an impressive feat for a junior in a talent-rich state like Texas. She averaged 37.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 3.5 steals last season.
ESPN compared Chavez’s explosive scoring ability to Kelsey Plum, the former career-scoring leader. Because of her scoring ability, she is probably projects as more of a lead guard than a true point guard at the college level.
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Chavez has taken unofficial visits to Texas Tech and LSU, and is working to schedule visits to the remaining schools. She recently told On3’s Talia Goodman what she is looking for in a college program.
“The most important thing is to make sure I’m in a place where I have high energy,” Chavez told Goodman. “I don’t want a coach that’s low energy, and I need to make sure that they’re going to be there the whole time [I am]. I don’t want a coach that’s just going to be there for two years… I want them to be there all four years. Because that’s what I’m getting recruited off of, right? I want to be there all four years.”
Chavez was the leading scorer on the Nike EYBL circuit, and South Carolina was in Chicago to watch her last weekend. Dawn Staley skipped the WNBA All-Star game to be there, along with Winston Gandy, Lisa Boyer, and Kamilla Cardoso.
Chavez told Goodman what stands out about the Gamecocks.
“They’re always in at least the top four [nationally] so they’re a great program. I want to be at a winning program too. Their coaching staff is recruiting me really well.”
Chavez has not given a timetable for her commitment.
