Top women’s basketball freshman guarantees Elite Eight trip for her SEC squad

One of the top freshmen in women’s college basketball didn’t waste any time making noise on her new campus.

Aaliyah Chavez — the MVP of the Jordan Brand Classic and Gatorade’s National High School Player of the Year — grabbed the microphone earlier this week at Oklahoma’s Class Kickoff, a pep rally of sorts for the Sooners’ incoming freshmen. And after hyping up the crowd full of her fellow classmates, she made a noteworthy declaration.

“Sweet 16 last year, but we going to the Elite Eight this year. I promise that. I promise that y’all,” Chavez said. “And I challenge all of you to be at every single home game. Every single one.“

Oklahoma has surged in recent years under coach Jennie Baranczyk — going to four straight NCAA Tournaments, winning two regular season conference titles and appearing in the Sweet 16 last season — but the Sooners haven’t advanced to an Elite Eight since 2010, back when they had three WNBA players in their starting lineup.

There’s reason for optimism in Norman though. The Sooners return their top three scorers — Raegan Beers, Peyton Verhulst and Sahara Williams — and brought in an impressive freshman class that is headlined by Chavez. For the returners, Beers is coming off a season where she averaged 17.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game while shooting 63.3 percent from the floor, Verhulst posted career-bests in several stats last season, and Williams is coming off a summer where she featured for Team USA’s 3x3 squad.

And Chavez is being billed as one of, if not the best, rookies in the country. She scored more than 4,000 points in her high school career and had her pick of top programs to choose from, picking the Sooners over offers from South Carolina, LSU, UCLA and Texas.

With Chavez joining an already talented roster, Oklahoma going to the Elite Eight isn’t all that far-fetched.